Sahana Banerjee - Sitar
Samir Chatterjee -Tabla
Come join us at the Pandya residence for an evening concert of Hindustani instrumental music featuring Sahana Banerjee on Sitar accompanied by Samir Chatterjee on tabla.
Sahana Banerjee
Sahana Banerjee is one of the leading female sitar players of India belonging to Rampur Senia Gharana. Sahana was born in a family of rich musical heritage and was readily recognized as a child prodigy at an early age of four. Her father Prof. Santhosh Banerjee, a celebrated Sitar & Surbahar player of India and former Head of the Department of Instrumental Music of Rabindra Bharati University, in Calcutta. Prof. Banerjee was a disciple of famous Veenkar Ustad Md. Dabir Khan of Rampur Senia Gharana whose family lineage traces back to Mian Tansen himself. Sahana has also received extensive training on vocal music from her illustrious mother Mrs. Chhabi Banerjee, daughter of Sangeetacharya Kashinath Chattopadhyay of Rampur Sahaswan Gharana.
Sahana’s unique presentation reflects the traditional Veenkar Dhrupad Style of Rampur Senia Gharana maintaining the purity of Raga along with her own aesthetical blends of Gayaki. She is a recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, (National Award) awarded by Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi. She is a Grade ‘A’ artist of All India Radio and National Television and has been giving recitals since 1995. Sahana is an empaneled artist of SPICMACAY, an organization for the preservation and promotion of India music and has given several concerts in different cities of India.
In 1990, she won the Pandit Nikhil Banerjee Challenge Trophy at the Dover Lane Music Conference and was conferred the Best Instrumentalist award. Apart from India, Sahana has extensively performed for prestigious festivals and Concerts in Europe, UK, USA, Australia, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Morocco. Some of the major performaces are like Darbar Festival (London), Theatre De la Ville (Paris), Mawazine festival (Morocco), LearnQuest Festival (Boston), Bozar Fest (Belgium), Elb Philharmonie (Hamburg), Welthaus (Germany) …etc. Sahana has also performed in many occidental music festivals in collaboration with famous musicians of Europe, some of which were broadcasted by National Radios of France, Venice, Swiss Romande & Radio Klara (Belgium).
Samir Chatterjee
Samir Chatterjee is a virtuoso tabla player. He performs and teaches all around the world. He can be heard on numerous recordings as soloist, and with other outstanding musicians from the East and the West. Samir lives in New Jersey and presides over a center for Indian music in midtown Manhattan. Samir teaches at several universities. He performed at the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. He has also performed several times at the UN General Assembly. His compositions and writings are widely acclaimed. Samir played a significant role in the musical revival in Afghanistan. He is the recipient of a few awards such as the Sunshine Award, 2016, Jadu Bhatta Award from Salt Lake Music Conference, Acharya Varistha Award from Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music, Taal Mani award from Council of Indian Classical Music, Delhi in 2018, Lifetime Achievement award from SMIPAC Trust, Delhi in 2018, and Pt. V. G. Jog Award from Raag Rang, 2024.