Moving my blog over to shawnmativetsky.com

Dear friends,

With the recent update of my website, I now have the ability to integrate the blog directly into the website, so that is what I am doing; it just makes sense. I will no longer be posting updates here. Thank you to all of you for your interest in my musical adventures. Please click along to my website for the continuation of this blog in the future! If you would like to update your RSS subscription, this is the new RSS URL: http://shawnmativetsky.com/blogs/blog.atom

I hope to see you over at shawnmativetsky.com!

Shawn

Monday 17 June 2013

Accompanying Bansuri Player Kiran Hegde on his First Canadian Tour

My friend Marie Saintonge recently spent six months in India, studying the bansuri with Kiran Hegde, himself a student of legendary violinist N Rajam. Marie has since invited him to Canada, where he is currently spending two months performing and teaching. I am very happy to be accompanying him for all his Canadian concerts and workshops.

Kiran has a very sweet sound, and plays in a very vocal style, though is not shy to bring out the more 'instrumental' aspects of bansuri playing as well, from the slowest vilambit ektaal, to a blazing fast drut.

Our first concert took place at the Grande Bibliotheque in Montreal on May 11.



The next day, I accompanied Kiran for a hands-on raga workshop that he gave at Timpano Percussion. Quite a few musicians came, and we had singers, flutists, a saxophonist, and even a fretless electric guitarist!




Marie, during the workshop.
A couple of weeks later, we headed to Toronto, for a concert graciously hosted by Joanna de Souza and Ritesh Das from M-DO/Toronto Tabla Ensemble, at the lovely St-Stephens-in-the-Fields church. Here, we were joined by longtime collaborator, and Kiran's Guru-bhai, Jake Charkey, for a rare bansuri-cello jugalbandi. Jake and I have performed numerous times before in Montreal, before he headed out to Mumbai to study with N Rajam. He has been there for the last three years, and so it was great to be playing together again, and to hear the progress he has made in all this time.


Kiran's solo, with Joanna on tanpura.

Here with Jake, for the bansuri-cello jugalbandi.
The next morning, we hit the road, and were back in Quebec for a concert at the beautiful Sivananda Ashram, in Val Morin.


We also performed a house concert last week, but I unfortunately don't have any photos of that occasion. There is yet one more concert to take place on this tour, on June 26 at an art gallery in Ste-Hyacinthe. Please see my website for more details...

Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!


Tribute to Pandit Ravi Shankar

This past April 27, I took part in a concert in honour of the late Pandit Ravi Shankar, organized by Hindustani vocalist Vinay Bhide, in Ottawa. The evening concert took place at the Centrepointe Studio Theatre in Ottawa. The concert included performances by vocalist Vinay Bhide, Aditya Verma (sarod; Montreal), Bageshree Vaze (kathak dance; Toronto), Jonathan Voyer (santoor; Montreal), and Tara Krishnan (Bharatanatyam dance), and Kiran Morarji (Toronto) and myself on tabla.

I accompanied Jonathan Voyer for his set, as well as Vinay Bhide for his, followed by a concluding piece with the Ottawa Ensemble, joined by some of the other artists.

It was a beautiful evening, and it was a pleasure to have participated. I really enjoy these types of concerts, where many artists get together and collaborate. Pt. Ravi Shankar was such an important artist of our time, having influenced and inspired so many musicians around the world.




Accompanying santoor player, Jonathan Voyer
Accompanying vocalist Vinay Bhide, with his son Udit on harmonium.
All artists on stage for the final bhajan, composed by Pt. Ravi Shankar.
Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!