Tejendra Narayan Majumdar

One of the best-known Sarod players of the present generation, Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, has long achieved that order of excellence and popular acceptability, which ensure one's place in posterity. Early initiation into music by his grandfather, Late Bibhuti Ranjan Majumdar and later his father, Late Ranjan Majumdar, nurtured Tejendra's considerable talent. Vocal and rhythm training under Late Pandit Amaresh Chowdhury and Sri Anil Palit further ensured a holistic musical development in him. Tejendra was then accepted by Late Ustad Bahadur Khan as his disciple.

Eighteen years of intensive study under him matured his talent into a true genius. Recognition of it came in 1981, when he stood first in the All India Radio Music Competition and was awarded the President's Gold Medal and the Pandit D.V.Paluskar award. After the untimely demise of his guru, he studied under Late Sri Ajay Sinha Roy and then under one of the Legends of Indian Music – Swar-Samrat Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, until his demise. One of the best equipped musicians to carry on the great Senia Maihar mantle, Tejendra combines the intellectual density and technical virtuosity of his gharana, with an extraordinary tone, touch and an ambient melody which transcends any qualification. Above all, he has in abundant measure, that indescribable ability to take the listeners along with him - the rare quality that is the hallmark of a genius. He is also a Top Grade artist of A.I.R and Doordarshan.

Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar's brilliance and popularity as a classical artiste has not dimmed his interest in composing, arranging and experimenting in other areas of music. From composing the background score of meaningful films to musical ballets - Tejendra is always ready to take on any musical challenge. He has composed the music for the Bengali films like ‘Shongshoy’ and ‘Hononkal’ of Saibal Mitra, Tollylights of Arjun Chakraborty, and a lot of Telefilms. He has also composed and arranged music for different singers like Ghulam Ali, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Haimanti Shukla, Arati Mukherjee, etc.

Most of his time is, however, taken up in touring the country and abroad, presenting innumerable concerts, workshops, lecture demonstrations, doing recordings and taking up teaching assignments. Within the country he is a regular artiste in the premiere concert circuit, while in Europe, Canada and in the United States, his popularity has ensured his regular representation in some of the most prestigious concerts. Within Europe, Tejendra has made his remakable popularity in the countries of France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and U.K. He is also very popular in the Asian countries of U.A.E., Thailand, Singapore, Japan and Bangladesh. Constraint of space will not allow an exhaustive catalogue of this genius - but only a short representative one. In 2009, he was invited by none other than Pandit Ravi Shankar to perform at Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Tejendra will be accompanied by 5 prominent artists

Manasi Majumdar

Manasi Majumdar, came from a family with a musical heritage. She started her initial training from her father late Manoranjan Ray Chowdhury who was disciple of Suren Banerjee, who was the maestro musician of Vishnupur Gharana. Later she took lessons from Bijonbala Ghosh Dastidar, Nihar Ranjan Banerjee, Uma De and Late Amaresh Chowdhury. In her teens, she appeared in many prestigious concerts in India , and stood first in Khayal in All India Radio Music Competetion in 1981. Last seven years she has been taking lessons of light classical from Padmabhushan Smt. Girija Devi, the doyen of Benares gharana. She has participated in almost all major music festivals in India. She is a regular broadcaster of Radio and Television. She also did masters in Music from Rabindra Bharati University with 1st class and ranked 1st.

Her repertoire in khayal gayaki which comprises the basic elements of Dhrupad and khayal has given her a special position and also got critics' applause.

She has been teaching in vocal department in Bengal Music College of University of Calcutta as a senior lecturer, and now she is there as acting Principal. She had participated in various music festivals and concerts in USA and Canada, participated in South Asian studies department of University of Toronto and had got the rare previledge to sing in front of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, the Greatest Instrumentalist of the World, and got inspirtaion and applause from him in San Rafael, California. Very soon her thumri cd is coming out globally.

Indrayuddh Majumder

Indrayuddh Majumder

Indrayuddh Majumder has been learning Sarode from his father, the world-renowned Sarode Maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, since he was five years old. He has also been receiving guidance from his mother Vidushi Dr. Manasi Majumder, who is a renowned Indian Classical vocalist. Initially, he had also received basic taalim from his grandfather Late Ranjan Majumder.

Indrayuddh had developed keen interest in every genre of music right from his childhood. He has taken up Sarode as his primary choice because of his sheer love for the instrument and Indian Classical Music. He concentrates on maintaining the purity of Indian Classical Music coupled with his smart presentation in his concerts.

He had the privilege to perform in front of Dr. Manmohan Singh (the former PM of India), Shri Buddhadeb Bhattacharya (the former Chief Minister of West Bengal), Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Shri M.K. Narayanan (the former Governors of West Bengal) among many.

Indrayuddh is also a passionate music composer. He has composed music for a few projects, and has also assisted his father in the background score of a Bengali Feature Film on Byomkesh, 'Sajarur Kaata'.

An MBA in Marketing, Indrayuddh is also the Co-Founder and CEO of an Indian tech-startup, ShowVelvet, which serves as an online interactive platform for Artists and Audience all over the world.

Indrayuddh is has toured the USA in 2018 He performed solos as well as duets with his father. The Tabla legend, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, accompanied them for a few of those concerts.

Subhankar Banerjee

A classical Tabla virtuoso Pt. Subhankar Banerjee today has been considered as a torch bearer and thunderously applauded by the greats of Tabla and stalwarts of Indian music for his scintillating and versatile way of playing. His consistently brilliant performances and masterful improvisational dexterity created a constant demand in India and gained him a worldwide fame. One of the most favorite accompanists of many of India’s greatest musicians and dancers, Subhankar has constantly been flying dotting the map of the world presenting his music in famous venues since last twenty eight years. His formidable command over the instrument and unique style of playing has set a trend amongst music lovers and connoisseurs all around the world.

At the age of four the musical wonder kid was placed to learn from Benaras Gharana for a few years from Pt. Manik Das and then from Pt. Swapan Shiva of Farukhabad gharana for twenty five years. Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Balmuralikrishnan, Vidushi Girija Devi and many of the greatest stalwarts consider him as one of the brilliant tabla players of the country today for his accompaniment with them for many years.

His performances in “NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CONCERT”, ‘‘FESTIVAL OF INDIA in Brazil”, SOUTH AFRICA, ‘‘ASIAN FANTASY CONCERT in JAPAN”, performance in London with the Symphony Orchestra are very highly rated. His collaborations with some of the great musicians of the world like John Mc Laughlin, Cheeko Freeman, Gill Goldstein, Ross Dally formed many bands of world music and went albums like TABLA TALE, THE ART OF TABLA, HEART BEAT, CALCUTTA TO CALIFORNIA etc created sensations in movies,in the chartbusters and in the music world at home and abroad.He has taken part in making music for the Hollywood movies like NIGHT OF THE WAR, SPACE and DARK STREET and so on. His latest creation in the world of music ‘‘SACRED DRUMS OF INDIA”, which is one of the most successful rhythm bands performing all over the world today. He has been ranked as a youngest “TOP GRADE TABLA PLAYER” by ALL INDIA RADIO.

Recently he has been awarded with Sangeeth Samman and Sangeeth Maha Samman by the Chief Minister of west bengal.

Tanmoy Bose

This ace globe-trotting new age percussionist has been performing with a musical legend, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan as early as his college days. One of his greatest milestones in life was achieved when the greatest ambassador of Indian Classical Music Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar invited him to play regularly with him around the world and today he spends almost half the year traveling with the legendary maestro. He is currently a regular accompanying musician of Dr Lakshminarayana Subramaniam and Smt Kavita Krishnamurthy for their world music projects.

Tanmoy had always been an ardent researcher and composer. His long tours abroad had given him opportunities to interact and play with musicians, composers, choreographers and the like he put to very good use his rich experience acquired hereby and created, RHYTHMANIA,BEYOND BORDERS, TAALYAAGNA, CHATURANG and MOKSH - based on the virtues of Indian Rhythm and Dance nuances.

In 2002 his world music project TAAL TANTRA show casing cross cultural rhythm and devices won the hearts of connoisseurs and critics alike. Taaltantrashowcases familiar sounds through unfamiliar mediums, cross cultural rhythm and devices. He was one of the foremost musicians to introduce folk songs and tribal drumming into this band format. Designing a musical filigree between Folk music, Indian classical music, Jazz and South American drumming (Latin percussion) TaalTantra has emerged as one of the foremost world music bands in the Mid-East, North America, Europe and India. The name signifies "Sādhanā" or worship through rhythm. Even though TaalTantra is not just drumming, it has elements of various instrumentation coming full circle.

Bose has worked on numerous projects worldwide. He participated on three Grammy Award winning recordings Concert for George, Full Circle: Carnegie Hall 2000 and The Living Room Sessions Part 1. He has composed music for National Award-winning feature films and various documentaries and ballets.

Tanmoy had been an acclaimed soloist in his own right and had been performing in various world wide concerts in Centre for Indian Studies, USA, Bengali Association of Greater Nashville, USA, Indo-American Cultural and Religious Foundation,Shree Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina, USA, Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial Society, Delhi, North Calcutta Junior Chamber, Salt Lake Cultural Association, Kolkata, Sangeet Piyasi, Kolkata, Srerampur Sangeet Sammelan, Dover Lane Music Conference, Shilpan Academy yearly Sangeet Sammelan, SPANDAN, ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Delhi & Kolkata,Punascha – ST.Louis, USA,Shilpa Society, Kolkata &Jagari— Kolkata.Needless to mention his solo performances has gained a popularity worldwide.

His latest concerts include prestigious names as:
• November 2019 - Stories for Strength -- Gateway of India -- Indian Express
• September 2019 - Emirates Classics -- Dubai Opera -- Repertoire Events
• March 2019 -- India Day -- India House -- Embassy of India, Nepal
• January 2019 -- Jaipur Literature Festival -- Hotel Clark's -- Teamwork Arts
• December 2018 -- KavitaKrishnamurti Live in Concert -- Hindi Manch, Boston
• November 2018 -- Bollywood & Beyond -- Carnegie Hall -- HCL Concerts
• October 2018 -- World Music Summit -- Jaipur
• October 2018 -- Bharat Symphony -- Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival -- 3 concerts

For Tanmoy, music and life are inseparable. Rhythm is his quest of truth and beauty- it transcends all other priorities in his life.

Snehasish Mozumder

Snehasish Mozumder is among those few established musicians in India who has mastered the art of playing Mandolin, and has blended it perfectly into the style of Hindustani Indian Classical Music. Coming from a musically oriented family,he started his initial training at the age of four with Tabla and then Mandolin under the guidance of his grand father late Sri Bibhuty Ranjan Mozumder and then he took training under his father Sri Himangshu Mazumder and his uncle late Sri Ranjan Mozumder.Gradually he switched over to his cousin SriTejendra Narayan Majumdar who is a well-known sarode player of the country. He continued his study under late Acharya Ajoy Sinha Roy who was a beloved disciple of Baba Allauddin Khan Saheb,the founder of Maihar Gharana and he takes lesson of laykari under the guidance of Pandit Anil Palit who is a senior most disciple of Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Finally he came under the tutelage of Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty.Snehasish, has performed many major festivals in India like Sankat Mochan Utsav of Varanasi Swami Haridas Sangeet Sanmelan of Mumbai, Indian Habitat Centre of Delhi, Bhowanipur Sangeeet Sanmelan, GolPark Ramkrishna Missionof Kolkata and Saltlake Music Conference of Kolkata e.t.c, and also he has toured Europe, U.K., and USA and made a very good name amongst the music lovers . Snehasish is the recipient of Surmani and Jadubhatta Awards.

Itinerary of Mr. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and group 

Chhandayan is very pleased to invite Mr. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and members of his group to teach Indian classical (Hindustani) music in classes and workshops as part of Chhandayan faculty and perform in concerts in the United States of America organized and presented by Chhandayan as well as its collaborators. Their schedule during the stay will be as follows: 

Regular Classes

Mr. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and his group will be teaching Hindustani classical music at the Chhandayan Center for Indian Music (CCIM), 4 West 43rd Street, #614, New York, NY 10036 as per the following schedule:

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays: Group classes from 6 to 9 pm.
Private lessons between 1 and 5 pm. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 11 am to 4 pm on Saturdays.

They will also teach monthly classes at the following Chhandayan centers:
First Sunday of every month:
CCIM, New Jersey,
51 Union Avenue,
Nutley, NJ 07110

Second Sunday of every month:
CCIM, Maryland,
1112 Candle Light Lane,
Potomac, MD 20854

Third Sunday of every month:
CCIM, Pittsburgh,
1080 Rural Ridge Drive
Cheswick, PA 15024

Workshops

Mr. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar and member of his group will be conducting intensive workshops on Hindustani classical music at CCIM, NYC on the following dates:

April 26th, 2020 – 10 am to 5 pm (with an hour break for lunch)
July 2th, 2020 – 10 am to 5 pm (with an hour break for lunch)
October 26th, 2020 – 10 am to 5 pm (with an hour break for lunch)
December 13th, 2020 – 10 am to 5 pm (with an hour break for lunch)
March 21st, 2021 – 10 am to 5 pm (with an hour break for lunch)

There will also be two special rhythm workshops at CCIM, NYC conducted by Tanmoy Bose and Subhankar Banerjee on
September 20th (by Tanmoy Bose) – 12 to 4 pm
February 14th (by Subhankar Banerjee) – 12 to 4 pm

These workshops will be meant for serious and advanced students of music. Several prominent Jazz and classical musicians will attend these workshops to understand certain aspects of voice culture, instrumental technique and rhythmic elements unique to Indian music. There will also be opportunities for novices and newly initiated students and listeners to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the unique nuances of the music, such as the thematic contents of Raga and Tala and principles of improvisation based out of them, through interactive participation in discussions.

Concert Performances

April 18th, 2020 6 pm
Welcome concert at Chhandayan Center for Indian Music,
4 West 43rd Street, #618, New York, NY 10036

April 25th, 2020 6 pm
Baithak Concert
The Saffron, Manville, NJ

May 16th, 2020
CVHTS, Hartford, CT.
In collaboration with Namaskar Foundation, CT

June 6th, 2020
In collaboration with Music Circle, Los Angeles, CA

June 27th, 2020 6.00 pm
Chhandayan Concert at
Eddy Theater, Chatham University, Pittsburgh

July 18th, 2020
In collaboration with Tirveni, Buffalo, NY

August 14th, 2020 4 pm
Indian Independence Celebration
At Women’s Club of Paramus, Jew Jersey

August 15th, 2020 3 pm
Indian Independence Celebration
India Center, Westchester, NY

September 12th, 2020
San Francisco, CA
In Collaboration with Basant Bahar

October 3rd, 2020 5 pm
Chhandayan Sangeet Series
410 Lorenzo Lane, Irwin, PA 15642

October 25th, 2020 10 am
Food Science Auditorium, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
In Collaboration with Indian Academy of Performing Arts,

November 14th, 2020
India Community Center, Rochester, NY
Chhandayan presents in collaboration with ICC, Rochester

March 6th, 2021
Chhandayan Baithak Series
Jewish Community Center, Rockville, MD

March 27th, 2021
Chhandayan Baithak Series – Farewell Concert
Chhandayan Center for Indian Music,
4 West 43rd Street, #618, New York, NY 10036

Chhandayan is also planning two special concerts with these extraordinary musician during their stay, most likely during the Fall of 2020, at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Our initial preparations of booking the auditorium and publicity are temporarily suspended waiting for approval of their visas.

This itinerary is subject to changes as new concerts and workshops continue to get added to the above schedule.