Music: Tabla master Sandeep Das & Kayhan Kalhor
Tabla master Sandeep Das joins multiple Grammy nominee and co-founder of Masters of Persian Music Kayhan Kalhor following their March D.C. appearance with Silk Road Ensemble
The U.S. does not boast many kamancheh (Persian spike fiddle) performers, let alone any in the same league as Kayhan Kalhor. He is, quite simply, the most internationally acclaimed master of this instrument, which produces a broad range of sounds, from an almost percussive bark to a sweet, throaty tone. The Tehran-born Kalhor closes out Washington Performing Arts season-long exploration of the Silk Road, performing with artists from other countries on the historic Silk Road, on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 8pm at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. Kalhor is joined by his Silk Road Ensemble colleague, renowned table master Sandeep Das. This is the second time this season that D.C. audiences will be treated to Kalhor and Das inimitable style. Their Jugalbandi was performed at the lauded March 1, 2015, Washington Performing Arts presentation of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, of which Kalhor and Das are original members and frequent collaborators.
Kayhan Kalhor’s prodigious talent became evident at an early age. He began his musical studies at age seven and, at 13, was invited to work with the National Orchestra of Radio and Television of Iran, where he performed for five years. At 17 he began working with the Shayda Ensemble of the Chavosh Cultural Center, the most prestigious arts organization in Iran at the time.
Kalhor has traveled extensively throughout Iran, studying the music of its many regions, especially of Khorasan in eastern Iran and Kurdistan in the northwest. Throughout his career, he has played a leading role in popularizing Persian music in the West. He has soloed with a number of leading ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de Lyon, and is co-founder of the renowned ensembles Dastan, Ghazal: Persian & Indian Improvisations, and Masters of Persian Music.
He has composed works for Iran’s most renowned vocalists Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri and has performed and recorded with Iran’s greatest instrumentalists. He has also composed music for television and film and was featured on the soundtrack of Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth in a score on which he collaborated with Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov. In 2004, composer John Adams invited Kalhor to perform a solo recital at Carnegie Hall as part of his Perspectives Series, and in the same year Kalhor appeared on a double bill at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.
Recent compositions include a work dedicated to Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan and performed at the Global Beat Festival in Battery Park in June, 2014. Kalhor’s other compositions include ”Ascending Bird, Blue as the Turquoise Night of Neyshabur, The Silent City, and Mountains Are Far Away.
Kalhor has made a number of acclaimed recordings. The latest, Kula Kulluk Yakisir Mi, was released in 2013, and the 2012 I Will Not Stand Alone resulted from his ongoing collaboration with Anatolian baglama (saz) master Erdal Erzincan. Three of his recordings have been nominated for Grammys.
Kalhor has also performed and recorded with string quartet Brooklyn Rider. Said the New York Times on a recent performance by Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider, When Mr. Kalhor performed, it sounded like a conversation among several instruments, with the varying timbres at times evoking the wailing pleas of disconsolate lovers. From a simple, muted beginning, the music became more intense and embellished, as ornate melodies and ornaments unfolded with calligraphic detail above ostinato bass patterns.
Grammy-nominated Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla players today. One of the favorite disciples of the legendary tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, Das has carved out a niche for himself around the musical world. His concerts have taken him to major centers of music around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royce Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and the Petronas Tower Hall in Malaysia.
Sandeep has composed for and performed internationally with the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma since the group’s founding in 2000. With the Ensemble, he performed at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York in 2008, played the BBC Proms in 2004 and 2009, and is the only Indian artist to have performed for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympic Games in Shanghai.
In India and abroad, Sandeep performs frequently with stars of Indian music such as Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Dr. L Subramaniam and Ustad Shujaat Khan, among many others. Das’s talent for music and communication has allowed him to bridge the divide between Indian and Western classical music. In 1991, on his first trip outside India, Das performed with steel drum bands in Trinidad. In 2001 he performed a work composed by Kayhan Kalhor with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Kurt Masur.
His own compositions have combined the two genres and have received rave reviews. Tarang was chosen as the theme music for Blind Sight, a documentary about the first Everest climb by six blind climbers, and his piece Mohini became theme music for the Japanese TV channel NHK’s 10-episode documentary on the Silk Road.
Sandeep Das was educated at Banaras Hindu University and is a Gold Medalist in English Literature. He began learning tabla at the age of eight from Sri Shiv Kumar Singh and at age 10 become a disciple of Pt. Kishan Maharaj ; at the age of sixteen he performed with Ravi Shankar, and subsequently with all the stars of Indian music. He was three times the All-India drumming champion and is the youngest Tabla player ever to be graded by All-India radio.
He was awarded the Most Valuable Young Musician Award by the President of India in 2004. Also a cultural and educational entrepreneur, Sandeep founded HUM (Harmony and Universality through Music), an ensemble of world-class artists whose goal is to promote global understanding through musical performance and education.
Washington Performing Arts performances at Sixth & I are made possible by the Abramson Family Foundation and by an anonymous gift in appreciation of Douglas Wheeler’s continuing efforts on behalf of Washington Performing Arts.
Washington Performing Arts is committed to making every event accessible for persons with disabilities. Please call the Ticket Services Office for more information on accessibility to the various theaters in which our performances are held. Services offered vary from venue to venue and may require advance notice.
About Washington Performing Arts
Since 1965, Washington Performing Arts has had a foundational role in the arts in our nation’s capital, creating profound opportunities that connect community and artists, in both education and performance. Through live events in 11 venues that span the D.C. metropolitan area, the careers of emerging artists are launched and nurtured, and established artists return to develop closer relationships with Washington Performing Arts’ audiences and creative partners.
As one of the leading presenters in the nation, Washington Performing Arts embraces a broad spectrum of the performing arts, including classical music, jazz, gospel, contemporary dance and music, international music and art forms, and new work. Dynamic education programs in the public schools and beyond are hallmarks of Washington Performing Arts, as are the Embassy Adoption Program and two resident gospel choirs.
In the 2012/13 season, Washington Performing Arts was twice honored for its work at the intersection of arts presenting and education: by President Barack Obama with a National Medal of Arts (becoming only the fourth D.C.-based arts group and the first arts presenter of its kind to be so honored), and the Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Service to the Arts.
I travel all around the world for work, and it used to be really lonely. Now I can go onto Tinder and have a date lined up in a new city before I even get out of the airport!
Dubai is one of best place for Tourists. Its not only about skyscapers but its all about fun and luxury life. We have listed best tour packages for you.
I just want to tell you that I am very new to blogs and definitely loved your blog. Almost certainly I’m planning to bookmark your site . You amazingly have terrific well written articles. Appreciate it for sharing with us your website page.
I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The web site style is perfect, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers
Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.|
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your web site offered us with valuable information to work on. You’ve done a formidable job and our whole community will be thankful to you.|
Awesome blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thanks!|
Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you know afterward you can write otherwise it is complicated to write.|
Wow, awesome blog structure! How lengthy have you been blogging for? you make running a blog glance easy. The total look of your website is fantastic, let alone the content material!
I really like what you guys are up too. This type of clever work and reporting! Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to our blogroll.|
Great items from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff prior to and you are simply too fantastic. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are stating and the best way by which you are saying it. You’re making it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it smart. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a wonderful website.|
Kurye olarak hizmet veren kişiler, bulundukları lokasyondaki her adrese en kısa sürede ulaşma yolunu bilirler. Üstelik verilen bu görevi hava, trafik ve buna benzer diğer olumsuz şartlardan etkilenmeden yerine getirirler. Yani iş hayatı başta olmak üzere hayatın hemen her alanında önemli görevleri üstlenebilir ve başarıyla yerine getirebilirler. Özellikle büyük şehirlerdeki trafik kaosu ve adres konusundaki karmaşa göze alınırsa, kurye hizmetlerinden faydalanmanın bazı durumlarda zorunlu hale geleceği anlaşılabilir. Örneğin İstanbul’un bir noktasından diğer bir noktasına acil şekilde önemli bir evrak ulaştırmak gerektiğinde ya da hastanızın ihtiyacı olan ilacı acil ve güvenli bir şekilde ulaştırmak gerektiğinde, İstanbul moto kurye hizmetimizden faydalanarak sorununuza çözüm üretebilirsiniz.
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book
in it or something. I think that you could do with a few
pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is magnificent blog.
A great read. I’ll definitely be back.
Thankyou for helping out, excellent information.
I like what you guys are up also. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my site 🙂
Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research on this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more from this post. I’m very glad to see such great information being shared freely out there.
I am not sure where you are getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this information for my mission.
Very interesting info !Perfect just what I was looking for! “If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” by Rotarian.
Great blog here! Also your website loads up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
Hello there I am so excited I found your blog page, I really found you by mistake, while I was researching on Google for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a incredible post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the fantastic work.
I’ve been surfing on-line greater than 3 hours today, but I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It is pretty value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all web owners and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the web shall be a lot more useful than ever before. “Truth is not determined by majority vote.” by Doug Gwyn.
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you have done a excellent job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely quick for me on Opera. Outstanding Blog!