Sangam - Hindustani Concert Series
About the Concert
Aria University, Milpitas, in collaboration with SYAAM, warmly invites you to an intimate afternoon of Indian Classical music — a rare opportunity to experience one of the finest Sarod artists of his generation – Pt. Abhisek Lahiri, accompanied on the Tabla by Pt. Subrata Bhattacharya.
The concert is part of the “Hindustani Classical Music Series” presented by Aria University and begins at 4 PM on Sunday, May 17th. This is an afternoon not merely of listening, but of immersion — in melody, in rhythm, and in the living conversation between an artist and his instrument.
Pt. Abhisek Lahiri — Sarod
Pt. Abhisek Lahiri is one of the most distinguished Sarod artists of his generation — a President’s Award winner and one of the youngest artists to receive the coveted Top Grade from All India Radio and Doordarshan. Rooted deeply in the Maihar Gharana, trained from a tender age under his father and guru Pandit Alok Lahiri in the traditional Gurukul system, he has forged a playing style that is unmistakably his own: deeply classical in its grammar, yet alive with personal expression.
He began performing publicly at the age of ten and made his national debut in 1997 at Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia’s celebrated Saath Saath Festival, followed shortly by his international debut in Holland where he was hailed as a ‘Wonder Kid’. Since then, his journey has taken him across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Pt. Abhisek Lahiri and his father hold the distinction of being the first Indians to perform at the European Parliament in France, the Cannes World Music Festival, and Canada Culture Days in Toronto. He has represented India as a Cultural Delegate of the Ministry of External Affairs at world music festivals in Morocco and Cyprus, and has performed at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India at the Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
His recordings — including Sparkling Sarod and Mood of Puriya Kalyan — have been nominated at the GIMA (Global Indian Music Awards), placing him alongside legends such as Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, and Ustad Zakir Hussain. Pt. Abhisek Lahiri returns to the Bay Area after several notable previous performances in the area, including at the Basant Bahar Festival.
Pt. Subrata Bhattacharya — Tabla
Accompanying Pt. Abhisek Lahiri on Tabla is Pt. Subrata Bhattacharya, one of the leading tabla players on the Indian classical music scene today. A worthy exponent of the Farukhabad Gharana, Pt. Subrata received his rigorous training under Shri Tamal Krishna Chatterjee, Shri Nripen Karmakar, and Shri Tapan Kr. Banerjee, before being accepted as a student of the revered tabla maestro Pt. Shankar Ghosh.
As an accompanist of choice for some of India’s most acclaimed classical artists, he has performed at the Dover Lane Music Conference, ITC Sangeet Sammelan, the National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai, the India International Center in Delhi, and prestigious stages across the USA, the Middle East, and Europe. He has shared the stage with luminaries including Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Pt. Buddhaditya Mukherjee, and Pt. Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, among many others.
A visiting professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he is also the founder of Naad — The Everlasting Sound, an ensemble exploring the frontiers of fusion music across eastern, middle eastern, and western traditions. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Prabhankar Gold Medal, Sangeet Praveen from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad, and Sangeet Bhushan from Bhatkhande College, Lucknow.
