HarmoNYom presents as part of
The Music Room Project

Outstanding Sitarist
Ut. Shahid Parvez Khan
on Sitar
& talented Nitin Mitta on Tabla.
Venue: St John's Lutheran Church
81 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan is privileged with both belonging to an illustrious musical family, and for achieving success in not only preserving the tradition but in pushing its boundaries to even greater heights of aesthetic beauty. He is one of the most brilliant musical gems of the famous Etawah Gharana and belongs to the seventh generation of this musical lineage. His family has produced the most revered and influential figures in Hindusthani Classical Music including the likes of Sahabdad Khansahab, Imdad Khansahab, Enayet Khansahab, Waheed Khansahab and Vilayat Khansahab.
A very young Shahid Parvez was initiated into the rich music of the Gharana by his illustrious father and Guru Ustad Aziz Khan, a famous musician and a noted composer and the son of the legendary Sitar and Surbahar virtuoso Ustad Waheed Khansahab. Few instrumentalists have enjoyed so much of love and admiration as Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan has, from the music loving fraternity worldwide. He is a Top Grade artist of A.I.R. and a recipient of numerous national and international awards including the 'Sur Shringaar', the 'Kumar Gandharva Samman', the "M.L. Koser Award', etc. He is also a recipient of the prestigious "Sangeet Natak Academy Award" of 2006. He has performed in all major musical festivals in India and abroad including the Festival of India held in the US, Europe, USSR, Canada, Middle East, Africa and Australia, enthralling the audience everywhere.
For Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, the Sitar and Self are identical entities, and music is not just a discipline but life itself – vibrating and pulsating and full of colour. The power of his music is most immediately encountered in the highly charged sound quality he conjures from his Sitar and the sparkling intelligence that is the hallmark of his improvisatory music.
Nitin Mitta is one of the most sought after tabla players of his generation. He has performed with some of India’s most celebrated musicians, including Pandit Jasraj, Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Nishat Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pandit Nayan Ghosh and Ustad Irshad Khan.
Nitin received his early training in Hyderabad from Pandit G. Satyanarayana and later from Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar of Mumbai. Both his Guru's are disciples of the legendary Tabla maestro representing the Farukhabad Gharana, Ustad Amir Hussain Khan.
Nitin has collaborated with 2011 Grammy Nominee Pianist Vijay Iyer and Guitarist Prasanna in an exciting new trio project called “Tirtha.
Reserve your ticket or membership now!
Seats are limitated!
http://musicroom.eventbrite.com/
HarmoNYom will donate 10% of all revenues to Music Basti as part of the special Fund-Raising organized "Street children" in India!
MEMBERSHIP - INCLUDING ANY 3 CONCERTS:
- INDIVIDUALS $115
- COUPLE or PAIR $220
- STUDENT (W/ID), SENIOR & CHILDREN (Under 18) $65
TICKET FOR NON-MEMBER - (1 CONCERT)
- INDIVIDUAL $40
- STUDENT (W/ID), SENIOR & CHILDREN (under 18) $25
Venue: St. John Lutheran's Church
81, Christopher Street (Corner of 7 Avenue), New York, NY 10014
(West Village)
Subway Line 1 and Path Train (NJ): Christopher Street Stop
http://stjohnslutheranonline.org/
Door will open at 7:30 PM
TICKETS & MEMBERSHIPS ONLINE:
HarmoNYom Team:Veronique Lerebours & Girish Raj
Community Partners:
WKCR 98.9 FM NY, St. John Lutheran's Church, Mukti Kitchen, Music Basti,The Anamika Navatman Project, DooBeeDooBeeDoo, Sidart Photography, Dawoud Kringle, The Epoch Times, Marcus Simpson, Vishesh Sharma,
TV Asia, India Abroad
DooBeeDooBeeDoo - 08.03.2011
Concert and event review
http://www.doobeedoobeedoo.info/2011/03/08/a-master’s-master-graces-manhattan-shahid-parvez-khan-nitin-mitta/

Date: Febuary 26, 2011
Venue: St. John’s Lutheran Church (NY)
Presented by HarmoNYom
Reviewed by Dawoud Kringle
When a concert performed by Ustad Shaheed Parvez Khan is announced, those in the know ask two questions: Where? And When?
While it is customary to give a brief biographical description of an artist while writing an article like this, I’m afraid it does little justice to prepare for the experience of the music itself. That said, Shaheed Parvez Khan, known affectionately by his students as Ustad-ji (a term of respect used by his students; which I will hence refer to him in this article), was born into a family of musical royalty. Belonging to the Etawah Gharana, with musical and family ancestors including Sahabadad Khan, Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, Waheed Khan, and Vilayat Khan. He was initiated into the Gharana by his father and teacher Ustad Aziz Khan. Achieving great artistic success at an early age, he became a Top Grade Artist of A.I.R., received numerous awards, including the “Sur Shringaar,” the “Kumar Gandharva Samman,” the “M. L. Koser Award,” and the “Sangeet Natak Acadamy Award.” He has released many recordings, performed in all the major music festivals in India, and has toured the US, Europe, Russian, Canada, Middle East, Africa, and Australia.
Joining him was New York based tabla virtuoso Nitin Mitta. Receiving his early training in Hyberadad from Pandit G. Satyanaranyana and Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar; both disciples of Ustad Amir Hussain Khan of the Farukhabad Gharana. Mitta has performed with masters such as Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Sajan Mishra, Istad Mishrat Khan, Ustad Irshad Khan, and many others. He is making a well-deserved reputation for himself as a brilliant tabla player.
On a quiet, and mildly cold Saturday night at St. John’s Lutheran Church in New York City, HarmoNYom presented the second of its Music Room concert series. These concerts are designed to recreate the ancient music rooms of India, where intimate gatherings would allow people to experience the music in comfort and with no distractions (it may be added that they are also donating 10% of all revenues from the Music Room Series to support Music Basti; a non-profit charity bringing music education to underprivileged children in India). In front of the stage was an open area with cushions where people could sit on the floor, just like in the old days. And frankly, that’s the best way to appreciate this music.
I arrived early, just before the sound check. Ustad-ji would arrive moments after I did. Veronique Lerebours, the founder of HarmoNYom, (producer of these concerts), and tireless purveyor of the finest Indian classical music in New York City, the production staff directed by Girish Raj, volunteers, and Ustad-ji’s students, were busy in preparation. Ustad-ji arrived and began the sound check. The people in the room were quiet while Ustad-ji played. He has that effect on people. Watching and listening to him tune is an interesting experience for any musician. He made some last minute adjustments on his sitar; an Ibrahim & Bashir SPK model. This sitar, one he’d had a hand in designing, is an extension of the Vilayat Khan design. Its tone is more pronounced in its mid range and bass and had a presence that contrasts the stereotypically metallic or trebly tone associated with the sitar (especially by those in the west, who know the sitar only through its presence in pop music.) Ustad-ji exploits the acoustic properties of the instrument well.

A platform a little under a meter high had been set up for use as a stage. This was a good idea; it allowed good visibility for everyone in the audience. And as with other HarmoNYom produced concerts in this venue, the Indian decorations by Sridhar Shanmugam blended in an indescribable way with the traditional Christian trappings of the church.
Ustad-ji and Mitta retired to the “green room” in the church’s basement (which wasn’t green at all, actually.) The doors were opened, and the people who had amassed outside filed in. Before long the place was packed. Everyone who is part of the classical Indian music scene in New York City was there. Such is the immensity of Ustad-ji’s well deserved reputation.
At this point, it is probably relevant to mention the immense respect that Ustad-ji commands. It is quite noticeable. Having studied under him myself, I had the opportunity to observe what can only be described as a subculture echoing an ancient tradition. He forms an axis around which revolves a miniature society of students and aficionados. His students and assistants tend to his needs. Everywhere he goes – and he travels a lot – the events seems to coalesce into a world within a world, with him at the center. Such is the force of his personality and monumental accomplishments; balanced by a humble and unobtrusive nature.
Finally, Ustad-ji and Mitta took the stage. After some last minute tuning, Ustad-ji announced that he would play Rag Kiwani in alap, jhaptal (10 beat cycle), rupaktal (7 beat cycle) and teental (16 beat cycle).

Before playing, Ustad-ji entered into a noticeable state of intense concentration. He was no longer in a church performing for an audience; he immersed himself into the music. The first notes of the raga rang through the church and washed over the audience. The power of the music drew everyone into the raga’s presence and mood. Experiencing the sad and almost tragic mood of this raga as a visceral sensation was impossible to escape. For my own part, I tried taking notes to write this article. I couldn’t write. At times, the sheer beauty of a particular musical phrase brought tears to my eyes. I wasn’t alone. Many times, the audience would gasp or nearly swoon in astonishment at the music he drew from his instrument.
He possesses a sense of drama and makes marvelous use of dynamics in his playing. He would, for example, during an alap, mute the droning strings, and coax a melody from the strings, bending each note until no more vibration could come from it; and drawing the listener into the soul of the music. Other times, while interacting with the tabla during a jor or jhalla, he would burst into a taan of blinding speed and complexity, seemingly out of nowhere, and running through the taal with unmitigated abandon, always landing on his feet. Never repeating himself, always bringing out new ideas, new colors, new shades of meaning from the raga.
One of Ustad-ji’s trademarks is his use of the tarb (sympathetic strings.) He is not content to merely let them resonate in sympathy with a note or harmonic, nor to merely strum them as an effect. He often plucks individual notes on the tarb that blend into the melodic statement he’s making. Those with no experience playing sitar may have difficulty imagining how difficult this is.
Often, after executing some musical impossibility, he would smile with glee and amusement. He seems to get a kick out of playing something incredibly difficult, as if he were standing aside watching some marvelous event. But this was no mere act of technical excellence (although he has plenty of that.) All the subtleties of the melodic unfolding, all the mathematical precision and aesthetic beauty of the taans were executed with an inexorable force and a natural beauty.
Nitin Mitta communicated with Ustad-ji effortlessly. He was more than equal to the task of standing next to Ustad-Ji, and displayed a flawless mastery of the tabla. His accompaniment held the rhythm and momentum of the music, and his solos were eloquent statements of the rhythmic beauty of the taal he was playing. His tone was muscular, with a powerful presence, yet not intrusive.
The first set ended on a quiet note; no bang at the end of a jhalla. It seemed appropriate to the mood of the raga.
After an intermission, Ustad-ji and Mitta took to the stage again. He began with raga Bihag. The mood of this piece was a noticeable contrast to the raga in the first set. It was lighter, more playful. It was like a stroll through a garden. As the raga developed, the intensity manifested itself. They played with an abandon that would have been reckless had it not been for their superb control.
They ended with Anar Anar; a piece based in Misra Khamaj that Ustad-ji usually ends his concerts with (and often mixes elements of other ragas with). He treated the lyrical demands of the composition with his usual mastery, imagination, and sensitivity. It was a fitting end to a marvelous concert. The music ended, and the audience came back to the mundane realities of this world a little richer, more at peace, and having had the mirrors of their souls clarified through music. Such is the service Ustad Shaheed Parvez Khan performs for humanity.

As I said earlier in this article, I had studied with Ustad-Ji, and am personally acquainted with him. While I cannot say I am one of his best students, nor are we close, I know him as a supremely confident man, with an immense inner power; yet possessing an old world humility, quiet grace, and good humor. It’s his world; and he sees to it that you are welcome as an honored guest in it. He’s someone you immediately like and are comfortable with; yet there is no mistaking that you are in the presence of an extraordinary person.
When I left the church, and took the train downtown, I met a woman who had attended the concert. She told me that she found the music amazing and transforming; and that it was her first experience listening to Indian classical music live.
She couldn’t have made a better choice.
http://www.doobeedoobeedoo.info/2011/03/08/a-master’s-master-graces-manhattan-shahid-parvez-khan-nitin-mitta/

Classical Indian Sitarist Coming to NY!
By Nemanja Rebic Created: February 21, 2011
For The Epoch Times
If we talk about the sitar today, one of the names that first comes to mind is Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan. His superb musicality, power of expression, and technique have left many music lovers worldwide in awe. New Yorkers will have an opportunity to hear him on Saturday, Feb. 26.
HarmoNYom has organized The Music Room, a series of five concerts of five different styles of Indian classical music. This, the second in the series, will take place at St. John Lutheran's Church in Manhattan at 8 p.m.
Few instrumentalists have enjoyed as much love and admiration as Khan. His students affectionately call him Ustad Ji. Ustad is an honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia, usually used for well regarded musicians, artists, and teachers.
Khan will be accompanied by Nittin Mitta, a New York-based tabla player who has shared the stage with some of the greatest Indian Classical musicians in the world, such as Pt. Jasraj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pt. Rajan Sajan Mishra, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Smt. Veena Sahasrabuddhe, and Pt. Budhaditya Mukherjee, just to name a few.
The Music Room provides a very intimate setting to recreate the ancient atmosphere depicted in old paintings where an audience would gather around the artist for an informal talk and performance. There are no blinding stage lights and no hard seats that separate the performer from the audience, just a place for an open exchange between the artist and the audience.
HarmoNYom was founded in 2008 by Veronique Lerebours who, driven by her passion for music, made it a leading organization dedicated to promote the love of Indian classical music in New York. It seeks to serve as a platform for the world-renowned South Asian classical maestros, as well as emerging talents, who can enhance their exposure while allowing New Yorkers to gain awareness and appreciation of the rich Indian traditional classical music’s legacy.
Classical Indian Music
The Sitar is a north Indian instrument and one could say that it is the combination of the old Persian instrument “sehtar” and the Indian instrument “veena.” It was popularized in the West in the '60s when sitarist Ravi Shankar performed at big festivals in the U.S. alongside some of the most popular pop-rock acts.
But classical Indian music is one of the oldest and greatest musical traditions in the world. About 5,000 years old, the tradition has many accounts which tell of ancient sages and yogis meditating on the Nada Brahma—the sound of the universe.
They were observing planets and constellations and enlightened to the celestial bodies' connections with different combinations of the musical notes and rhythmical structures. In this way the concepts of Ragas and Talas were created.
Raga is a combination of notes with certain rules around ascending and descending scales. Each raga produces a color and an emotion which is also connected to different parts of the day and seasons of
The History of Style of Etawah Gharana
Khan is one of the leading exponents of Etawah Gharana, a musical style of playing the sitar. Gharana means "house" or "family," and this tradition is passed on from father to son over the generations. Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan was trained by his father and guru Ustad Aziz Khan.
About Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan
* A recipient of the prestigious "Sangeet Natak Academy Award" of 2006.
* A Top Grade artist of All India Radio and a recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the Sur Shringaar, the Kumar Gandharva Samman, and the M.L. Koser Award, among others.
* Has performed in all major musical festivals in India and abroad including the Festival of India held in the US, Europe, USSR, Canada, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.
* Has recorded numerous LP records, audio and video cassettes, CDs, and DVDs.
* Gives workshops in many different parts of the world while on tour and has many disciples worldwide.
From shahdiparvezkhan.com
The style known as Etawah Gharana comes from one of the most ancient schools of music, the Gwalior gharana, which started with the reign of the great Mughal emperor Akbar (1542-1605). Akbar was a patron of the arts and his favorite singers at court, the legendary Miyan Tansen, came from the town of Gwalior and so this gharana was named after that town.
Etawah Gharana was founded by Ustad Sahabdad Khan who originally learned vocals, but later took up the sitar. He later moved to the town of Etawah, from which the gharana’s name comes. Although Ustad Sahabdab Khan founded the gharana, his son Ustad Imdad developed the instruments and created an innovative style that became its characteristic sound.
The family musical tradition continues today with Ustad Shahid Parvez who began his training at the tender age of 3. He was first trained in the classical vocal music that forms the foundation of this style of sitar playing. It transfers the emotional directness and tonal nuance of the human voice to the instrument.
While still a boy, Ustad Ji also learned rhythm and tabla, a popular drum. This intensive early training has paid dividends for Ustad Shahid Parvez, who is now renowned both for his lyricism and compelling and intricate rhythms.
Information about tickets for this concert and all the other Indian Classical Music events in New York can be found at http://www.harmonyom.org.
Nemanja Rebic lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Source:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/arts-entertainment/classical-indian-sitarist-coming-to-ny-51657.html