Monsoon nirvana –season 4 fusion music concert

ARTISTE: Shubhendra Rao – Sitar, Saskia Rao –Indian Cello, Ajay Prasanna – Flute, Anil Srinivasan – Piano , Vidhi Sharma – Singer

About Event: With the weather hinting at monsoons soon, hot Hyderabad is longing for a new life. We at “Cisne For Arts” are excited to bring a zesty, new season of our musical extravaganza, Monsoon Nirvana to shower the freshness of music and joy.

An evening put together to bring talented, young musicians to Hyderabad and this has been our constant endeavor. We thrive on bringing the most exciting artistes and platforms to our city of tehzeeb and culture.

Harini Ganti, Founder of Cisne for arts said that Monsoon Nirvana is a platform where young and talented musicians exploit their creativity and explore their musical limits. It’s an effort to bring the sounds of Indian music closer to today’s generation. An evening by the youngesters, for the youngsters, with across the age groups. In last three years we have presented artistes like Kavita Seth, Jaswinder Singh, Aakriti Kakkar, Mohd Vakil, Karthik Iyer, Chinmayi Sriprada.

This year we are focusing on classical performers with a musical fashion show format one musician will take over from the other with no gap and celebrated musicians will showcase their solo performances, slowly joined one by one to culminate into a grand finale.

By launching a studio-styled, live-music gig with you all we hope to gift the audience an experience that they will cherish for a very long time and can take back home.

A music festival that has already established an enviable legacy in three short years, Monsoon Nirvana is an inspired evening where a motley crew of musicians, artistes, music aficionados and entertainment make magic come alive on stage.

1. Shubhendra Rao - Sitar

Composer and Sitar Maestro Pandit Shubhendra Rao is ranked amongst the top soloists of India. The press describes him as "a musical bridge to many cultures” and “a thinking musician, constantly endeavoring to carry his instrument beyond conventional boundaries”. His music is “an experience that is not aimed at titillating the senses, but to seize the soul”.

A protégé of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, critics and connoisseurs alike acknowledge him as a worthy successor to his Guru’s tradition.

He has carved a unique niche for himself both as a Classical musician as well as an ardent collaborator, working with musicians from different genres across the world. He has performed at prestigious venues and festival like Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Broadway, Sydney Opera House, National Arts Festival, Theater De la Ville, Dover Lane Music Conference to name a few.

2. Saskia Rao - Cello

Saskia was born in Netherlands in a family of music lovers. Saskia studied cello under the Hungarian cellist Tibor De Machula and went on to do a Masters in Ethnomusicology from the University of Amsterdam and the Conservatory of Rotterdam where she studied under Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Koustuv Ray.

Saskia is acclaimed for bridging the Western and Indian Classical music traditions. She is an accomplished Western Classical cellist, plays Folk Music from Easter Europe and has composed music for dance, film and theatre. Rao-de Haas composed music for the dance group Raga Mala and created an Indian String Quartet in her piece 'Mukhani'. She developed, together with Shubhendra, a collection of pieces for sitar and cello with percussion under the collective name 'East marries West'.

3. Ajay Prasanna – Flute

Ajay Prasanna started his training in Indian classical music at a tender age of 3 years, by simply observing his father play the flute and teach his students. Ajay's childhood days were spent with his great father teaching Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia and other students. Ajay Prasanna gave his first performance at the age of 6 years in Allahabad Akhil Bhartiya Sangeet Sammelan. Since then he has gone on to thrill audiences with his performances across the globe. He has wooed the audiences with his magnificent solo performances at the Queen Elizabeth Hall- London, Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, Russia and other countries around the world.

A rare combination of innovator and traditionalist he has had the opportunity tp perform alongside renowned classical music maestros like Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, pandit Hariprsad Chaurasia, Ustad Zakir Hussain to name a few. He has also played several fusion music concerts with Anoushka Shankar, Sting and Midival Punditz.

4. Anil Srinivasan – Piano

Anil Srinivasan is a classical pianist who has created a unique and contemporary aesthetic of his own, marrying Indian music with the unmistakable influence of the West. His compositions are often structurally complex, but intuitive and moving to the listener.

As a game changer, his solo performances and renditions have been noted for the delicacy of his touch as well as their ability to connect instantly with listeners from across the world.

He often collaborates with some of the finest musicians from different styles and schools of music. These include top names in the current Indian classical scene as well as musicians from other parts of the world.

Winner of the coveted SNA award for creative and experimental music in 2010 (India’s top honours for musicians under the age of 35), Anil has performed in some of the most diverse venues in the World.

5. Vidhi Sharma – Singer

Her father Mr. M.M.Sharma introduced Vidhi to music, when she was 3 years old. She also received training in light music- ghazals, bhajans from Sh.Mohinder Sarin- Music composer at the All India Radio. Apart from her solo concerts, Vidhi has worked towards creating a fusion music set- up by the name of Secret Weapon in collaboration with Pt. Aay Shankar Prasanna. The band includes fusion classical, Sufi, folk and world music as well. Vidhi also performs and collaborates with world-renowned fusion bands like Mrigya, Midival Pundtiz, Bandish, Eka, Jannat, Synchronicity, and Filter Coffee etc.

Sung in many Bollywood films some of her memorable concerts have been Jahan-e- Khusrau, New Delhi; Jaipur Literature Festival, Jaipur; Raag rang series, New Delhi; Delhi Youth Festival, Delhi Govt.; Tedx international Conference to name a few

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