A GRAND FESTIVAL OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC

The 11^th Annual LearnQuest Music Conference, March 25, 26, 27, 2016

LearnQuest Academy of Music, a Waltham, MA based non-profit organization devoted to teaching, preserving, and proliferating  the Indian classical music traditions, announces its 11^th Annual Music Conference. One of the largest Indian Classical music festivals held in North America, this three-day grand event  will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 25, 26, and 27, at Casey Theater, Regis College, in Weston, MA. As in previous years, conference events  include lecture demonstrations in partnership with local institutions such as Boston University, Berklee College of Music, and MITHAS at MIT.

The conference presents some of the most well-known and accomplished musicians and dancers from India, including gifted young performers representing the new generation of Indian Classical artists.

This year’s events leading up to the main concerts include the following lecture demonstrations:  

March 23 at Boston University: ‘Wedding Songs of North India’ by Shuchita Rao, a Hindustani Classical vocalist and LearnQuest faculty member;

March 24 at MIT: ‘Ubiquitous Role of Tabla in Indian Music’ by Supreet Deshpande, an acclaimed tabla player from Pune, India;

March 25 at Berklee College of Music in Boston: ‘Music of the Sitar’ by Vidushi Manju Mehta, a top grade artist of All India Radio and a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Included as a part of the conference, on March 27 at Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA , World Music will present the world renowned tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain with his group Masters of Percussion.

Several of this year's artists are recipients of high awards and honors including Grammy Award, Padmashri and Padma Vibhushan (the latter two being the highest civilian awards of India - almost like knighthoods).

Featured vocalists at this year’s conference include Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar and Pandit Vinayak Torvi, representing the Hindustani (North Indian) vocal traditions, and Unnikrishnan, Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Saketharaman and Sikkil Gurucharan represent the Carnatic (South Indian) vocal traditions.

Audiences partial to instrumental music will be thrilled to enjoy the art of the legendary sarod master Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (slide guitar), Vidushi Manju Mehta (sitar), H. N. Bhaskar (Carnatic violin), Rajhesh Vaidhya (Carnatic veena), and Shantala Submanyam (Carnatic flute).

The first day of the conference, March 25^th, will also feature a performance by the internationally acclaimed Kathak dancer Prerana Deshpande. Joining her on stage will be her daughter Ishwari Deshpande. They will be accompanied by Hindustani vocalist Astha Shukla, Supreet Deshpande on tabla, Kedar Naphade on harmonium, Jay Gandhi on bamboo flute, and Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury on sitar.

This festival promises to be a not-to-be-missed magical musical extravaganza that will hold you spellbound, and have you looking forward to its return each year.

For further information about the LearnQuest Music Conference, and to purchase tickets, please visit:

http://www.learnquest.org/conference2016/

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