Raga, Tala, Rasa: An evening of Indian Classical Music and Dance
An evening of music highlighting the 9 Rasas of Indian Classical Art & Music theory via the disciplines of vocal, and instrumental music, and dance.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
8-10pm
Kerrytown Concert House
415 North Fourth Avenue
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
Tickets:
$20 general
$15 students/seniors
The practice and performance of the Indian Classical Arts aims to evoke particular Rasas, or flavors of feeling, in order to convey a kind of sublime knowledge that cannot be adequately expressed in words. Featured artists are Geetha Raghu (Khayal vocal), Rishabh Iyer (Sitar), Sreyashi Dey (Odissi dance) and Maralas (an ensemble of Western musicians influenced and inspired by Indian Classical music). Each artist will perform one or more pieces from their particular discipline. Audience members will learn about the particular rasas to be performed and have the chance to see how those feeling-tones are invoked by music and dance. The program will run about 2 hours with intermission.
Curated by Eric O’Daly of Appleseed collective
Artists
Geetha Raghu
Geetha Raghu was trained in Hindustani vocal music from a very young age in Mumbai, India. She started her training under Pt. Nagesh Khalikar and then later under Kunda Vaishampayan and Pt Y.B. Joshi. Her training was in the Gwalior gharana style of singing. Geetha has continued to pursue her music since moving to the United States in 1987. She runs a music school, “Sur Mandir” from her home in West Bloomfield, to teach this art form to young students in the community. She has given several vocal performances in and around the Detroit area.
Rishabh Iyer
Rishabh Iyer has been learning sitar for the last 9 years. He started his initial training from Dr. Rajan Sachdeva who runs a music school in West Bloomfield. He went on to take lessons from the sitar maestro Ust Shahid Parvez and his son Shakir Khan. Currently Rishabh is under the tutelage of Pt Nayan Ghosh, the famous sitar and tabla maestro.
Rishabh has won a national competition in Hindustani Classical music, held in Atlanta, Georgia and was also named IndianRaga fellow in 2014. Rishabh released a professional CD when he was just 12 years old. He has given several solo sitar performances in and around the Detroit area including at the liberty fest in Canton and Arts, Beats and Eats in Royal Oak.
Maralas
Maralas is an ensemble of musicians exploring the intersection of tradition and spontaneity. Led by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Eric O’Daly, the group uses finely woven compositions as vehicles for improvisational exploration. Drawing inspiration from the devotion and discipline of classical musicians from the East and West, as well as the exuberance and harmonic innovation of the American Jazz tradition, Maralas uncovers the freshness and beauty of respected classics, as well as original compositions. Violinist Brandon Worder-Smith and guitar wizard Elden Kelly bring their string-slinging genius to the group as they explore the nuances of rhythm, melody and harmony.
Sreyashi Dey
Sreyashi Dey is one of the foremost exponents of Odissi in the US, and the Founder and Artistic Director of Srishti Dances of India, and more recently, Akshara. As a dance company, Srishti has toured most major cities of the US as well as several other parts of India. As a thoughtful artist, she constantly expands her creative horizons with new choreographies and collaborations across artistic genres. She regularly tours the US and has performed all over the world – in Europe, Asia and India. Her work has been critically acclaimed by well-known critics in leading newspapers and magazines in the US, such as the New York Times, as well as in leading media in India. She has been the recipient of several awards, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other foundations. Sreyashi’s educational background includes an MS in Economics and an MBA, with parallel careers in marketing, University of Michigan administration and non-profit.
Rasa Festival 