Internationally acclaimed sitarist Kartik Seshadri will perform at Berea
College on Thursday, Nov. 18. At 3 p.m. Seshadri will present “An
Informance,” which includes an explanation to the audience of Indian
instruments and music. A full concert of Indian classical music is scheduled
for 8 p.m. Both programs will be in Phelps Stokes Chapel.
Accompanying Seshadri in the performances will be Arup Chattopadhyay
on the tabla and Penelope Custer on tamboura.
Seshadri, the foremost disciple of sitar master Ravi Shankar, is
considered one of the outstanding representatives of the younger
generation of Indian classical musicians. A musical prodigy, he began
performing full-length solo recitals at age six and has studied with
maestro Shankar for the past 25 years.
The sitar is the principle instrument in the sytem of Indian classical
music known as Raga Sangeet, a nearly 2000 year old tradition with
its origins in Hindu worship. Made of a seasoned gourd and teakwood,
the sitar has a track of 20 metal frets, with six-seven main strings
above and 13 resonating strings below it. It is traditionally accompanied
by the tabla, the two-piece drum of India, and the tamboura, a stringed
instrument which gives an essential drone to all Indian music.
Unlike western music, as much as 90 percent of Indian music may
be improvised and depends heavily on the artistic facility and creative
imagination of the perfomer. Built on the "raga," the melody
on which the musician improvises, and rhythmic cycles called "talas," Indian
music is taught directly to the student by his gugu rather than by
the system of written notation used in the west.
As a soloist, Seshadri has performed extensively in major venues
throughout the world. Recent engagements have included concerts in
India, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Mexico, and the United States.
U.S. performances include Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Berea
College in 1999, and the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also has accompanied
maestro Shankar in major concert halls throughout the world.
Seshadri is a noted composer and educator of Indian music as well
as a performer. He serves as a professor of Indian classical music
at the University of California, San Diego.
For more information about Seshadri, visit his website at http://www.soundingsrecords.com/kartik/ .
Both performances are a part of the Stephenson Memorial Concert
Series of the 2004-2005 season. Admission is free and open to the
public.
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