Sitar virtuoso Nishat Khan

Indian Classical Concert Series continues

UCSC welcomed sitar virtuoso Nishat Khan as part of its ongoing Indian classical music series. Khan was joined by tabla artist Abhijit Banerjee. The concert was presented by the UCSC Music Department and funded by the Ali Akbar Khan Endowment for Classical Indian Music and by the Kamil and Talat Hasan Endowed Chair for Classical Music.

Khan, who has been performing since the age of seven, is considered one of the foremost virtuosos of the sitar. In Western contexts, Khan's work has been compared to Jimi Hendrix (Chicago Sun-Times) and J. S. Bach (Washington Times). His music transcends the North Indian classical idiom and delves into realms as diverse as Gregorian chant, Western classical music, abstract jazz, and Flamenco. He has collaborated with a number of leading performers and composers, including John McLaughlin, Philip Glass, Paco Peña, Evelyn Glennie, and Django Bates.

Khan has performed and his work has been honored all over the world. In 2002, he received an award for his inspiration and dedication to humanity from a foundation linked to the United Nations (past recipients included Sting and Nelson Mandela). He was invited to perform at the Japanese Parliament DIET in Tokyo where his concert marked the 50th Anniversary of Indo-Japanese diplomatic relations. In 2004, the President of Croatia received Khan in Zagreb, where he performed “Meeting of Angels” with Gregorian chants. Later that year, Khan was invited to perform alongside Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin and others at the Crossroads Festival in Dallas, Texas. He received an award for his dedication and musical excellence from the Pacific Asia Museum in Los Angeles in October 2004. In 2005, Khan was honored with a U.S. Congressional Award for Contribution to Culture and Community. Khan was also appointed as visiting professor at UCLA and he has held many successful master classes internationally.

Abhijit Banerjee, born in 1964, began learning tabla at the age of four under the guidance of Shri Tushar Kanti Bose and later received guidance from Shri Manik Pal. He then became a disciple of one of the great tabla teachers of this century, the late Pt. Ghyan Prakash Ghosh. Abhijit also received lessons in vocal music from Shri Ajoy Chakraborty and in violin from Smt. Annapurna Devi. Abhijit won an award at the prestigious Tansen music competition as a child. Since then, he has continually participated in major music festivals in India and worldwide, both as soloist and as accompanist. He has accompanied artists like Amjad Ali Khan, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Parveen Sultana. The late Pt. Nikhil Banerjee chose him as an accompanist on his last tour to Europe in 1984. He has conducted music for a TV series and was chosen to compose music for an lndo-French film on colonial architecture.

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