The celebrated sitar player performs a special intimate show.
The celebrated UK-based sitar player Roopa Panesar will perform music from her most recent album, ATMA, with an group of the finest Indian classical and jazz musicians in the UK.
ATMA is a rich musical meeting ground; an enticing mix of traditional Indian and western instruments; sitar & tabla beautifully weave and interchange with Double Bass, Guitar, Tanpura & Indian Mouth Harp (Morsing), with electronic textures by Camilo Tirado, plus Kanjira, Jori and Double-Headed Barrel Drum (mridangam).
“One of the most important musicians to have emerged in the British Asian diaspora over the past few years. She expresses a profound sense of calmness laced with an inexplicable exhilaration.” (⭐⭐⭐⭐ Songlines)
Panesar’s ATMA is a journey that beautifully portrays all aspects of life – love, loss, grief, separation and ultimately the bliss of union (in Hinduism ‘atma‘ encapsulates the concept of the eternal self – or soul). After a period of deep personal loss, Roopa wrote this music to echo her feelings associated with challenges of life, with the intention to uplift.
ATMA was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios and was made possible as part of Asian Arts Agency’s ‘Breaking Barriers’ music commissioning programme, Innovate.
Born in London and being raised in one of the UK’s most culturally diverse cities, Leicester, afforded Roopa Panesar the opportunity to learn sitar from an early age. At the age of seven, Roopa’s lifelong journey with renowned educationalist and leading UK musician Ustad Dharambir Singh ji MBE started. Ustad Dharambir Singh was a disciple of the late Ustad Vilayat Khan. Roopa was quickly recognized as a talent for the future and remains with her musical guru to this day.
Roopa’s knowledge and skills have also been strengthened by additional training from masters including Pandit Arvind Parikh, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pt. Buddhaditya Mukherjee and Ustad Bahauddin Dagar. Roopa Panesar proudly joins the modest number of Indian females worldwide who have launched their careers as full-time touring and teaching sitar players.
Performers
Kirpal Singh Panesar – esraj
Kirpal Panesar has enchanted audiences with his soulful mastery of the esraj. He has performed alongside artists such as Surdarshan Chana, bringing depth and emotion to his renditions. His performances beautifully reflect the rich heritage of Indian classical music
Giuliano Modarelli – guitar
Giuliano is a London-based guitarist, composer, producer, and educator whose sound draws from the city’s global influences; new jazz, electronic music, dub, and Indian classical traditions, reflecting his internationalist outlook and commitment to social themes such as migration and equality.
Ben Hazleton
Ben is a hugely accomplished double-bassist, and jazz scene stalwart, and former winner of Young Jazz Musician Of The Year. The nature of London’s cross cultural music scene meant that he was exposed to Indian Classical music and devoted himself to learning tabla, studying under Amritpal Singh Rasiya of the Punjab Gharana for 10 years. He has accompanied Talvin Singh at the Royal Festival Hall.
Gurdain Singh Rayatt – tabla
Gurdain Rayatt is one of the leading tabla players and teachers in UK, performing internationally with renowned Indian Classical musicians as well as world/crossover and fusion projects spanning several genres, including working with the UK’s lauded Philharmonia Orchestra
RN Prakash – Mridangam, Ghatam, Khanjira, Moorsing
R.N.Prakash is a versatile artist from Bangalore who specialises in South Indian Percussion. He has a highly adaptable and anticipative style of accompaniment which is reason enough for him to have accompanied most of the leading artists of India and abroad, as well as collaborating with Massive Attack.
Surdarshan Singh Chana – jori and tabla
Versatile percussionist Sudarshan Chana demonstrates exceptional virtuosity: playing fierce Benares Gharana style of tabla, while keeping his Punjabi Baaj of Jori-Pakhawaj very much alive. He has a degree in Classical Music and is an enthralling soloist who performs internationally, accompanying maestros right across the globe. He was once invited to play at Buckingham Palace to play Jori in the Queen’s music room.
Camilo Tirado – electronic textures
Camilo Tirado is a percussionist, composer and sound designer whose work covers a variety of musical cultures, from Indian classical to electroacoustic music via dub & reggae. As a performer, his main instruments are the tabla and synthesisers. He has studied Indian classical rhythm (Tala) for almost 20 years and has toured with Talvin Singh, James Holden, Terry Riley, Sam Lee & Maverick Sabre and has worked with Nitin Sawhney and Anoushka Shankar.
We’re delighted to be presenting this concert as part of our ongoing partnership with Music at Oxford.
