Jayashree R Patnekar - Vocal
Jayashree R Patnekar was initiated into Hindustani classical music by late Shri Vithalrao Pai at Sawantwadi. When she was 16 she began learning under Pandit K D Javkar of Kirana gharana at Mumbai. However, it was under Pandit Gajananrao Joshi (violinist and vocalist) that she matured as a vocalist. She also took advanced trained under Pandit Nivruttibua Sarnaik and Pandit Ratnakar Pai of Jaipur gharana.

In 1962-63, she stood first in the classical music competitions organised by AIR Bombay and the following year she stood second in the competition organised by AIR Delhi. Awarded prizes by several other prestigious organizations like the Vile Parle Music Circle, Sursingar Samsad, Indian Culture League and others, she was also awarded the ‘Surmani’ at Kal-Ke-Kalakar Sammelan in Mumbai (1972).

A regular artiste of All India Radio, she has performed for AIR Mumbai and from 1977 onwards from AIR Dharwad. Recognized as an ‘A’ Grade artiste in 1983, she has performed for National Programmes as well as Tuesday Night Concerts. A regular concert performer, she has participated in music conferences in the major cities of India as well as the NCPA, Dadar-Matunga Music Circle, Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, Pune (1993), Gwalior Sangeet Sammelan, Gwalior, Basant Sangeet Sammelan, Delhi and the AIR Sangeet Sammelan, Lucknow (2000). In 2005 the Govt of Karnataka honoured her with the Dr. Mallikarjun Mansoor Puraskar.

L K Pandit - Vocal
Born on 5 March, 1934 into a family of musicians, Panditji is the fifth in an unbroken lineage of legendary musicians. His grandfather, Pandit Shankarrao Pandit, was a direct disciple of the founders of the Gwalior gharana - Ustad Haddu, Nathu and Nissar Hussain Khan. His father Padma Bhushan Pandit Krishnarao Shankar Pandit trained Panditji since early childhood in khayal, tappa, tarana, ashtapadi and thumri.

The accuracy of his notes is legendary, and his khayal gayaki unparalleled. He follows the Gwalior gharana format faithfully, and develops ragas in Ashtaang gayaki, a systematic eight-fold elaboration of the raga. Combining thorough knowledge of ragas with masterly handling of rhythm, which makes climaxing at the ‘sam’ a unique experience each time. He is one of the few musicians today who can render the difficult genre of tappa with ease and fluidity.

Panditji’s repertoire includes a treasure house of some of the rarest, ancient and most beautiful bandishes (compositions), handed down to him by his illustrious ancestors. To make sure that these do not go into oblivion, some have been recorded by the Ford Foundation, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Samvad Foundation, All India Radio and other archival institutions.

Besides being an excellent performer, Panditji’s contribution to music is his excellence and thoroughness as a Guru. He has produced some brilliant disciples, among whom his daughter Meeta deserves special mention. He was associated with the Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Delhi University, as Professor and as Producer (Music) with the All India Radio.

Panditji is a gifted composer and has composed many khayals, taranas, tappas. He has presented a popular serial on classical music appreciation, Prabhati, for television which was the first of its kind. He is a serious scholar, and is currently engaged in documenting the styles and compositions of his gharana, with a view to preserve them for posterity. He has also written a book on his father, “Pandit Krishnarao Shankar Pandit” 

Purbayan Chatterjee - Sitar
Purbayan Chatterjee has become a powerful force in the Indian classical music scenario, being a gifted torch-bearer of the Senia-Maihar gharana. He gave his first sensational performance at the age of 5 at the India Festival in Basel in 1982. He was initiated into sitar playing when he was 4, by his father Shri Parthapratim Chatterjee, a disciple of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and a distinguished sitar player in his own right. Purbayan now takes lessons from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Idolising Pandit Nikhil Banerjee whose aesthetically satisfying style he plays, Purbayan is also an astonishing vocalist. Along with the rigorous honing of his talent by his father, Purbayan remained a topper throughout his academic career in school and the prestigious Presidency College, Kolkata. His decision to take up Indian Classical Music as a profession was confirmed when at the age of 14 he received the most coveted honour, the President of India Award, for being the best instrumentalist of the country. A Regular concert performer, he has performed at the major classical music festivals not only in India but in several parts of the world.

Sangeeta Shankar - Violin
Born into a famous family of traditional violinists, Sangeeta Shankar began her musical training at the tender age of four. Initiated and trained by her illustrious mother Dr. N. Rajam, she quickly mastered the intricacies of playing the violin and started performing concerts when she was only thirteen. Her career in music has been outstanding, the fruit of several years of long, arduous and dedicated training. Her family boasts some of India's finest violinists, masters of their art in both the North Indian Hindustani and South Indian Carnatic styles of music.

Sangeeta has recorded music from both traditions with her mother, a rare feat for an Indian musician. Her academic distinctions are in keeping with her illustrious professional career, Sangeeta's doctoral thesis from the Benares Hindu University is the culmination of detailed and dedicated research on the contribution of violin and violinists to Indian music. Sangeeta is a regular concert performer and has performed throughout the world.

Tushar Dutta - Vocal
Born in November 1966, ex-scholar Tushar Dutta began learning the fundamentals of Indian classical music from Sri Bimal Mitra at an early age. He also learnt from Sri Santosh Choudhury of Natore, Bangladesh and Pandit Vishnu Sebak Mishra of Malda. He joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy in 1983, coming under the tutelage of Pandit A Kanan and later of Sri Arun Bhaduri as a general class student. He later became a Gandabandh Shagird of Pandit K G Ginde, after whose demise he took advance talim from Pandit Sunil Bose of the Agra gharana.

A winner of several competitions and a recipient of awards and the National Scholarship, since 1996 he has been an A-grade khayal performer of All India Radio and has also sung for the National programme. Equally adept at bhajan, he is a regular radio performer and has cassette releases to his credit. A popular concert perfomer, he has had performances in various parts of India and has also performed in USA, Canada and UK. In 2004 he participated in the World Music Festival held in Spain.

Vidyadhar Vyas - Vocal
A regular concert performer who has earned national and international acclaim, Dr. Vidyadhar Vyas is the worthy son and disciple of the renowned vocalist of the Gwalior Gharana, Gayanacharya Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. He was groomed in khayal, tarana and bhajan gayaki by his renowned father, himself an outstanding disciple of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. He holds a Master`s degree in Sociology from University of Mumbai and a Doctorate in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai.

Awarded `Top Grade` status by All India Radio, Dr. Vyas is a regular performer on television and has several cassettes and CDs to his credit. In addition to being a renowned performing artist, Dr. Vyas is known as a competent teacher and guru of exceptional calibre. He has been teaching and mentoring students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels since 1964 and doctorate level since 1972.

Dr. Vyas has taught Hindustani Music and music appreciation at Universities and Institutions in the USA, Europe and other countries. He is a visiting Faculty at the Rotterdam Conservatorium. He has written several articles for leading music journals and has conceived and presented a variety of programmes on the genesis and evolution of Hindustani Raga Sangeet. Dr. Vyas also excels in conducting lecture demonstrations, which are both enlightening and entertaining.

A recipient of several awards including `Sangeet Kala Ratna`, `Sangeet Bhuvan Bhaskar Samman`, `Sangeet Shiromani` and others, he is presently the Executive Director of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

Yashwant Vaishnav - Tabla Solo
Master Yashwant Vaishnav is born talent in the field of Tabla. ‘A wonder child’, Mind blowing performance’, ‘Audience - Spellbound’ are some reactions of press for yashwant. A small boy of fourteen years, Master Yashwant started his early lessons of Tabla from his father Mr. Rajendra Vaishnav at the tender age of three. He continued his lessons from Dr. Hemant Sachdeva, Engg. In Chhattisgarh Electricity Board, Korba.

Yashwant came to Pandit Mukund Bhale, Prof. Tabla at Khairagarh Music University at the age of 7. his exclusive and rigorous training shapened yashwant into a small wonder Pandit Mukund Bhale as ‘guru’ trained him with exclusive traditional Bandishes as well as with new ideas.

Yashwant has performed from various reputed stages since the age of 7 and received hearty applause from great musicians. He has performed at Ustad Allauddin Khan Samaroh - Maihar, Bharat Bhawan - Bhopal and at Mumbai , Pune, Goa, Nasik, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Dharwad, Jalandhar, Hyderabad, Bhilai, Ludhiana, Gwalior and Lucknow

Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay
Initiated into music by his father, Ananda Gopal Bandyopadhyay was later trained by Pandit Mahadeo Prasad Mishra of the Benaras gharana. A top graded artiste of All India Radio, Ananda Gopal has had a brilliant and successful career as a tabla player, who is adept both as a soloist and an accompanist. He is a widely travelled artiste and has played with virtually all the leading performers of Hindustani music at festivals all over the world. Apart from his performances, he was associated with many prestigious organisations like the Song & Drama Division (Delhi), Faculty of Music & Fine Arts (Delhi University) and the Amir Khusro Society, Chicago. He has been a full time faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy for over twenty years.

Dalchand Sharma - Pakhawaj
Pandit Dalchand Sharma is an eminent Pakhawaj player of “Nathdwara gharana”. He hails from Bharatpur district in Rajasthan. He learnt the intricate art of Pakhawaj playing from the eminent Pakhawaj exponent Acharya Pandit Totaram Sharma in the true tradition of Guru Shishya Parampara. He also had the opportunity of learning from his Dada Guru Late Pandit Murlidhar Sharma and “Padma Shri” Pandit Purushottam Dasji.

A Top grade artiste of all India Radio and Door Darshan he has performed extensively on Radio and Doordarshan both as a soloist as well as an accompanist for dhrupad singers, beenkars and other instruments following the dhrupad style.. He has participated in many prestigious music concerts all over India and in several parts of the world, including the Festival of India in Germany and Belgium. Presently he is a Staff member of the Faculty of Music & Fine Arts, University of Delhi.

Gourab Chatterjee - Harmonium
Gourab Chatterjee was introduced to Hindustani vocal music at the tender age of five by his mother, Ajanta Chatterjee. After her demise he started receiving training under Jainul Abedin, ex-scholar, ITC Sangeet Research Academy. As a general class student at the Academy he trained under Pandit Sunil Bose, a veteran Agra Gharana Guru of the Academy. Later he became a scholar, under the tutelage of ITC-SRA Guru Pandit Arun Bhaduri. Gourab has participated at various programmes in and around Kolkata. Apart from being a promising vocalist, he is a good harmonium accompanist.

Jyoti Goho - Harmonium
Inspired by his mother’s melodious voice, Jyoti Goho developed a keen interest in music, which was carefully nurtured by his parents. He was trained in harmonium playing by Shri Deb Kumar Banerjee. He also has profound knowledge of vocal music in which his mentors were Sanat Banerjee, Biren Bose and Pandit A. Kanan. Aided by his profound knowledge of vocal music, he is able to heighten the mood and spirit of any performance. Known for his sensitive playing and appropriate embellishments, his supportive role has been acknowledged by maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. An internationally renowned harmonium accompanist, he is currently a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Mukund Bhale - Tabla
Born in a musical family at Gwalior, Mukund Bhale started learning tabla at the tender age of seven from Pandit Yashwant Rao Shirgaonkar, a disciple of Pandit Y. Kerkar of Farrukhabad gharana. As a student he won several prizes in competitions and soon became an established child artist. His father late Shri N.R.Bhale’s dedication and his guru’s rigorous taleem helped him to top the ‘Vid’ degree (tabla) of Jiwaji University, Gwalior.

A first class first honours graduate of Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, Chattisgarh, he was under the tutelage of late Pandit Gajanan Tadey, a disciple of Ustad Jahangeer Khan Sahib of Lucknow gharana. Awarded the gold medal for his master’s degree, he joined as lecturer in tabla in 1982 and was selected as Reader in 1992. Recently he has rejoined Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, Chattisgarh as Professor (tabla) after working successfully as Professor (tabla) and Dean, Faculty of Taalvadya at Bhatkhande Sangeet Sansthan (Deemed University) Lucknow since June 2005 to June 2007.

Known for his crisp and aesthetically rich handling of tabla and bayan, his refined accompaniment and dynamic solo performances have received international acclaim. A regular concert performer, he is equally adept at accompanying vocalists and instrumentalists. Apart from his performances at the major festivals in India, he has also performed both as an accompaiest as well as a soloist at England, USA, Germany, Russia, France, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Poland.

Rupashree Bhattacharya - Harmonium
Born into a family of musicians, Rupashree Bhattacharya was initially tutored in vocal music by her father, Shri Durga Charan Bhattacharya. She later learnt from Shri Ashit Bandopadhyay, Smt. Shipra Bose and Shri Sanjoy Chakrabarty. In 1996 she became a scholar of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the tutelage of Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. Noticing her innate talent in playing the harmonium, her guru gradually guided her through the intricacies and exacting standards of accompaniment. Rupashree, a proficient vocalist herself, quickly imbibed his teaching and has been able to attain the perfection that Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty had instilled in her. As an ITC SRA scholar, she received dhrupad and dhamar training from Pandit Falguni Mitra, Guru-Prefect, ITC SRA. She has matured into a sensitive and unobtrusive accompanist. A graded artist of All India Radio, she is a faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.

Samar Saha - Tabla
Initially trained by his father, late Sudhangshu Bhusan Saha and his elder brother, Shri Tarak Saha, Samar Saha received extensive talim in Tabla from Shri Satchidananda Goswami and later from Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natu Babu) of the Benaras gharana. A much sought after soloist as well as an accompanist today, Samar has participated in all the prestigious music festivals and conferences in India and abroad. He has been a full time Faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy almost since its inception.

Sandip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri - Tabla
Sandip Kumar Ray Chaudhuri hails from a family of musicians and was initiated into tabla by his father, Late Abani Ray Chaudhuri. Sandip received further guidance from his uncle, Shri Anil Ray Chaudhuri, Professor of tabla at Rabindra Bharati, Kolkata. He has also learned from Shri Manik Pal, Shri Radhakanta Nandy and Shri Debnath Chakrabarty. Quite adept at accompanying both the classical and commercial artistes, Sandip has played with stalwarts of both the worlds with equal ease. A ‘B-High’ grade artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan he is currently a staff musician at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy. He is a ‘Gold Medalist’ from sangeet Prabhakar

Subhankar Banerjee - Tabla
Subhankar Banerjee, when he was five, was placed under the tutelage of Shri Swapan Shib, a Tabla artist of Farukhabad Tabla gharana. Over the years he has imbibed the baaj of other gharanas from reputed maestros. He received awards and gold medals from celebrities like Satyajit Ray, Pandit Ravi Shankar as well as the President of India. In addition to being a reputed soloist, Subhankar has been an accompanist of prominent celebrities like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Jasraj. He has frequently performed at famous venues all over India and in UK, USA, Australia, Africa, Japan, Middle East and all over Europe, as also in South America and South Africa.

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