Sitar - Abhik Mukherjee
Tabla - Dibyarka Chatterjee
Join us for an in-person Sitar Performance by Sitarist Abhik Mukherjee. This performance will also be streamed on-line.
Abhik Mukherjee
Abhik Mukherjee is a Kolkata-born sitar player of the Etawah-Imdadkhani gharana. He was initiated to sitar at the age of six by his father, Sri Tarit Mukherjee, and Sri Bimal Chatterjee, while simultaneously receiving vocal instruction from Sri Kaylan Bose. He has since taken talim from Pandit Arvind Parikh and Pandit Kashinath Mukherjee, themselves disciples of the legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan. He is a gold medalist in musicology from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and has also received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, India.
Abhik’s first public performance was at the age of nine at the Governor’s House, Kolkata. He has since performed in ten countries on four continents. Some memorable concerts include performances for the inauguration of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial (Washington D.C.); at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City); at the Indian Habitat Center (Delhi); on Doordarshan (Kolkata); and a summer tour of Italy, Germany, and Switzerland. Abhik currently lives in New York City and is a founding member of Brooklyn Raga Massive, an Indian classical music artists’ collective.
Dibyarka Chatterjee
Dibyarka Chatterjee is the son and disciple of Pandit Samir Chatterjee, and as such represents the Farrukhabad Gharana of tabla playing. He spent his childhood in India where he was already performing in concerts as well as on Akaashvani Kolkata (National Radio - Kolkata Station). Upon moving to New York City with his family he has continued to perform regularly with both Indian and Western music. Dibyarka has had the honor and privilege of performing and touring with maestros like Pandit Jasraj, Pdt. Budhhadev DasGupta, Pta. Lakshmi Shankar, Utd. Shujaat Khan to name only a few. He has collaborated in world music projects with groups like the Dance Theater of Harlem, the Battery Dance Co., and with fusion musicians/composers like Salman Ahmad (Junoon), Douglas Cuomo, Gary Lucas & Najma Akhtar amongst others. Dibyarka has a Masters in Fine Arts from Goddard College (VT). His academic pursuits mainly focused on the history, theory, and philosophy of Indian Classical Music, and in this he has received guidance from some of the most respected musicologists in India. As a guest lecturer Dibyarka regularly conducts classes and workshops at numerous institutions such as Columbia University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Manhattan School of Music, Ithaca College etc. He has been teaching tabla extensively in the NY & NJ area for more than a decade now, and is affiliated with many of the institutions that promote Indian Classical Music and Dance.