Arnab Chakraborty - Sarod
Tejas Tope - tabla

Sitting: In the main room on the floor with back jack support, chairs in the second and third room.
Dress Code: Casual, comfortable, decent. Please take off your shoes before entering the studios.
Food and beverage: Only water is allowed inside the studios. Please bring your own supply.
CHHANDAYAN'S PROGRAMS ARE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR AND THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE.

Arnab Chakraborty
Trained in the traditional Lucknow and Shahjahanpur gharanas, Chakrabarty has had the good fortune to study with some of the most erudite luminaries of the sarod, like Dr Kalyan Mukherjea, Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan and Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta. His music displays a wonderfully subtle amalgamation of his gurus, catalyzed by his own unceasing quest for blending skill with emotion, virtuosity with affect.

Arnab has been performing all over the world since 1998. He has toured nearly 35 countries and given more than 850 professional concerts. He has performed at some of the most coveted international concert halls and festivals like: The Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai), Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Silk Road Festival (Damascus), Trafó Theatre (Budapest), Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), Saptak Festival (Ahmedabad). He has also delivered invited talks at various esteemed institutions including Leeds University, Syracuse University, College of William & Mary, University of Texas (Arlington), California State University (SLO) and Bard College.

Chakrabarty has also earned great repute for his occasional but highly articulate and forthright writings on various topics concerning music. He has interviewed leading musicians like Pt. Budhaditya Mukherjee, pursuing a serious and sustained line of enquiry. His writings on Hindustani music for the e-media portal Scroll continue to be extremely popular with general readers, musicians and scholars alike.

In collaboration with celebrated luthiers Naba Kumar Kanji and Ed Powell, Chakrabarty has experimented with sarod design and materials with the aim to optimize tonal quality and ergonomics of playing. With Naba, Arnab has managed to greatly refine the ergonomics and tonal quality of the sarod. He has brought changes and additions to structural elements, radiator shape, neck design, action and tuning mechanisms. Many young sarod players have embraced these changes, often unaware of their origin in Arnab’s enterprising experiments. Do get in touch for a customized sarod, bespoke designed by Chakrabarty and built by Naba according to your needs.

As a teacher, Chakrabarty has mentored some of his students to a high professional standard of rāgadāri and musicianship. His teaching methods are calibrated in accordance with the level and the needs of each student and aim to optimise efficiency of playing and clarity of tone. Chakrabarty remains a highly effective and coveted teacher, both online and in person.

Tejas Tope
Tejas Tope is an aspiring young Indian percussionist who comes from Long Island New York. Tejas has been learning tabla from Pt. Samir Chatterjee for over 15 years. Additionally, since 2011, Tejas has been attending classes in the Summer with Ustad Zakir Hussain. At Zakirji's invitation, Tejas performed a tabla solo at the Barsi of Ustad Alla Rakha on February 3, 2018 at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai.

Tejas Tope has also been learning Pakhawaj from Pandit Mohan Shyam Sharma for the last 5 years. He has also had the opportunity to study with Pandit Manik Munde and Shri Pratap Awad.

Tejas received First prize in the instrumental category from 2005-2011 at the annual Vedic Heritage’s Holi Youth Talent Competition held in Hempstead, Long Island, NY. In the summer of 2006, he played at the 6th Marathi European Sammelan in Almelo, Netherlands, at the 13th BMM Convention in Seattle (June 2007), and 15th BMM Convention in Chicago (July 2011). In October 2007, Tejas had his Rangamanch Pravesh and presented tabla solo as a part of Chhandayan Concert Series. Tejas received first prize in the Swardhara Competition held by Marathi Vishwa of New Jersey in 2010 and 2012. Tejas is recipient of Chhandayan’s most prestigious Jyotsna Award in the student category in 2011.

Arnab Chakraborty - Sarod

Arnab Chakraborty - Sarod