Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, the celebrated sarod player from India, is touring the United States as part of his 80th birthday celebration. Heuwell Tircuit, of the San Francisco Chronicle put it this way:

Ali Akbar Khan is the most sensitive, intuitively masterful musician of the age. One can listen to him at any level, at the first encounter or for the five-hundredth time, and always come away astounded. There are individual areas of contemplation and vitality which he alone seems to communicate. His music is hypnotizing, mesmerizing, ethereal and mystifying, peaceful, enthralling, and exciting beyond description.

His playing has not lost a step. Recent triumphant concerts in Houston and Calgary have produced standing ovations, not only for the stellar music of the programs, but in grateful appreciation of a lifetime of playing, teaching, and recording the classical literature of Hindustani (North Indian) classical music. Ali Akbar rose to international prominence along with his brother-in-law, Ravi Shankar, in the turbulent and fragrant world of the 1960s. Shortly thereafter, he married and settled near San Francisco, where he has combined his impressive concert career with his daily teaching schedule at his Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, CA. His numerous awards and degrees include a MacArthur Fellowship and the prestigious Padmavibhusan award from the Indian government.

Zakir Hussain is the brilliantly gifted son of India’s late tabla pioneer, Alla Rakha. He is now one of the most respected percussionists in the world, having accompanied all of India’s most well-known musicians and dancers to great acclaim. He has also branched out to accompany and lead Indofusion percussion ensembles, jazz groups, and create film scores. Collaborations with George Harrison, Mickey Hart, Van Morrison, Tito Puente, and Pharoah Saunders have made him a household word. His dexterity and subtlety have been featured in concerts with the Hong Kong and New Orleans Symphonies. He has created film scores for Ismail Merchant and Bernardo Bertolucci, among others. He is the recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Indian government as well as numerous other awards, Grammys and Indo-American recognition.

MITHAS, MIT’s Heritage of the Arts of SouthAsia, is a non-profit organization founded in 1995 to present the classical performing arts of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. This concert series begins MITHAS’ eighth year of presenting quality classical programs of music and dance.

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