In concert with Steve Gorn

This past July 27, I had the great pleasure of accompanying bansuri master Steve Gorn at the Espace Cercle-Carré in Old Montreal. He came up from his home in the US to spend some time with his student Alexandre Lavoie and to do some Montreal sightseeing, and so we thought it would be great to organize a small concert for him while he was here.

The Espace Cercle-Carré is a new performance space in an artists' co-op. The space is quite reverberant, and a very beautiful acoustic for Indian classical music. We performed without any amplification, in a house-concert style setup. We all really enjoyed the vibe, and hopefully I will be able to organize other Indian music concerts there in the future.

Some concert attendees posted other photos of the performance here and here.

It was a real pleasure to have Steve perform in Montreal. Hopefully he will be back again sometime soon!

Playing for Royalty and Canada Day in Ottawa

This past June 30, I was very fortunate to have been invited to perform for the Celebration of Youth Reception at Rideau Hall, as part of Prince William and Princess Kate's visit to Canada. The reception at Rideau Hall (the residence of the Governor General) was by invitation only, and security was very tight. In attendance were the Prince and Princess, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and 120 youth being honoured for their work.

The Prince and Princess meeting the chefs that prepared the meal, followed by the PM.

Singer Kuljit Sodhi, of the group Galitcha, and I joined French-Canadian band La Ligue du Bonheur, for an Indo-Québecois musical masala. The original plan was to perform outdoors, but the rain forced the reception indoors. Unfortunately, I haven't yet been able to obtain any photos of our performance. Above is a photo that I took with my Blackberry while we were taking a break between sets.

Some photos of Kuljit and myself hanging out at Rideau Hall, while the reception was being set up indoors.

Next, on Canada Day (July 1), Kuljit and I were joined by Jean-Marc, the accordionist from La Ligue du Bonheur for some Indian folk music. Accordion instead of harmonium, why not? :) We performed twice at Major Hill Park in Ottawa, right next to the Parliament buildings. I also did a short collaborative piece with Odissi dancer Sonia St-Michel. I accompanied her on tabla and recited bols.

In the studio with Elephant Stone!

This past July, I had the pleasure of going into the studio to recording again for the "Hindi-Rock" band, Elephant Stone. I played tabla on one of the band's latest singles, The Sea of Your Mind. As always, it's great fun to collaborate with bandleader Rishi Dhir, and Breakglass Studios mastermind Jace Lasek. Just like Elephant Stone's last EP, the entire recording was done through the Neve console, direct to reel-to-reel tape. No digital equipment or computer was involved; pure analog recording!

Currently, the first single, Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin, is available for free download from http://www.elephantstonemusic.com/. I assume that The Sea of Your Mind will be released shortly, stay tuned!

Jace pondering the optimum mic placement, while Rishi documents the studio session for posterity. :)

Choirs taking a trip around the world through music!

Yes, I am very behind in keeping up with my blog posts! This concert dates back to January 29, when I was guest percussionist with the Yellow Door Choir, directed by Eleanor Stubley. The concert, titled World Rhythms, featured music from India, Japan, Africa, Ireland, Canada, and the Middle-East. They set up a video camera, focused on my hands, and projected the video onto the big screen to the right of the stage. Never have I been made so aware of my every move, lol! Aside from tabla, I also played a couple of pieces on darbouka and pandeiro. The highlight was a choir arrangement of Jai Ho from the popular Bollywood film, Slumdog Millionaire. Fun!

Jumping forward six months, to June 4, for the Harmonia Westmount Women's Choir's concert We are the World, directed by Fredericka Petit-Homme. Another varied program of music from around the world, including India, Africa, Israel, Japan, Canada, and Ireland. It was also great fun and a real pleasure to be directed by one of my former students at McGill, Elizabeth Lanzer.

Kirtan with Hélène and Lea

In the past few months, I have had a great time accompanying kirtan sessions in the Montreal area. Last year, I played on Lea Longo's latest CD, Peace Chants, and just a few months ago, I recorded with Hélène Dalair for her CD, Mantra.

On May 13, Hélène invited me to perform for her CD launch at YogaMonde, a very well established (and beautiful) yoga studio in Sainte-Catherine, Québec. The place was jam packed, and there was a great vibe. YogaMonde seems to have a long tradition of kirtan, and so the participants were really into it. A really fun evening!

Then, on May 27, I accompanied Lea Longo for her kirtan at Vox Populi in Montreal. Again, a great turnout. It seems that Montreal has a small but very devoted kirtan scene! One thing about Lea's kirtans, is that once she starts, she connects all the matras together to form one long performance, spanning one-and-a-half to two hours. It's a great test of my endurance, and a lot of fun. :)

Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Spring kathak dance performances

It has been a great spring season, filled with numerous kathak dance performances. The more I work with dance, the more I love it.

On February 17, kathak dancer Sudeshna Maulik and I presented a lecture-performance at the Moving Dialogues conference, hosted by Concordia University in Montreal. The title of our presentation was Talking Hands, Talking Feet - The Unified Interpretation of Bol in the North Indian Tabla and Kathak Dance Traditions. Our presentation was very well received! I think that we were one of the only presenters at the conference representing a non-Western music and dance tradition. In observing others' presentations, it was interesting to note how dance and music are often considered as two completely separate entities in the Western setting, in contrast to Indian music and dance which are entirely inseparable!

On April 2, sarodiya Raja Bhattacharya and I accompanied Sudeshna at the Maison de la culture Parc-Extension in Montreal. We performed a short instrumental piece to open, followed by a full kathak performance in Teentaal. The audience was very responsive, and the performance was followed by a Q&A session.

In Canada, the month of May is Asian Heritage Month. This year, Sudeshna and I were fortunate to have been invited to perform as part of the festivities organised by the Festival Accès Asie. The first performance was on May 7, as part of a demonstration of Indian cuisine and culture at the Buffet Maharaja.

Next up on May 14, I accompanied Sudeshna's talented young student Rijha Bhattacharjee in her debut solo performance. In addition to performing for a live audience at Ex-Centris in Montreal, this performance was part of a nationwide broadcast and was simultaneously shown to live audiences in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. We also responded to comments and questions from audience members in the four cities.

The event was made up of performances from music and dance artists from all four cities, representing a wide variety of Asian cultures, in addition to lectures and discourses. It was quite an eye-opening experience, and a great way to showcase Asian talent from across the country. Congratulations to Rijha on a very successful debut performance and to the Accès Asie team for their excellent organisational skills!

Thanks to Caroline Tabah for the April 2 and May 14 photos.

Announcing the First Annual Summer Tabla Workshop with Shawn Mativetsky

I am very happy to announce the First Annual Summer Tabla Workshop with Shawn Mativetsky, hosted by the Schulich School of Music of McGill University, this summer from July 4 to 10, 2011.

During this intensive hands-on workshop, participants will learn tabla in the tradition of the Benares (Varanasi) gharana. The workshop is open to all levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). The schedule includes daily group practice sessions, four classes, and two listening/repertoire sessions. Classes are scheduled during the daytime. Students will live and breathe tabla for the duration of the workshop!

Tuition is 250$ and is due by June 27. Students must provide their own tabla. If you don’t already own a set, please contact me, and I will be happy to assist you.

For more information, or to register, please contact me at shawn.mativetsky@mcgill.ca

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Une Première estivale à Montréal :

1^er Atelier annuel de Tabla avec Shawn Mativetsky

À l'École de musique Schulich de l'Université McGill

Montréal, Canada

Du 4 au 10 juillet 2011

Lors de cet atelier intensif les participants apprendront le tabla, instrument de percussion de l'Inde du Nord, selon la tradition du gharana de tabla de Bénarès (Vârânasî). L'atelier est ouvert à tous les niveaux (débutant, intermédiaire, avancé). Le programme inclut des sessions quotidiennes de pratique en groupe, quatre leçons, et deux séances d'écoute de répertoire musical. Les cours auront lieu pendant la journée. Venez vibrer aux rythmes du tabla!

Disciple du légendaire Pandit Sharda Sahai, de la tradition de tabla de Bénarès, Shawn Mativetsky est très sollicité en tant qu’interprète et éducateur.

Tarif : 250 $ payable le 27 juin 2011.

Les étudiants doivent fournir leur propre tabla. Si vous n’en possédez pas déjà, s'il-vous-plaît contacter Shawn. Il sera heureux de vous aider.

Pour de plus amples informations, ou pour vous inscrire, s'il-vous-plaît contacter Shawn Mativetsky à l’adresse suivante: shawn.mativetsky@mcgill.ca

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