"Celebration of India"
Asian Art Museum (SF)
Saturday, November 2111:15 am - Tabla Workshop with Robin Sukhadia
12:15 pm - Indian Stories for Families
1:00 pm - Docent-Led Tour of the South Asian Galleries
2:00 pm - South Indian Classical Flute Concert
3:15 pm - Singing Session with Gautam Tejas Ganeshan
"Join us for an afternoon of music and art in celebration of the Bay Area's diverse South Asian communities and the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City relationship [...] [Co-Sponsored by the Sangati Center]
"At 2:00 pm flutist Mohan Rangan Govindaraj [video from 7.18.2009 concert at sangati center] leads a team of Karnatak musicians presenting the traditional music of South India, which has flourished since the 16th century and has its origins in ceremonial temple music. The day includes casual music workshops, hands-on activities, a storytelling program for families, and a tour of the South Asian galleries.
Mohan Rangan Govindaraj initially learned music from his father, before continuing at the Vijaya College of Music in Bangalore, and ultimately studying with Sangeetha Kalarathna Prof. H. V. Krishnamurthy. This ensemble will primarily present classical compositions in the krithi song form, an elegant and sophisticated structure incorporating a succession of increasingly complex movements, each with nested variations called sangati-s. The classical concert format presents a variety of opportunities for virtuosity and improvisations, which must be performed while maintaining the raga (melody) and tala (rhythm) that give Karnatak music its timeless appeal.
Govindaraj will play the venu (south Indian bamboo flute). He will be accompanied by:
Lakshmi Balasubramanya - violin (18th century import into Karnatak music, now a staple)
Karthik Gopalratnam - mridangam (double-headed barrel drum)
Ganesh Ramanarayanan - kanjira (lizard-skin frame drum)
SF World Music Festival
The Sangati Center is proud to be a Presenting Sponsor for the 2009 SF World Music Festival's International Youth Music Initiative.
San Francisco World PremiereJewish Community Center of San Francisco
November 22nd, 2009 at 7pm
Special 'Sneak Preview' @ Sangati Center
November 19th, 2009 at 8pm
(featuring selected youth musicians...)
The World Premiere of the International Youth Music Initiative will debut featuring several Bay Area accomplished youth, including:
Bay Area Youth Ensembles: Gaayatri Kaundinya, Indian youth vocalist and disciple of the late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan; South Indian Youth Ensemble of the Trinity Center for Music; The Ali Akbar College of Music Youth Tabla Ensemble; The Jumping Buddha Youth Ensemble; The San Francisco School Orff Ensemble; Jeboor KZV Armenian School Choir
Master Musicians and Teachers: Tibetan singer Techung; South Indian master musician Anu Sridhar; Chinese virtuoso Zhang Xiaofeng; Akylbek Serkebaev making his US Debut from Kyrgyzstan; Armenian singer Hasmik Harutyunyan; Balkan Female Choir Kitka; Indian sarodist Alam Khan; master Orff instructors Doug Goodkin, James Harding, and Sofia Lopez-Abor; master North Indian tabla master Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri; and directed by multi-percussionist Jim Santi Owen
Videos of Overseas Children to Play with Children on Stage: Tibetan exiled children in Nepal; Kyrgyz children in the mountain village of Jany-Tilek, located in Ak-Tala district, Naryn region; and Aboriginal children of the Tayal ethnic group from the village of Wu Lai in the north of Taiwan.
Artistic Director: Michael Santoro
Music Director: Jim Santi Owen
Lighting and Scenic Design: Matthew Antaky
'That Which Colors The Mind'
The Life and Music of Nikhil Banerjee
8pmFriday December 18th
$5 - $15 (sliding scale)
The Sangati Center invites you to a work-in-progress screening by Bay Area documentary filmmaker Steven Baigel. As many of you already know, this film has been in the works for many years. Steven would like to solicit input, ideas, and constructive criticism on the current 75 minute work-in-progress. Along with many interviews with artists and others who knew Nikhil Banerjee and his music well are rare performance and other footage, as well as many still photographs from his life, including from the private collection of the Banerjee family.
There will be a short introduction before the screening and Q&A discussion immediately after the screening.