Vocal - Sanjoy Banerjee
Tabla - Samir Chatterjee
Harmonium -Namami Karmakar
Sanjoy Banerjee
Sanjoy Banerjee is one of the finest vocalists of international repute from India and a distinguished exponent of the Kirana Gharana of North Indian Vocal Classical Music. Sanjoyji was a scholar at ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the able guidance of Late Pt. A.T. Kanan and Sangeet Bidushi Late Malabika Kanan, who considered him as their successor to their musical heritage. With his sonorous and unwavering voice he has enthralled audiences at home and abroad, performing extensively in the UK, Germany, Bangladesh, Canada, USA and within India including at Sur Singar, Swai Gandharva, Sangeet Piysi, Ustad Faiz Khan Sangeet Sammelan.
He has received many awards and honors including Surmani Award from Sur Sringar Samsad, Mumbai, National Scholarship from Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India and Junior Fellowship from Department of Culture, Govt of India. In addition, Sanjoy Banerjee is a successful Guru teaching at his own institution - Kolkata Suromurchhana in India, and at Chhandayan Center of Indian Music, New York, producing students who have already earned appreciation.
Samir Chatterjee
Samir Chatterjee is a virtuoso Tabla player from India. He travels widely across the world throughout the year performing in numerous festivals as a soloist or with other outstanding musicians from both Indian and non-Indian musical traditions. Samir performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway in 2007. He also performed a few times at the United Nations General Assembly. His compositions are widely acclaimed as well as his writings. Samir is a firm believer in the transforming effect of music on the society and all aspects of his work reflects this conviction.
Chatterjee began his studies early with Pandit Bankim Ghosh, Pt. Balaram Mukherjee, Pt. Rathin Dhar and Mohammad Salim. His later formation as a musician occurred under the guidance of Pt. Amalesh Chatterjee (since 1966) and Pt. Shyamal Bose (since 1984). All of Samir's teachers have been from the Farrukhabad Gharana (school) of Tabla-playing, which he now represents.
Samir is rated ‘A’ as an artiste of Indian national radio and television. He can be heard on numerous recordings featuring as soloist, accompanying many of India's greatest musicians and in collaboration with western musicians of outstanding caliber. In concert Samir has accompanied many of India's greatest musicians including Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ud. Vilayat Khan, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Pt. V.G. Jog, Pt . Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, Ud. Amjad Ali Khan, Ud. Salamat Ali Khan, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Ud. Aashis Khan, Dr. L. Subramanium, Ud. Shujat Khan, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ud. Rashid Khan, Pt. Tejendra N. Mazumdar, Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya, to name only a few.
Samir Chatterjee lives in the New York-New Jersey area, and has been a catalyst in the fusion of Indian and Non-Indian music, in his own creations and others as well. He performs with Pauline Oliveros, William Parker, Branford Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Douglas, Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Boby Sanabria, Ben Verdery, Dance Theater of Harlem, Boston Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Ethos Percussion group, Da Capo Chamber Orchestra, Boston Musica Viva and other jazz, classical and avant guard musicians and ensembles. He is member of jazz trio SYNC with Ned Rothenberg and Jerome Harris and quintet Inner Diaspora together with Mark Feldman and Eric Friedlander. He also collaborates with Sufi-Rock singer Salman Ahmad of Junoon from Pakistan. He is also the composer and director of Indo-Flame and Nacho Nacho - both blends of Indian and Flamenco dance and music, Chhand-Anand - a world percussion ensemble and Dawn to Dusk and Beyond – on the effect of music on humans and nature. He performs with Sanjay Mishra on his CD "Blue Incantation" featuring Jerry Garcia as guest artist.
Samir Chatterjee has been teaching for the last 35 years and many of his students are established performers. He is the Founder-Director of CHHANDAYAN, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian music and culture. He has authored a comprehensive 654-page book entitled ‘A Study of Tabla’ and a guide book to Indian music titled ‘Music of India’. He is on the faculty at Yale University, Manhattan School of Music, University of Pittsburgh, New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and University of Bridgeport in CT. He also contributes to several newspapers and periodicals. He won gold medal for his proficiency in a musical examination and has two master degrees, in English and History.
Since June, 2008 Samir has been working relentlessly towards the musical revival of Afghanistan. He has made several trips to the country working with different levels of the society and administration and within a very short period of time he has been able to make a remarkable difference in the cultural life of the country.
Namami Karmakar
Namami Karmakar is regarded as one of the finest vocalistd among the younger generation of the Kirana Gharana. She had her initial training under Smt. Malini Mukherjee Bhowmick. Then she began learning under Late Pt. A. Kanan and Late Sangeet Bidushi Malabika Kanan is currently she under the able guidance of their disciple, Pt. Sanjoy Banerjee. Namami has a Masters in Classical Vocal Music from the prestigious Rabindra Bharati University. She stood first in All India BSNL Cultural Meet in 2007 and has successfully ranked in the prestigious Dover Lane Music Competition and West Bengal State Music Academy. She has also performed at major conferences in and in TV channels to great acclaim. Her debut performances at prestigious The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, India Center of Westchester, Gandhi Center Maryland and in Virginia were extremely well received and received praises from the audiences and music aficionados. She has also successfully assisted her Guru in workshops in Chhandayan Center, New York and India Center of Westchester. At present Namami is a faculty at Chhandayan Center of Indian Music in New York since 2016 and Kolkata Suromurchhana, Kolkata, imparting training to local as well as international students. She has a proven track record as a successful teacher as her students have earned applause from audiences and maestros of Classical Music.