INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC:
AN INTERACTIVE EXPLORATION
You are invited to join us for an afternoon of Indian Classical Music. Experience performances of this ancient yet flourishing art form, listen as the performers share stories of their musical journeys, and join in the conversation about the significance of this rich mode of creative expression for Nova Scotia and Canada. All are welcome, from the seasoned enthusiast to the curious beginner. Children are welcome but must be supervised at all times.
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See below for the full programme and biographies of the performers
Free Event
3:00 – 7:00 pm September 7, 2024 (Doors open 2:30)
Programme
3:00 - 3:15
Opening Remarks
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement: Ashwani Kumar
Opening Remarks: Valarmathy Kaliaperumal, Jacqueline Gahagan
Performances
3:15 - 3:30
3:35 - 3:50
Arrol Corelli
For his performance, Arrol Corelli envisions crafting a melodic narrative that intertwines classical roots and cinematic influences. Arrol will be playing the violin.
Sahara Jane and Ken Shorley
Sahara Jane and Ken Shorley will present a vilambit and drut bandish in Rag Yaman in Tin Tal, followed by an original composition in Rag Pilu, featuring English lyrics and sarangi. Sahara will play sarangi accompanied by Ken Shorley on the tabla.
3:55 - 4:10
Aravind Ballari and Ketan Kulkarni
Aravind will perform Raag Puriya Dhanashri, starting with alap and swaralap, continuing with Chota Khyal Payaliya Jhankaar mori in Teentaal and ending with Drut Teentaal. Raag Puriya Dhanashri is regarded as an important evening melody. It produces compassion and is emotional in character.
4:15 - 4:30
Avinash Kaur and Ketan Kulkarni
Avinash Kaur will sing Ae ri sakhi more piya ghar aaye, a beautiful composition by Amir Khusro, a Sufi Saint. Avinash will play harmonium, and she will be accompanied by Ketan Kulkarni on the tabla.
4:35 - 4:50
Ashwani Kumar, Nayha Acharya, Arrol Corelli, and Sidharth Sundaran
In this performance, Ashwani Kumar will share three of his original compositions. His first song will be a bhajan (devotional song) based on raag Shivranjini; his second song will be his composition of a famous nazm (a form of urdu poetry) called Aaj Jaane ki Zid na Karo; the final song will be a qawwali (Sufi-style song) that he has composed in raag Bhairav. He will be accompanied by Nayha Acharya on mandolin, Arrol Corelli on violin, and Sidharth Sundaran on tabla.
4:50 - 5:15
5:20 - 5:35
Intermission with Vegetarian Snacks
Presentation by Ashwani Kumar
The focus of this presentation will be to share my research on Indian classical music as an ancient but still flourishing art form and as an education system. I will briefly discuss some of the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual aspects that influence the teaching and learning of Indian classical music, drawing upon my studies of the literature and interviews with teachers of Indian classical music from Canada and India.
5:40 - 6:40
Panel Discussion with the Musicians
The purpose of this panel is to provide the performing musicians a space to share their journeys with Indian classical music. They will be invited to offer their thoughts on the cultural, spiritual, philosophical, and educational aspects of this music and its significance for the multicultural context of Nova Scotia and Canada. Ashwani Kumar will moderate this panel.
6:40 - 7:00
Question and Answer Session
The audience is invited to ask questions to the performers
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7:00 - 7:10
Closing Remarks
Ashwani Kumar
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About the Performers
Nayha Acharya
By profession, I am a professor of law at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. Alongside, I have a deep interest in Indian classical music. I developed this interest in my childhood, when I learned to sing and play basic harmonium from my father who is a music lover. I learned violin as a child in a Western classical style, but soon began to pursue Indian music training. When I was in Edmonton, I pursued Carnatic (South Indian classical music) lessons and North Indian classical vocal lessons. When I moved from Edmonton to Halifax, I was fortunate to find out about the Indian music class being taught by Mr. Vijay Vyas, and I learned from him for several years. I hope to continue to learn and refine my singing and mandolin and violin playing as well as my understanding of Indian raag music.
Aravind Ballari
Aravind Ballari is a dedicated Hindustani classical singer. His journey into the world of music began at the age of 14. From a young age, Aravind displayed a remarkable affinity for Hindustani classical music. His deep passion and dedication has flowed from his Guru Mohan Kalburgi.
Aravind Ballari has performed in number of stage shows. He was selected as top 25 in a singing reality show called Fresh Voice of Karnataka in Bengaluru and has released his own Musical albums and Devotional Musical albums. Aravind received the Awardio Award for his Album Preethigelli Purnavirama.
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Arrol Corelli
Arrol Corelli, a music composer in the Indian Film Industry, began his musical journey at the age of five under the tutelage of the world renowned artist Kumari A. Kanyakumari. Mastering the Indian classical violin and Western classical piano, Arrol has performed on numerous stages across India. Currently based in Halifax, Canada, Arrol continues artistic pursuits, running a music school where the nuances of Indian Classical Violin and Western Classical Piano are shared. Professionally, Arrol Corelli, a certified US CPA since immigrating in 2021, adds a unique rhythm to the professional melody.
Sahara Jane
Sahara Jane is a multi-faceted musician blending influences from Indian, Afghan, and Canadian musical styles in her live performances and recordings. She is a vocalist, composer, and sarangi player.
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Growing up with musical parents from both Afghanistan and Canada exposed Sahara Jane to a wide range of sounds and influences which have shaped her musical life. She toured Canada extensively playing original music at folk clubs and festivals in the early 2000s with her sister Kamila Nasr. After honing her skills in the Canadian music scene, Sahara headed for India and became deeply immersed in Indian classical music. She began her studies with sarangi maestro Ustad Sultan Khan in Mumbai in 2006, and later learned from master musicians Pandit Dhruba Ghosh, and Vidushi Tulika Ghosh in Mumbai, as well as musical mentor Joep Bor in Amsterdam.
Sahara Jane also plays with ASHK World Music Ensemble, OMBAK Gamelan Ensemble, and her improv quartet, Quilting, which was recently nominated for an East Coast Music Award on their debut self-titled release on the Telephone Explosion record label. https://saharajane.com
Avinash Kaur
I have been singing since my childhood at my school and Gurudwara in India. I formally started learning classical music in 2022. I feel singing is a way to connect to the Divine. Our place of worship, the Gurudwara where I perform often in Halifax, gives me a platform to sing. I feel that with heartfelt and sincere singing I connect to many people and with the Divine Lord. I am married with two children. I came to Halifax in 2021, and love Halifax for its natural beauty.
Dr. Ketan Kulkarni
Dr Ketan Kulkarni is a full professor, physician, an accomplished clinician-researcher of global repute, an entrepreneur, an author, a coach, a humanitarian, and a music buff. He has won more than 25 international awards for his work and professional services including 2 honorary doctorates.
As a musician, Ketan plays Tabla, both solo and accompaniment, and enjoys all kinds of music. Music, particularly classical, has been a tradition in his family and he started training early in his childhood. His work in humanities, art, music, and healing ties in his expertise and aims to discover authentic self, success, and fulfillment. He celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion, and reconciliation through his work, art, and music and has been performing all across Canada on diverse platforms.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drketankulkarni/
Ashwani Kumar
I am a dedicated student of Indian classical music. I play the harmonium and sing and compose music, and I regularly offer public performances – solo and in small ensembles. I took initial training in vocals from Mr. Vijay Vyas in Halifax and harmonium from my uncle Mr. M. C. Gotan in India. I recently founded the Atlantic Raag Sangeet Community to promote and celebrate the music and culture of India in Nova Scotia, and I offer music lessons to children and adults. My current research project examines the pedagogy of Indian classical music and its implications for the field of education. In the Spring of 2024, I offered a new undergraduate course called Music of India at MSVU. You can watch some of my past performances here. You can read about my work on music as meditative inquiry here.
Ken Shorley
Ken Shorley is a diverse percussionist who specializes in the hand drumming traditions of India and the Middle East. He is based in Canada, but his musical passions have taken him to many parts of the globe. Ken is a long-time student of the Carnatic master drummer, Vidwan Professor Trichy Sankaran.
In addition to drumming, Ken is also an avid player and teacher of Indonesian gamelan music. His ensemble performs traditional and contemporary music for gamelan degung.
In recent years, Ken has been a featured performer (as both bandleader and accompanist) at the Halifax Jazz Festival, Sound Symposium, Prismatic Festival, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Sunfest, Mosaiq Festival, Deep Roots Music Festival, and on national broadcasts for CBC Radio 2.
Some of Ken’s current projects include developing a series of online rhythm and drumming lessons called Inner Time, teaching Gamelan and World Music courses at Acadia University, touring and recording with songwriter Sahara Jane, producing music videos and recordings for Triangle House Studios, performing and producing electronic music under the name zhorli, directing OMBAK Gamelan Ensemble, as well as composing music for his own amusement, for his hand-drumming group KST, and for other interested musicians or filmmakers who ask him to.
Sidharth Sundaran
Sidharth Sundaran began his percussion journey at the age of six under the mentorship of Palliparambil Joseph and Baiju PK, with a primary focus on mastering the Tabla. Throughout his academic years, he was recognised in different Tabla competitions, receiving accolades for his performances. Apart from his proficiency in Tabla, Sidharth harbours a deep passion for playing Cajon, Darbuka, and various other hand-drums. He is a Mechanical Engineer by profession. In 2022, Sidharth relocated to Canada and has since begun captivating audiences across Nova Scotia with his performances on diverse stages.
Guests of Honour
Dr. Jacqueline Gahagan
Dr. Jacqueline (Jacquie) Gahagan, PhD (medical sociology) joined MSVU as Associate Vice-President, Research on September 1, 2021. Prior to MSVU, they were a Full Professor of Health Promotion at Dalhousie University. Jacquie currently serves as the Co-Director of the Atlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network for Social and Behavioural Aspects of HIV and HCV (airn.ca) as a Founding Fellow of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, and is an Affiliate Scientist with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. Jacquie’s research focuses on evaluating policy and programming interventions among marginalized populations, access to innovative HIV testing technologies, older LGBTQ2I populations and access to housing and primary healthcare utilization, and end-of-life decision-making.
Valarmathy Kaliaperumal
Valarmathy Kaliaperumal graduated in Veterinary Medicine and completed a Master’s in Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. Since moving to Canada, she has worked as a Pre-Clinical Researcher for a Cancer Immunotherapy Company, as a Manager of Clinical Translational Research, and recently joined Nova Scotia Health Authority as part of Cardiology Research. She currently serves as the President of the Indo Canadian Association of Nova Scotia and the Maritime Tamil Welfare Association. She has organized the first Free Tax Clinic for Low-Income Nova Scotians, coordinated the donation of Indian books to Public Libraries, and initiated a Tamil Language Class for children in Halifax.
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