Rare Duet with Shubha Mudgal and Bombay Jayashri to Play The Town Hall, 5/31

SAMAA presents a rare jugalbandi (duet) with iconic classical vocalists from North and South India who will be performing for the first time together in New York. Shubha Mudgal and Bombay Jayashri will play on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 7:30PM at The Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street, NYC.

Tickets: $25, $40, $50, $75, $100. Available at Ticketmaster 800-982-2787, Ticketmaster.com, Town Hall Box Office and 917-409-7262. For more information, visit http://thetownhall.org/event/532-a-rare-duet-featuring-shubha-mudgal-and-bombay-jayashri.

SAMAA (South Asian Music and Dance Association) brings the entrancing classical ragas of North India (Hindustani) and South India (Carnatic) to Town Hall in a jugalbandi (duet) with two master vocalists: Shubha Mudgal, whose magnetic voice has graced the worlds of classical, khayal, thumri and pop, and Bombay Jayashri, a leading voice in the new generation of Carnatic singers who recently came to the attention of American audiences with her haunting Oscar-nominated song "Pi's Lullaby" in Life of Pi. They will be accompanied by Embar Kannan (violin), Aneesh Pradhan (tabla - pair of small hand drums), J Vaidhyanathan (mridangam - double-headed drum) and Sudhir Nayak (harmonium).

Shubha Mudgal, one of India's most popular singers whose repertoire encompasses a wide range of music, has become one of the foremost vocalists in Hindustani classical music. She trained with such renowned gurus as Pt Vinay Chandra Maudgalya, Pt Jitendra Abhisheki, Pt Kumar Gandharva and Pt Ramashraya Jha. In the 1980s, she began performing classical music; in the 1990s, she began to experiment with other styles of music. She has made numerous recordings, including the well-known Ab ke Sawan andDholna. In addition to her career as a concert artist, she has composed music for Hollywood movies, documentaries and telefilms. Her numerous titles and honors include the prestigious 2000 Padma Shri, the 1996 National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Director for Amrit Beej, and the 1998 Gold Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music for Dance of the Wind at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Bombay Jayashri, rooted strongly in traditional Carnatic music, has helped to bring Carnatic music to wider audiences in the West. Representing the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family, Jayashri was groomed under the guidance of the legendary violinist Shri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman and Smt T. R. Balamani. She carries the torch of the Lalgudi tradition, but has also evolved a distinct style of her own. Among the most sought after Carnatic musicians today, she has performed extensively in India and abroad, including a recent trip to China, in many prominent venues. She became the first Carnatic classical performer in the Opera House in Durban and the Russian Opera House in Helsinki, Finland and has collaborated with musicians from other genres, including the Finnish pianist/composer Eero Hameenniemi and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. In America she has gained fame for "Pi's Lullaby," which she co-wrote and sang in Ang Lee's Life of Pi. A student of Hindustani music for seven years, she moves seamlessly between the Hindustani and Carnatic styles of classical music.

SAMAA (South Asian Music and Arts Association) is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quality music and arts from South Asia through live performances, education and advocacy. Changing times demand a diverse and innovative approach to spreading the music of great artists. Our goal is to keep the music alive for future generations through classical, semi-classical, folk, fusion, Sufi and jazz concerts. SAMAA aims to spread music and arts from South Asia to the western world. http://samaa.us.