From Maihar to Santa Barbara: An Intimate Raga Con

Join us for an intimate, healing concert of North Indian classical music featuring violin master Indradeep Ghosh (Kolkata), LA-based cellist Chris Votek, and tabla virtuoso Nikhil Roy.

Ghosh is a trailblazer of the Maihar Gharana, the lineage founded by the legendary Ustad Allauddin Khan, teacher of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, known for its long unaccompanied alap and its dhrupad-rooted depth. He plays a custom-made five-string violin with eight sympathetic strings, modeled after the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, an instrument built to give his lines a fuller, resonant tone as they hang in the air.

Votek, a student of Ghosh’s, brings the cello into this tradition through gayaki-ang, the vocal style of playing that treats the instrument’s line as if it were a singer’s voice, bending and sliding through the raga’s phrases. Melody unfolds slowly, rhythm builds underneath it, and two string voices trade phrases back and forth in real time. An intimate afternoon of pure melody and ancient rhythm, moving through the body to heal and refresh the mind.

Featured Artists:
Indradeep Ghosh – Indian Violin

Chris Votek – Cello

Nikhil Roy – Tabla