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Celebration of India
Saturday, November 21
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Samsung Hall
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. This event is a kickoff for
the inaugural San Francisco–Bangalore trade and
cultural mission in late November.
At 2:00 pm South Indian flutist Mohan Rangan Govindaraj leads a team of Karnatak musicians performing the
traditional music of South India, which has
flourished since the sixteenth 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.
Schedule:
Program Details
Interactive Tabla Workshop with Robin Sukhadia
11:15 am - 12: 15 pm
Education Resource Room (ground floor)
Come explore culture, creativity, sound, and rhythm through the
language and notes of tabla, a traditional pair of drums from North
India. Robin Sukhadia, a disciple of Swapan Chaudhuri, leads an
open-ended workshop on learning and applying the rhythmic language
behind tabla. Learn to make the basic sounds on in-house drums, and
gain exposure to some of the basic concepts of classical Indian rhythm, time cycles, and using vocal syllables to represent drum beats. Observers, complete beginners and children are welcome!
Indian Stories for families
12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
Meet at the glass elevator (ground floor) then proceed as a group to the galleries
One of the Asian Art Museum's Storytellers brings the galleries to life with the myths and folktales of India. You will examine selected art objects on display and enjoy a lively retelling of stories relating to the works.
Docent tour of South Asian Galleries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)
1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Meet at the Information Desk
In this tour you will explore Indian stone sculpture, paintings, prints, textiles, armor, bronze images, jades, and wood carvings, reflecting the major trends in all the major religions of India over a 2,000 year period – Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Jain.
Musical concert: Venu Kutcheri
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Samsung Hall
Mohan Rangan Govindaraj leads a team of Karnatak musicians presenting the traditional art music of South India. With its origins in ceremonial temple music, Karnatak music has flourished since the 16th century as an independent artistic tradition. 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.
Indian Classical Singing Session with Gautam Tejas Ganeshan
3:15 pm - 4:15 pm
Samsung Hall
The voice is a profound instrument, and is at the heart of Indian
classical music. Join Gautam Tejas Ganeshan in a progressive
exploration of the structure and aesthetic of one raga (melody) as a
group, with practical guidance in the basics of intonation and voice
culture, accompanied by the sound of live tanpura drone lutes. The
session also provides an opportunity to explore individual creativity
in singing and the curves, patterns, and ornaments that characterize
vocal improvisation. No prior experience or language knowledge is
necessary.
coSponsors:
San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative
Artist information:
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)
Recently completing a Master in Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts, Robin Sukhadia has been studying tabla (classical south Asian drums) under Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri at the California Institute of the Arts and the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California for the past seven years. His special focus on the musical traditions and rhythms of South Asia informs his approach to musical arrangement and composition on a wide range of concert, film, and album productions. For the past six years, Robin has traveled internationally on behalf of Project Ahimsa, an organization committed to empowering impoverished youth through music education. In 2009, he was appointed Director of Communications and Information for the Music National Service Initiative, a federally funded effort to support music education in underserved communities across America.
Gautam Tejas Ganeshan is founder and director of the Sangati Community Center for South Asian Music. He is the vocalist for the New Directions in Indian Classical Music group, which was commissioned in 2009 by the San Francisco Foundation. Gautam has guest-lectured on Karnatak (South Indian classical) music for the Music of India courses at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and has conducted seminars on the philosophy and aesthetics of Indian Classical Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and at the Kearny Street Workshop.
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