Vidushi Rajyasree Ghosh - Vocal
Samir Chatterjee - Tabla
Anirban Chakraborty - Harmonium
The Baithak concert series is dedicated to the fond memories of Mr. Chandrakant Rao.
Vidushi Rajyasree Ghosh
Rajyasree Ghosh is a very talented vocalist in the Hindustani vocal tradition. She is equally proficient in both classical and semi-classical music, including Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Tappa and Puratani songs etc. She took her talim in Nazrulgeeti from Smt. Suprava Sarkar and she is still learning Bengali Tappa, Puratani etc from Shri Ramkumar Chatterjee. Gifted with a powerful and melodious voice, Rajyasree has developed a style characterized by riveting Bandishes, reposeful Alaps and rigorous bol-taans. Her music has a special romantic flavor emerging out of her powerful yet tender approach. She is featured regularly on the national radio and television of India and holds the position of lecturer at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.
Rajyasree Ghosh is a very talented vocalist in the Hindustani vocal tradition. She is equally proficient in both classical and semi-classical music, including Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan, Tappa and Puratani songs etc. Born in 1962, Rajyasree started her training at a very early age. She was awarded a gold medal in both her B.A and M.A exams in classical music (Khayal) from the Rabindra Bharati University. She also received a National Scholarship from the Ministry of Human Resources Development of Govt. of India in 1986 to study under Pandit Amiya Ranjan Banerjee. She was a Scholar at the Sangeet Research Academy, where she studied music under the guidance of Smt. Girija Devi and Pandit Arun Bhaduri and Pandit K.G. Ginde. She took her talim in Nazrulgeeti from Smt. Suprava Sarkar and she is still learning Bengali Tappa, Puratani etc from Shri Ramkumar Chatterjee.
Rajyasree Ghosh has performed and won laurels in several prestigious music conferences in India. She placed first for three consecutive years (1984-1986) in the Dover Lane Music Competition in Khayal, Ragpradhan and Bhajan. She is featured regularly on the national radio and television of India and holds the position of lecturer at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.
She has been regularly visiting the USA and performing in several cities like Kansas City, San Francisco, Columbus, Dayton, Boston, Houston and Cincinnati. Her performances were highly appreciated by Indian and non-Indian alike.
Gifted with a powerful and melodious voice, Rajyasree has developed a style characterized by riveting Bandishes, reposeful Alaps and rigorous bol-taans. Her music has a special romantic flavor emerging out of her powerful yet tender approach. Her creativity makes her music a sheer listening pleasure.
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.
Samir 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, Pt. Manilal Nag, Ud. Ali Ahmed Hussain, Ud. Aashis Khan, Dr. L. Subramanium, U Srinivas, Ud. Naseeruddin Sami, Smt. Veena Sahashrabuddhe, Ud. Shujat Khan, Ud. Saheed Parvez, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Ud. Nishat Khan, Ud. Rashid Khan, Pt. Tejendra N. Mazumdar, Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya, Smt. Arti Anklekar, Smt. Kaushiki Chakraborty, 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, Joshua Bell, Yoko Ono Lenon, David Liebman, Oliver Lake, Dave Douglas, Ned Rothenberg, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Jerome Harris, Eric Friedlander, Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Boby Sanabria, Jin Hi Kim, Min Xiao-Fen, 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 also collaborates with Sufi-Rock singer Salman Ahmad of Junoon from Pakistan. He is the composer and director of Indo-Flame – a blend of Indian and Flamenco dance and music, Chhand-Anand - a world percussion ensemble, RabiThakur – a ballet on the life of Tagore, Meghadootam – a feature program of music and dance on an ancient Indian poem, 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, a guide book to Indian music titled Music of India and Those Forty Days, a journal of an austere practice regimen. He is on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music, University of Pittsburgh and New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He also taught at the Yale University, Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University, among many other major institutions in the USA, Europe and India. 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.