Indian Classical Sitar Concert with virtuoso Musician Ikhlaq Hussain At Alwan for the Arts

Virtuoso Sitarist Ikhlaq Hussain, accompanied by Dibyarka Chatterjee on tabla will be performing Saturday, January 29th, 8pm at Alwan for the Arts

Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan is a virtuoso sitarist from a centuries-long line of influential musicians of the Delhi Gharana, dating back to the very creator of the instruments ‘sitar’ and ‘tabla’ in the early 13th century, Sufi Saint Hazrat Amir Khusrao. While his lineage is known for their proliferative work in the field of tabla and rhythmic expression/composition, Ikhlaq’s grandfather, Ustad Ahmadi Khan, was the first to choose a different instrument, sarangi. In turn, Ikhlaq’s father, the eminent Ustad Imdad Hussain, decided to devote his musical life to sitar. Ikhlaq’s immediate family was relocated to Pakistan during partition, and still resides in Karachi.

Maestro Hussain plays in the Gayaki Ang (or vocal manner), perhaps the most difficult form of playing the sitar. It involves ‘sytematic use of pitch deflecting technique, where by pulling the strings across the frets and varying their tension, the player can produce intricate melody phrases from a single stroke of the plectrum, thus emulating the human voice to a degree normally unattainable on plucked instrument.

Maestro Hussain gave his first performance at age 14, in Karachi, and has been traveling the world performing ever since. He has played throughout Pakistan and the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, the U.K., and throughout the U.S.; including Peace Concerts (NY and Boston), the Rubin Museum of Art, The Arch in NYC, M.I.T. in Boston, University of Portland and North Pacific Art College,the Indian Consulate in NY, the Pakistan Consulates in NYC and Washington D.C. He has also been featured in broadcasts for Radio Pakistan of Karachi and Pakistan National Television.

Dibyarka Chatterjee is a gifted young tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana. At the age of five he was initiated by his father Pandit Samir Chatterjee, a world-renowned tabla maestro, and at a young age in Kolkata was already performing in concerts as well as on Akaashbani Kolkata (Kolkata’s National Radio Station).

Since moving with his family to the U.S. at the age of 15, he has performed with such eminent musicians as Pandit Jasraj, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Smt. Joya Biswas, Pt. Falguni Mitra, Ud. Mashkoor Ali Khan, Pt. Ramesh Mishra, Pt. Samarendra Sikdar, among others.

He has collaborated such ensembles as Dance Theater of Harlem, Battery Dance Co. and with fusion musician/composers such as Salman Ahmad, Douglas Cuomo, John McDowell, and Gary Lucas & Najma Akhtar. He has composed music for, and performed in, two off-Broadway theatrical productions and has also performed in such venues as City Center, Lincoln Center & Asia Society in NYC, Place des Arts (Montreal), the Google Amphitheater (Palo Alto), Salt Lake Music Conference (Kolkata, India), Pratisruti Festival (Bhopal, India) . Since 2006 Dibyarka has been an integral part of Chhandayan, an organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Indian Classical music in North America. He is currently pursuing a MFA degree in Indian Classical Music from Goddard College, VT.

Saturday, January 29th, 8pm

Doors open 7:30pm

At Alwan for the Arts

Tickets:

$20 at the door and online here (a small surcharge applies)

$15 for students/members/seniors: available at the door only, with ID

Featuring:

Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain – Sitar
Dibyarka Chatterjee – Tabla