Hassan Haider

Hassan Haider is an acknowledged Sahnai player. His family hails from Allahabad, and he was born in Kolkata (Calcutta) on April 6th 1985. His father Ud. Ali Ahmed Hussain was a famous Sahnai maestro. His family has been representing this art form for generations.

Hassan Haider received his training in Benaras and Senia Gharanas from his father. He also learned from Pt. Arvind Parikh, the famous sitar maestro from school of Ud. Imdad Khan, Ud. Enayat Khan and Ud. Vilayat Khan. Hassan’s great grandfather Ud. Wazir Ali Khan was a musician of distinction who was the first musician to ever perform the Sahnai at the Buckingham Palace in London, England in 1910 and was awarded by Pt. Motilal Nehru, the father of India’s first Prime Minister Jawharlal Nehru.

Even at this young age, Hassan Haider has already performed at many important music festivals, venues and occasions in India, such as The Autumn Festival of Dance and Music in celebration of India’s 50th year of independence, Dover Lane Music Festival in Kolkata, Harballav Festival in Jalandhar, Uttarpara Sangeet Chakra in West Bengal, Sri Ram Shankarlal Festival in Delhi, Ud. Alauddin Khan Academy in Bhopal, Sangeet Natak Academy in Pune, only to name a few. All of his performances have been well reviewed in newspapers and magazines.

He had toured and performed with his father in several countries outside India. Those include the USA, Canada, U.K., France, Switzerland and Belgium. He is regularly featured on Indian radio and television.       

Dibyarka Chatterjee

Dibyarka Chatterjee is a young Tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana, and is the son and disciple of Pt. Samir Chatterjee. Having grown up in a musical environment, his natural inclination towards Tabla became apparent early in his childhood. At the age of five he was initiated by his father into the ancient system of pedagogy called the guru-shishya parampara (master-disciple tradition).

Dibyarka was born in Kolkata, where even in his childhood he was already performing in concerts as well as on Akaashbani Kolkata's Children's Section (National Radio - Kolkata Station). At the age of ten he moved to New York City with his family; since then he has continued to perform regularly with both Indian and Western music. Dibyarka has had the honor and privilege of performing with renowned musicians like Pandit Jasraj, Pdt. Budhhadev DasGupta, Pta. Lakshmi Shankar, Utd. Shujaat Khan, Pta. Joya Biswas, Utd. Mashkoor Ali Khan, Pdt. Ramesh Mishra, Pta. Shubhra Guha, Pta. Tripti Mukherjee, Pdt. Suman Ghosh to name only a few.
      
He has collaborated in world music projects with groups like the Dance Theater of Harlem (in 'South African Suite'), the Battery Dance Co. (in “Songs of Tagore”), and with fusion musician/composers like Salman Ahmad (Junoon), Douglas Cuomo, John McDowell (on the award-winning documentary “A Son’s Sacrifice”), Gary Lucas & Najma Akhtar (on their collaborative album "Rishte") etc. He has composed music for, and performed in, two off-Broadway theatrical productions (Nuraldeen's Lifetime & Lee/gendary). He has also performed in many prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall, the United Nations General Assembly, Lincoln Center & Asia Society in NYC, Place des Arts (Montreal), the Google Amphitheater (Palo Alto), Salt Lake Music Conference (Kolkata, India), Pratishruti Festival (Bhopal, India) etc. He has also appeared on numerous radio shows such as The Leonard Lopate Show and New Sounds on NPR, Raag Aur Taal on WKCR etc.
      
Dibyarka has a Masters in Fine Arts from Goddard College (VT). His academic pursuits are mainly focused on the history, theory, and philosophy of Indian Music. As a guest lecturer, Dibyarka has conducted classes and lecture demonstrations at numerous institutions such as Columbia University, Dartmouth College, New York University, Manhattan School of Music etc. He also teaches Tabla classes regularly at various institutions and locations in NY & NJ.

Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain is the son of Basharat Hussain. He was born on 17th March, 1961 in a family of musicians. At an early age his grandfather Nawab Ali, alias Zakir Hussain from Taby Nwabu, handed him a small Sahnai. His music education began at the age of 12 from his uncle Babu Ali Khan and Pt. Mahadev Prasad Mishra. He also received instructions from his uncle Babu G.

He is an artist of All India Radio. His major concerts were with maestro Ud. Hussain Neyyr, Ud. Mumtaz Hussain Khan and Ud. Ali Abbas Khan. His program in 2008 in Agartala and Dubai were with Ud. Hussain Neyyr.

He recently took part in the Bhopal Shahnai festival from December 24th to the 26th of 2016. In January of 2017 he performed at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu Nepal with Ud. Ali Abbas Khan.

Nazim Hussain

Nazim Hussain is the son of Late Basharat Hussain. He was born on February 20th, 1958 in a family of musicians. He received music lessons from the age of 16 from his uncle Ali Hussain, who initiated and gave him talim in Khurdk.

He has played many big concerts, mainly with his father Basharat Hussain. He also played Khurdk with Bharat Ratna Ud. Bismillah Khan. After the death of his parents, he received support from Fakir Bakhurdkd Neyyr, Ud. Hussain Sahib Hussain and Ud. Saheb Surety. His performances with Ud. Ali Abbas Khan and with Ustad Mumtaz Hussain Khan on Khurdk are notable. He performed in the Academy program in 2008 in Agartala and in Dubai with Ustad Hussain Neyyr.

He took part in the Shahnai festival in Bhopal held from December 24th to the 26th of 2016. In January of 2017 he performed at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, with Ud. Ali Abbas Khan.

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