World Music presents India's Anoushka Shankar on Sunday, October 22, 7:30 pm at The Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston. Tickets are $40, $32 and $28. For tickets and information call World Music (617) 876-4275 or buy online at www.WorldMusic.org.

Anoushka Shankar has shown herself to be a uniquely talented artist with an inherent understanding of the great musical tradition of India. With a style all her own, she has become a mature musical force, carrying forward the legacy established by her father, Ravi Shankar, one of the most creative and influential figures in Indian music.

Shankar is touring in support of her ambitious new album, Rise (Angel Records, 2005), which marks the maturation and individuality of Shankar as a musician. The album, which was composed, produced and arranged by the artist, features virtuoso Eastern and Western musicians on such disparate instruments as the flamenco-style piano, violin, cello, the didjeridoo, the Middle Eastern daduk, the Indian shehnai, tabla and, of course, the sitar. Shankar’s stunning proficiency in, and understanding of, the complex musical traditions of India are completely present, challenged and enhanced by her own unique musical additions and combinations. Rise is at once a bold departure for Shankar and simultaneously, in her own words, “A very Indian album.”

Born in London, Anoushka Shankar grew up in California and India. Besides being a sitar virtuoso, she is a gifted classical pianist with a wide range of interests. But her devotion to the sitar and her father's guidance is unmistakable, with a discipline that has led her into an already extraordinary performing career. At age 13 she made her performing debut in New Delhi, India, and that same year entered the studio for the first time to play on her father's recording, In Celebration. Two years later she helped as conductor with her father and George Harrison on the 1997 Angel release, Chants of India. In 1997, Shankar accompanied her father in a performance of his "Concerto No. 1 for Sitar and Orchestra" with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta. In fall 1998, Shankar released her debut solo album, Anoushka, on Angel/EMI Classics to tremendous critical acclaim. The same year, the British Parliament presented her with a House of Commons Shield in recognition for her artistry and musicianship. At age 17, she was the youngest, as well as the sole, female recipient of this high honor.

In February 2000, Shankar became the first woman to perform at the Ramakrishna Centre in Calcutta. Her second album, Anourag, was released in August of that year on Angel. In 2001 she released Live at Carnegie Hall (Angel Records), earning Shankar her first Grammy nomination. She made her directing debut at age 19 in New Delhi, conducting a 22-member orchestra premiering a new composition of her father’s. She conducted again at the historic Concert for George, a tribute to George Harrison, in November, 2002, leading forty-three musicians (including Eric Clapton) in another of the elder Shankar’s musical creations.

World Music is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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