First Set:
Eric Fraser - Bansuri
Naren Budhakar - Tabla
Second Set:
Snehesh Nag - Sitar
Naren Budhakar - Tabla
This event will be streamed live:
The Baithak concert series is dedicated to the fond memories of Mr. Chandrakant Rao.
Eric Fraser
Eric Fraser is an exponent of a unique vocal style of North-Indian flute playing and has been learning intensively through annual trips to Kolkata, India from his guru Pandit Gopal Roy since 2003. Eric's playing rings with authenticity and pure tone, imbibing the soul of Indian classical music.
Eric is a Fulbright senior research scholar for Indian music and has performed with renowned maestros of Indian music including Pandit Krishna Bhatt, Pandit Ramesh Mishra, Steve Gorn and Bollywood composer A.R Rahman at Carnegie Hall, including radio performances (NPR morning edition and WKCR New York). He has a diverse background playing for Indian classical dance, as well as in projects ranging from Jazz, World, India and more. A founding member of the Brooklyn Raga Massive, Eric's involvement in the musical community is far reaching. Aside from playing Indian classical flute, Eric is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music therapist (MA, MT-BC).
Snehesh Nag
Snehesh started learning North Indian classical music and the sitar at the age of four from his father, sitar virtuoso Pt. Sugato Nag, belonging to the sarod gharana of Senia Shahjahanpore. He also took lessons from Shri Pranab Naha during his early childhood. He was attached to the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (SRA) as a junior scholar from 2010 to 2015 under Guru Padma Bhushan Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta; advanced lessons from Pt. Das Gupta continued until his passing. In addition to the style of the Senia Shahjahanpore gharana, he infuses the Imdadakhani gharana style, taught by his father, into his playing. Furthermore, he frequently takes talim from the sarod maestro, Pt. Prattyush Banerjee. He has also learned the tabla from tabla maestro Pt. Tanmoy Bose and has taken vocal instruction from Shri Sandeep Nag.
Naren Budhakar
Naren Budhakar was born in Pune, India, and was first exposed to classical music by his father who was a violinist. From his cousin Shashikant Purandare he learned Delhi style percussion and began performing at a young age. He was initiated as a disciple by Tabla Maestro Ustad Shabbir Nisar. Upon moving to the US he continued his studies with Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Naren has been performing and teaching both in the U.S. and abroad, lending his percussion skills to various forms of world music. He is the co-director of the East-West School of Music, where he teaches Tabla classes and performs regularly.
Naren has played with prominent instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers including Pandit Birju Maharaj, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Jasraj and Shaed Parvez and has performed at prestigious venues in the U.S. and Europe. He has also contributed to varied music genres including pop, rock, Irish Celtic and jazz. Notably, he collaborated with Bobby McFerrin at the "Notes and Neurons" event and also made a recording with Alicia Keys.
Naren performed with the acclaimed Alvin Ailey Dance company for which he was cited in the New York Times. He has played at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center,The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty Museum,the Indian Ambassador's residence and the U.S.Open tennis stadium. He has also toured throughout Europe with concerts in France, the Czech Republic and Scandinavia. He toured with the legendary minimalist composer La Monte Young for concerts in Germany for which he was cited in the Guardian, U.K. Naren also created a percussion CD with Conga maestro Paoli Mejias which was nominated for the Latin Grammy awards.