The much awaited Ajay Pohankar concert will be staged on 15th June 2014. Just in case you have forgotten, Pandit ji is extremely versatile in all forms of vocal modulations of all Gharanas of India and he has accepted our request for demonstration of such during his performance. The vocal exhibit will also give us a little background into the ‘old’ and ‘new’ schools of vocals.
Pandit ji, we informed you all, is a ‘specialist’ in Thumri. Due to its lighter form of classical vocals, the style is very much suited for the Ghazal vocals and all our good Ghazal singers were/are adept to this form of vocals. For this reason we have requested Pandit ji to include some classical Ghazals this time.
This show is promising to be very entertaining as well as informative and therefore not to be missed. Do not forget to obtain your tickets in good time.
Below is some more information on the artists which was sent earlier for all those who have missed it.
Pandit ji showed exceptional talent in music at an early age of 5 when he was placed under the wings of his illustrious mother Dr Susheela Pohankar, a renowned musicologist and vocalist of Kirana Gharana.
At the age of 10 he was already performing at prestigious classical music festivals like Sawai Gandharva and Calcutta Conference, and was claimed as one of the most amazing child prodigies of the era by then veterans like Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Salamat-Nazakak Ali Khan, Begham Akhtar and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Later on he sang other Gharanas like Patiala and Gwalior very effectively. He is at ease in other forms like Thumri and Ghazal. One of his many albums, Piya Bawari, recorded with his son Abhijit became the all-time hit in the annals of Indian recording industry.
Pandit ji has performed all over the world at most prestigious venues – Cambridge University Auditorium, Harvard, Baxter Hall SA to name a few. He has sung now for over five decades, and folks this again, as always with Navrang shows, will be another performance not to be missed.
Accompanying Pandit ji will be Pt. Arvindkumar Azad, a senior-most disciple of Tabla maestro of the Benaras Gharana, Tabla Samrat Pt. Kishan Maharaj. Pandit Azad has accompanied many well-known vocalists, musicians and dancers – Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pts. Rajan-Sajan, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, and Dr N Rajam…the list continues. The accompanist on the Harmonium will be Nitin Sharma. Nitin ji is also a preferred accompanist to many top vocalists of Hindustani classical vocalists and we will be able to hear his fingers roll on the Harmonium as he ably accompanies Pandit ji.
To complete the group, Milind Kulkarni will accompany on the Harmonium. Milind ji trained in music from Pt. Vasantrao Gurav of Sangli. Currently he is under tutelage of Pt. Pramod Marathe, a leading Harmonium player and Head at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune.
