The World Music Institute's 2014-15 Masters of Indian Music & Dance Series Presents KAUSHIKI CHAKRABORTY, 11/14

World Music Institute, in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, presents Kaushiki Chakraborty on Friday, November 14, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. in the Met's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.

In a rare New York appearance, the virtuoso Indian vocalist displays her stunning mastery of South and North Indian vocal traditions. Her gorgeously lyrical sounds have won international praise; today she stands "among the front-ranking new-generation vocalists, with her impeccable technique and musicality," writes The Hindu.

This show marks the opening performance in the World Music Institute's 2014-15 Masters of Indian Music & Dance series, continuing WMI's long tradition as the leading New York presenter of the finest in Indian classical music, both Hindustani (North India) and Carnatic (South India), since its founding in 1985.

This concert is also presented in conjunction with the Met Museum's exhibitionTreasures from India: Jewels from the Al?Thani Collection, on view October 28, 2014-January 25, 2015.

This event is the second of three collaborations this season between the World Music Institute and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who are enjoying a recently formed and ongoing relationship. In addition to Kaushiki Cahkraborty on November 14, performances include the opening concert with Mali's Ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate at the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium on October 30, and a site-specific piece by India's famed dance troupe Nrityagram at the Met's majestic Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing onJanuary 10.

KAUSHIKI CHAKRABORTY

kaushikichakraborty.com

The journey that started from home under the tutelage of her mother Chandana Chakraborty and father Ajoy Chakrabarty led to her first major concert at the age of 16 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. In the audience were some of the greatest names in Hindustani music, including Zakir Hussain, Alla Rakha Khan, Sultan Khan, Amjad Ali Khan et al. The verdict of that evening was unanimous: the next big phenomenon in Hindustani music had arrived.

Kaushiki remained a scholar of ITC SRA till 2004 and graduated with 'A Top', the highest grade given by the academy. The grade was a vindication of what her audiences already knew. By then, she was the leading female vocalist of her generation, having performed at all the leading music festivals in the country and with several foreign tours under her belt.

Given that there were not many formidable female vocalists from the Patiyala Gharana in her generation, there was the added expectation of filling that void. Kaushiki more than delivered on both fronts: as a deserving inheritor of her father's mantle and as torchbearer of the Patiala tradition.

She chose to adapt the tenets of the Patiala gayaki to suit her own voice and temperament. She tempered down the strong aakars and the weighty gamaks to adhere to a more feminine sensibility. Her understanding of femininity is a balance between lilt and power. Her gayaki adequately expresses this balance, as it strides effortlessly across khayal and semi-classical genres and beyond.

At a time when all young classical musicians are involved in collaborative music, Kaushiki has been a rather late entrant. But she has more than made up for lost time. Over the last 3 years, she has sung in films and has been part of the hugely popular MTV Coke Studio project.

TICKETS

Tickets for all World Music Institute events are available for purchase online at www.worldmusicinstitute.org, by calling (212) 545-7536, or in person at the WMI Box Office at 101 Lafayette Street, #801.

Student and group discounts are available, as are VIP tickets for select events. Discounts are also available for WMI Friends with memberships starting at $70. WMI Friends enjoy priority seating throughout the season.

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