The
name Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty breathes an astounding
versatility of self-expression as a musician, an
educationist, music composer and conductor. Rajeeb started
at the tender age of six attuning his mind and fingers to
the strains of his father's Sarod. Rajeeb began performing
from the early age of 9 years and has taken part in all the
major music festivals and concerts in India for more than
three decades. His talent has been taking him across the
globe from United States, Canada to all over the western
European block where he has participated in innumerous
concerts and major festivals which includes Bath Festival,
Chester Summer Festival, Edinborough Festival, Vienna
Festival & Frankfurt Jazz Festival to name a few.
Along with being a highly acclaimed musician Dr. Chakraborty
has built himself a separate identity as a regular academic
instructor in premier universities in the western world as
well as in India. His thesis subject ‘The role of computer
in learning and teaching North Indian classical music’ in
itself reveals his enthusiasm to make Indian classical music
more approachable fore students, whereby making learning of
it more logical and make this form of art globally
acceptable not only in its form of beauty, but also art in
its form of theory.
Dr. Chakraborty has chartered out an impressive career as a
composer – conductor of music and has lent his creativity to
a host of films, documentaries, serials, stage plays, music
albums, music videos, dance dramas and fusion bands. His
association with Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as a
musician, guest composer & conductor for the Leeds summer
festival 1999 and Guest composer of the ‘South Asian Music
Youth Orchestra’ talks about his acceptance globally.
Currently he is the guest composer for the Bournemouth
Symphonic Orchestra for year
2008.
For many years Dr Chakraborty has been working on World
Music and created a new sound called Dfusion which
celebrates the weaving of ethnic Indian melody along with
western harmony.
Sanju
Sahai, the enthralling Tabla player is indeed one of the
finest Indian Musician of the present generation. He has
been upholding the distinctive style and tradition of the
Benaras Gharana along with his own aesthetic approach with
great finesse. He comes from a very eminent percussion
lineage, a direct descendent of Pandit Ram Sahai, the
founder of Benaras Gharana. His grooming in tabla started at
a very early age under the tutelage of his illustrious guru
Pandit Sharda Sahai a doyen of the Benaras Gharana.
His music has blossomed into a unique rhythmic magic that
reflects the pure essence of traditional Indian classical
music with a touch of contemporary style which creates music
for the soul. Spontaneous expression of his powerful
emotions and his deep knowledge of tabla has earned him name
and recognition both as a soloist and accompanist. From a
considerably young age he has been playing with many great
Indian classical musicians including Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
and Aashish Khan (sarod), Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
(flute), Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra (vocal), Vishwa Mohan
Bhatt (guitar), Ustaad Sultan Khan (sarangi), Ustad Shahid
Parvez (sitar). He has also worked with Britain’s finest
composers including Patricia Rosario (Opera) and Michael
Nyman to name a few.
He has played in many of the major music festivals and
important venues of the world including Glastonbury, WOMAD,
Sphinks, Carnegie Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall. He
performed for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in
Salt Lake City, USA. Sanju is an extremely versatile and
imaginative artist having collaborated not only with Indian
and Western classical but also hip hop, flamenco, jazz and
Egyptian artists to produce new and innovative performance
pieces.
Apart from being a performer he is also an ardent believer
in passing on his musical knowledge and skills to others. He
is constantly engaged in different projects in form of
workshops to reach and create opportunity for young pupils
from school and colleges. He has been helping them to learn
and appreciate Indian Music. He teaches both undergraduates
and Master’s students at London University and is a seminar
leader on ‘Indian rhythms’ all over the UK.
Subhen,
one of the most sensitive tabla players of today, has indeed
blossomed into an able and energetic tabaliya who genuinely
enjoys his art. His performance was strong and steady but
yet unobtrusive when the situation demanded. Bengali
Association of Kitchener –Waterloo (Canada) organized the
concert." - Lakshman Ragde is a retired teacher from
Brantford, ON. He has published three music books.
SUBHEN CHATTERJEE bases his style of playing to Lucknow
Gharana that he learnt from his illustrious Guru tabla
maestro Pandit Swapan Chowdhury. Not restricting himself to
one single Gharana-Subhen went on to learn the intricacies &
beauty of other Gharanas that he introduced in his playing &
which has made his style of playing so unique & distinctive.
Subhen, one of the finest tabla players of this generation,
has already accompanied such outstanding musicians as Pt.
Bhimsen Joshi, Smt. Girija Devi, Pt. Jasraj, Smt. Sobha
Gurtu, Pt. V. G. Jog, Pt. Rajan-Sajan Misra, Ustad Rashid
Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pt. Viswa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad
Ashish Khan, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt. Manilal Nag, Ustad Ali
Ahmed Hussain Khan, Sri Ronu Mazumder and many others and
has earned a very good name both from the audience as well
as the press. Subhen is also a very fine soloist.
Subhen has also had the distinction of being one of the very
few tabla players to have been participating regularly for
the past few years in WOMAD (World Organisation of Music &
Dance, founded by renowned guitar player Mr. Peter Gabriel)
by collaborating with such distinguished artistes such as
Paul Horn (Flautist), Mr. David Cosby (of Crosby, Still,
Nash & Young famed) etc. Subhen has also created India’s
leading fusion band, KARMA, (in the year 1985) which is
still the only of its kind from the easter part of India.
Subhen’s recent collaboration with renowned percussionist,
SIVAMANI, has enabled him to form another unique fusion band
called FRIENDS OF DRUMS (F. O. D) whose main objective is to
help the lesser known yet very talented musicians sharing
stage with renowned ones. F. O. D. has also planned for
supporting old and handicapped musicians (financially or
otherwise) who had served the music world for years.
Reena
C. Shrivastava born in a musical family naturally imbibed
the art of music as she began sitar as early as five years
old, under the tutelage of her father.
Reena's introduction to the big stage first came her way
when she was only nine year old. She was immediately
recognized as a child prodigy. She was often seen on stage,
be it for competitions or performances and each time she
mesmerised her audience... Her performances earned her rave
reviews not only in India but also abroad.
Her extensive tours have earned fame and recognition in
Europe, U.S.A. and Canada as well as in her motherland,
India. She has performed in almost all major festivals in
India and abroad starting from the Dover Lane Music
Conference to the Chester festival UK, Bath festival UK,
Bangkok International Festival – to name a few.
Performances aside Reena also has a number of releases to
her name in the form of CDs and cassettes. In her 2008 UK
tour she has been working extensively with Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra apart from regular duet concerts with her
talented brother Dr Rajeeb Chakraborty.
Reena's unparallel execution and style has made her stand
popular amongst music lovers and critics and have mesmerised
listeners all over the world.
Pratik
is a rising music talent from India - Kolkata He hails from
a family where music is the essence of life .He is the
fourth generation musician in the family who was initiated
in to the art of playing the Sarod by his grandfather.
From an early age his talent has been recognized by various
National and International organisations. At a young age of
12 he received Anun Lund Rej Memorial Foundation Scholarship
from Norway. In September 2000 he was invited to play for
International Children’s Festival in Jordan and subsequently
in June 2001 he was invited to perform in International
Children’s Festival in France.
In 2007 he toured throughout UK with his mother Reena
Shrivastava, who is one of the very well known Sitar player
of her generation. This unique duet has been appreciated
vastly.
He is a committed musician of his generation who inspires
others. Combination of talent and hard work has established
him as an excellent performer which has earned him great
recognition in his field within a short span of time.
Sounak
is one of the most talented and competent vocalists of his
generation and a unique artiste by virtue of his versatility
in handling both Classical music (Khayal) and
Rabindrasangeet (compositions of India’s poet laureate –
Rabindranath Tagore).
He is trained in the Kirana Gharana style of Khayal Gayaki
under the maestro Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan and his younger
brother Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan in vocal Hindustani classical
music.
Sounak has numerous feathers adoring his cap. A National
scholar and recipient of various other prestigious awards
have earned him true recognition in his field. He regularly
performs Khayal at various concerts all over India and has
also performed in the UK and the US.
His very first overseas concert was a grand success at the
Suradhwami Raga Festival (Wolverhampton). In the words of
Surodhwani - “It was a UK debut for Sounak Chatterjee of
Kolkata and what a debut it was! It was a performance worthy
of a singer twice his age…” - Sur Sangbad: News bulletin
from Surdhwani. (UK). He has performed at the Nehru Centre
(London) for two consecutive years, a rare feat again.
Sounak has also travelled all over the United Sates
performing and conducting workshops in New York City,
Washington DC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta
etc.
Rabindrasangeet is comparatively a newer addition in
Sounak’s repertoire. He combines the rare gift of rendering
songs of Rabindranath Tagore specializing on the more
difficult and lesser known songs. He has studied the subject
with stalwarts like - Swagalakshmi Dasgupta and Pramita
Mallick.
Sounak is an empanelled artist of the ICCR-Govt. of India
for both Khayal and Tagore songs and also broadcasts
regularly over the All India Radio. He also has numerous
successful audio albums to his credit, available in India.
The
name Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty breathes an astounding
versatility of self-expression as a musician, an
educationist, music composer and conductor. Rajeeb started
at the tender age of six attuning his mind and fingers to
the strains of his father's Sarod. Rajeeb began performing
from the early age of 9 years and has taken part in all the
major music festivals and concerts in India for more than
three decades. His talent has been taking him across the
globe from United States, Canada to all over the western
European block where he has participated in innumerous
concerts and major festivals which includes Bath Festival,
Chester Summer Festival, Edinborough Festival, Vienna
Festival & Frankfurt Jazz Festival to name a few. 
Sanju
Sahai, the enthralling Tabla player is indeed one of the
finest Indian Musician of the present generation. He has
been upholding the distinctive style and tradition of the
Benaras Gharana along with his own aesthetic approach with
great finesse. He comes from a very eminent percussion
lineage, a direct descendent of Pandit Ram Sahai, the
founder of Benaras Gharana. His grooming in tabla started at
a very early age under the tutelage of his illustrious guru
Pandit Sharda Sahai a doyen of the Benaras Gharana.
Subhen,
one of the most sensitive tabla players of today, has indeed
blossomed into an able and energetic tabaliya who genuinely
enjoys his art. His performance was strong and steady but
yet unobtrusive when the situation demanded. Bengali
Association of Kitchener –Waterloo (Canada) organized the
concert." - Lakshman Ragde is a retired teacher from
Brantford, ON. He has published three music books.
Reena
C. Shrivastava born in a musical family naturally imbibed
the art of music as she began sitar as early as five years
old, under the tutelage of her father. 
Pratik
is a rising music talent from India - Kolkata He hails from
a family where music is the essence of life .He is the
fourth generation musician in the family who was initiated
in to the art of playing the Sarod by his grandfather.
Sounak
is one of the most talented and competent vocalists of his
generation and a unique artiste by virtue of his versatility
in handling both Classical music (Khayal) and
Rabindrasangeet (compositions of India’s poet laureate –
Rabindranath Tagore).
