Renowned Hindustani Violinist Kala Ramnath to Perform in New York City

Violin master Kala Ramnath is set to perform on Saturday March 21, 2015 at 8:00 PM at in Downtown Brooklyn. Kala Ramnath is acknowledged as her generation’s finest violinist of Hindustani (North Indian) music. She returns to New York accompanied by celebrated tabla player Abhijit Banerjee. Ramnath comes from a musical dynasty of seven generations that has produced some of the greatest Indian violinists, including Prof. T. N. Krishnan (Carnatic/South Indian) and Dr. N. Rajam (Hindustani/North Indian). She began playing the violin at the age of three with her grandfather Vidwan A. Narayan Iyer and later became a distinguished disciple of the legendary vocalist Pandit Jasraj. Under Jasraj’s mentorship, she revolutionized violin technique and produced a distinctive and evocative new sound akin to classical Indian vocal music; today her violin is called “the Singing Violin.”

Her virtuosity has brought her to the world’s most significant stages. She has also been featured in film soundtracks, including Blood Diamond. In addition to being a stellar performer, she is a sought-after teacher. She taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands, the University of Giessen in Germany, and the Weill Institute in association with Carnegie Hall, and is currently training and taking music to India’s underprivileged children through her Kalashree Music Foundation (KMF).

Kala Ramnath’s discography includes Twilight Strings, Kala, Tribute To Tansen – Raga Miyan Ki Todi, Samay Chakra, Ragamala, Utkantha, Luminous, Nectar, Young Masters – Kala Ramnath, Raga N Rhythm, Samwad, Samaya, and The Divine Wheel.

Abhijit Banerjee is one of India’s leading tabla players. He began his studies at the age of four, and became one of the main disciples of the renowned Pt. Gyan Prakash Ghosh. He has accompanied most of the top-ranking artists of Hindustani classical music, including Pt. Ravi Shankar, Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Jasraj, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, and Dr. Balamurali Krishnan.

This program is supported in part with public funding provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State legislature.

Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue at 3rd Ave., Downtown Brooklyn
$30; $25 students, seniors
Tickets: roulette.org, 917-267-0363