ABOUT

Raag-Mala Toronto’s mission is to weave the thread of Indian Classical Music (ICM) into the Canadian cultural fabric. We were formed in 1981 with a mandate to promote and preserve ICM by presenting top Indian and North America-based artists in performance. Our secondary objective is to spread the awareness and appreciation of ICM through lecture-demonstrations and a strong online presence. Today, we are amongst the longest-serving organizations in North America that are focused on this genre, celebrating our 43rd year of uninterrupted programming in 2023. Since our inception we have presented the who's who of ICM - artists such as Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan (shehnai), Padma Bhushan Dr. Prabha Atre (vocal), Ustad Vilayat Khan (sitar), Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (flute), Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma (santoor), Padma Bhushan Ustad Zakir Hussain (tabla) and Padma Bhushan Pandit Budhaditya Mukherjee (sitar). In recent years we have featured “young maestros” like Vidushi Manjiri Asanare Kelkar, Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan, Josh Feinberg and Rupak Kulkarni, to name a few. Our history of bringing artists who are in their prime to Toronto is key to our ability to consistently attract an audience of keen listeners and other supporters. Raag-Mala Toronto operates with an 8-10 person board and 20 other dedicated volunteers. A passionate and constantly energized leadership team has added long term stability since our inception in 1981. We are able to program well in advance for each season with limited financial means thanks to considerable support from volunteers, donations from individuals and funding from the Ontario Arts Council.