Rhythm Festival 2016 was held at Shivalaya Temple, Medford on December 10, 2016. Students of Pt. Nishikant Sonwalkar showcased Solo Performance of Dadra, Rupak, TeenTaal and Keherva and the variations on these taals.

Festival’s high point was Finale Performance by Smt. Indrani Mukherjee (Vocal Classical) accompanied by Pt. Nishikant Sonwalkar (Tabla).

Smt. Indrani Mukherjee
Smt. Indrani Mukherjee is an accomplished Hindustani Classical Music vocalist from the Kirana Gharana She learnt classical music at the prestigious ITC Sangeet Research Academy Kolkata under the tutelage of the maestro of Hindustani Classical Music Late Pandit A.T. Kanan from the Kirana Gharana. Indrani has performed at several concerts across the US and India. She has published several ragas, thumris and bhajans. She has also composed innovative pieces based on fusion of Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeet. She has a background in Economics and is also an accomplished interior designer.  Her music can be found on her YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVvZjSqeGO9cfy-o0AEWQfQ

Dr.  Nishikant Sonwalkar (Sc.D.)
Nishikant (Nish) Sonwalkar (ScD’92) is an accomplished Tabla and Tabla tarang performer in the North Indian Classical style. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in music under the supervision of the renowned Pundit Kiran Deshpande and Pundit Khargoankar of Indore Gharana. He regularly performed Tabla at All India Radio and Doordarshan (TV) as a solo performer/accompanist. He came to the US to pursue graduate studies in Engineering at MIT. Nishikant has performed on two Jazz Fusion CDs with Abby Rabinovitz (Flute Stories and We Used to Dance). He has given invited lectures on Indian Classical Rhythms at MIT, Berklee, and New England Conservatory. He is beloved Tabla Guru in Boston areas and has trained large number of students. He teachers India Rhythms at Shivalaya Temple. Nishikant earned a doctorate from MIT, where he served as a faculty member in Engineering and Principal Educational Architect. He is also founder and CEO of IntellADAPT, an educational software company. He was Music Producer and Host of a monthly Multicultural Music Magazine at Arlington Public Access TV and recently published a Solo CD (Rhythm Improvisations) available through iTunes.  You can find his Tabla Lessons at http://www.youtube.com/sonwalkarrecords.

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