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Som Chivukula
Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and santoor artist Shivkumar Sharma have not performed together in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than a decade.
Now, a mutual friend is presenting them together in concert in 12 locations nationwide, including San Francisco.
"They have not toured together in two or three years," said national promoter Prabha Gopal, founder of the Bay Area Performing Arts.
India-based Sharma, who is in his 60s, approached Gopal with a proposal to perform in North America with Hussain for a month.
"I thought it was a great idea because these are two great artistes," Gopal said, who presented them together a decade ago when BAPA was a fledgling organization.
BAPA is known for promoting Indian classical music, having presented Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty, Rashid Khan and others over the years.
Sharma and Hussain will kick off their tour with a performance in New York on Saturday at the World Music Institute.
"One of the things that makes this tour unique is that we have booked fantastic theaters," Gopal pointed out. "The Indian artistes who come to the US deserve good theaters to perform, not the so-called 'high school theaters' many usually perform in."
Sharma is one of the world's best-known santoor players. He was recently honored with the Padma Bhushan, an award that recognizes distinguished service of a high order to the nation. He credits his father for his success.
'Everything that happened over the years was due to my father and guru, Pandit Uma Dutt Sharma,' he told The Times of India three years ago.
'The senior musicians of those times would compliment me and urge me to continue with my music, but they would also tell me that I had chosen the wrong instrument. My father was always the guiding force and today when I think of my journey, it's nothing short of a miracle,' Sharma said.
With Sharma's presence, Gopal says, music fans will have the opportunity to listen to pure Indian classical music. "Shivkumar Sharmaji is a purist," she said. "He doesn't believe (much) in fusion. His son Rahul is also into the same form."
"With any art form, there has always been a lot of experimentation," Sharma noted. "Fusion is one such experiment. There are different kinds of fusion happening today, but if the combination is not right, not well planned, fusion sometimes becomes more of confusion."
"I am not against fusion, but I am for something that creates harmony, which is soothing and lasting in its beauty," he said.
Locations and Contacts:
May 4, New York, World Music Institute, Robert Browning, 212-545-7536
May 5, Philadelphia, Lenny Seidman, 215-923-5678
May 6, Washington, DC, Anil Sharma, 703-917-8115
May 9, Orlando, Jasbir Mehta, 407-333-3667
May 11, Chicago, Kushal Bose, 630-575-8332
May 12, Houston, Hari Dayal, 281-648-0422
May 13, Boulder, Colorado, Ty Burhoe, 415-459-8652
May 14, Fort Collins, Colorado, Ty Burhoe, 415-459-8652
May 18, Portland, Oregon, Steve Amdahl, 503-534-9212
May 20, San Francisco, Prabha Gopal, 925-947-1908
May 23 & 24, Los Angeles, Yatrika Shah, 310-440-4659
May 28, Vancouver, Asha Lohia, 604-879-8319
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