Santoor - Vinay Desai
Tabla - Tejas Tope
Vinay Desai
Vinay is a young promising Santoor player. Having a musical background since his early teens, Vinay sought to learn Santoor after graduating from College. He received his initial training in Santoor from Takahiro Arai, an advanced disciple of the legendary Santoor player Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. In India, he learned under Pandit Shivkumar's guidance. His music is influenced by his stay in Ashrams and practices of ancient practices of meditation and Yoga. His music is both entertaining and is interwoven with the general feeling of peace and stillness.
Tejas Tope
Tejas Tope is a promising young tabla player from Long Island New York who has been learning tabla from Pt. Samir Chatterjee for over 10 years as well as attending many tabla and Indian music workshops. Tejas has also received training in Pakhawaj from Pt. Mohan Shyam Sharma Shri. Pratap Awad, and Pt. Manik Munde. He has won several awards and prizes at music competitions. As his skill and experienced has increased, he has been more in demand as a solo performer and accompanist. He participated in the5th, 10th, and 14thAnnual All Night Concerts (May 2004, May 2009, May 2012) held in New York City, organized by Chhandayan, also in the Tablaphilia ensembles. Tejas has accompanied his Guru Pt. Samir Chatterjee (tabla solo), the late Pt. Ramesh Mishra (sarangi), Pt. Steve Gorn (flute), Samarth Nagarkar (vocal), Kunal Gunjal (santoor), Qais Essar (rabab), Padmashree Pt. Satish Vyas (santoor), Padmashree Pta. Rita Ganuli (vocal), Shakir Khan (sitar), Kedar Naphade (harmonium solo), Pta. Lalita Dantale-Kurulkar (vocal), Chaitanya Kunte (harmonium), Manoj Govindraj (vocal), Rucha Muley-Jambhekar (vocal), Paromita Das (vocal), and many other musicians over the past several years. He has also recorded several CDs and DVDs.