The Arohi Ensemble Concert

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) September 5, 2011 -- Paul Livingstone, Abhijit Banerjee, Peter Jacobson, Sheela Bringi & Dave Lewis and Mahesh Kale (guest vocalist)
Paul Livingstone,

An American born in Beirut, Lebanon Paul Z. Livingstone is an international performing artist known for his virtuosity on the sitar and a colorful array of stringed instruments including fretless guitars and requintos of his own design. Paul is a dynamic performer in the rigorous improvisational realm of Indian classical music and through the vehicle of his own original ‘ragajazz chamber music’. He has devoted the past 23 years of his musical life to the intensive study of the sitar and the ragas of North India from his teenage days when he lived in India. Paul received his BFA & MFA from Cal Arts learning under Amiya Dasgupta, Rajeev Taranath,John Bergamo & Charlie Haden among others after which he became a protégé of the living
legend maestro Ravi Shankar. Livingstone has performed throughout the US, South East Asia,Mexico, Spain and most recently in India when he was recognized in the Calcutta press as “an Indian soul in white skin”. He has worked with diverse virtuoso artists such as Swapan Chaudhuri, Geetha Bennett, Kenny Burrell, Prince Diabate, Hossien Alizadeh, Ali Jihad Racy,

Miroslav Tadic, the Liän Ensemble, and popular artists Ozomatli, Cypress Hill, Alanis Morissette & Rufus Wainright. In addition to leading the Arohi Ensemble he has composed scores for film, television and live theater. Paul is the Founder & Artistic Director of the Sangeet School of World Music in Los Angeles and was also on the music faculty of Cal Arts for 5 years. He has received numerous awards, grants and fellowships for his unique work and
leadership in the field of ‘world music synthesis’ as a composer, educator and ensemble leader.His vision to blend and coalesce diverse global traditions into a compelling cross-cultural sound reflects his innermost social, political and spiritual values. Paul online:www.tanpura.com


Abhijit Banerjee,

Abhijit Banerjee is among the premier tabla players of India and is one of the most sought after performers of Indian classical music. For the past twenty years, Abhijit has crafted a unique style and creative approach, which has garnered accolades and awards from all over the world for his sensitivity, skill and deep musicality. Along with his contributions to Indian classical music he has left his mark as a crossover artist, both as a performer and composer.
Abhijit has accompanied most of the major figures of Indian music including Pandit Ravi Shankar, the late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Begum Parweena Sultana, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, and Dr. Balamurali Krishnan. As a tabla soloist, he has made his mark through performances and recordings in India & abroad. His crossover work includes collaborations

with musicians such as Ry Cooder, Larry Corryell and Trilok Gurtu. Abhijit founded his own touring ensemble TARANG performing his original compositions, and released a CD of the same title. He founded & established Dhwani Academy of Percussion in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore and Calcutta attracting talented students from around the world. Abhijit
online: www.abhijitbanerjee.com



Peter Jacobson,
Cellist Peter Jacobson is a performer with eclectic influences ranging from his western classical training, Indian music, to reggae, hip hop and other popular music styles. He has toured across the US, Mexico, Japan and Southeast Asia in a variety of settings from rock to classical. He performs regularly with chamber music ensembles and orchestras and has also studied the classical music of India for the past 8 years. He performs regularly with Southwest

Chamber Music, Arohi Ensemble, DAKAH Hip Hop Orchestra and the Los Angeles String Collective. He is blessed and inspired to have recorded and performed with some of the finest hip hop producers, rock bands and jazz players. At USC he studied cello with the late, great Eleonore Schoenfeld and at Cal Arts with Indian master Rajeev Taranath.



Sheela Bringi

Sheela Bringi is a rare songbird whose music is both earthen and ethereal. Her unique and resonant voice and her mesmerizing harp playing -- emerging from her roots in Indian classical and jazz music -- defy genre. Sheela is an innovative musician amongst the Asian diaspora, being compared to Susheela Raman, Sheila Chandra, and Anoushka Shankar, but with her own unique sound. LA-based PremaSoul, Sheela's band with Southern jazz trumpeter Clinton Patterson, is a case in point, with its "colorful mosaic of intriguing, rhythmic meditations" (Orange County Weekly), and its "universal appeal", "music for the future" (Santa Cruz Good Times).



Dave Lewis

Dave Lewis is sought after for his sharp musicality and proficiency as a drummer, as well for his extensive experience as a pianist and composer. From an early age, he studied classical and jazz piano, African drumming and drum set. At fourteen, he was featured on his first CD and at sixteen, became the youngest member of First Circle, a popular San Francisco Bay Area band. He attended the Berklee College of Music as a scholarship recipient. He recently completed his studies there and continues to compose, produce and perform his original works as well as recording and performing with many others in Boston and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Along with Arohi ensemble, Dave has performed with Joe Lovano, Sheila E., Jetro da
Silva, Victor Mendoza, Bryan Baker, Jerome Kyles, Thaddeus Hogarth and Walfredo Reyes Sr., as well as his own quartet, and the Boston based alternative rock group, A'tris.
Dave online: www.davelewismusic.com
Mahesh Kale

Mahesh Kale is an accomplished vocalist of the new generation with a captivating stage presence, that has along with his uncommon musicality and vocal dexterity, positioned him firmly on the national and international radar of the North Indian Classical Music community. As a disciple of Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, he has an illustrious pedigree, and his thrilling performances bear this out.
For more information visit Boston Court Theater

classical     Hindustani Music     paul livingstone     sitar     Tabla     vocal