Harris Center Announces Zakir Hussain & Rakesh Chaurasia

Today, Zakir Hussain is appreciated in the field of percussion and the music world at large as an international phenomenon and one of the greatest musicians of our time. A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and exciting performances have established him as a National Treasure in his home country of India, and around the world as one of India's reigning cultural ambassadors. He returns to Harris Center with flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, for what promises to be a magical evening of virtuosic performance.

Zakir Hussain performs with Rakesh Chaurasia Saturday, March 10, 2018; 7:30 pm. $28-$48; Premium $53. Students with ID $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking permits are issued at the time of ticket purchase. The Harris Center is located on the west side of the Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Along with his legendary father and teacher, Ustad Allarakha, Zakir Hussain has elevated the status of his instrument both in India and around the world. His playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity founded in formidable knowledge and study.

Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir's contribution to world music has been unique, with many historic collaborations including Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, Remember Shakti, the Diga Rhythm Band, Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, as well as recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, YoYo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto Moreira, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Mark Morris, Rennie Harris, and the Kodo drummers. His music and extraordinary contribution to the music world were honored in April of 2009, with four widely-heralded and sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall's Artist Perspective series.

A child prodigy, Zakir was touring by the age of twelve. He came to the United States in 1970, performing his first USA concert at the Fillmore East in New York City with Pandit Ravi Shankar, embarking on an illustrious international career. The recipient of countless honors, Zakir received the title of Padma Bhushan in 2002, and Padma Shri in 1988, becoming the youngest percussionist to be awarded these honors, given to civilians of merit, by the Indian government.

In 2007, readers' polls from both Modern Drummer and Drum! magazines named him Best World Music and Best Worldbeat Drummer respectively.

On February 8, 2009, Zakir received a Grammy in the Best Contemporary World Music category for Global Drum Project, his group with Mickey Hart, Giovanni Hidalgo and Sikiru Adepoju. The Downbeat Critics' Poll named him Best Percussionist in 2012.

Zakir received the distinct honor of co-composing the opening music for the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 1996. In 1998, he was commissioned to compose music for Alonzo King's Lines Ballet (for which he received an Isadora Duncan Award) and an original work for the San Francisco Jazz Festival. In 2000, Zakir worked again with choreographer Alonzo King, this time composing music for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In 2002, his commissioned work for choreographer Mark Morris' "Kolam" premiered as part of YoYo Ma's "Silk Road Project" with YoYo Ma and Zakir performing Zakir's composition live for the performance.

In September 2006, Triple Concerto for Banjo, Bass and Tabla, a piece co-composed by Zakir, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck, was performed by them with the Nashville Symphony at the gala opening of the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville.

In 2007, the government of India chose Zakir to compose an anthem to celebrate India's 60th year of independence. The song, "Jai Hind", has been recorded by an array of India's finest classical vocalists and pop singers.

Zakir is the recipient of the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, the United States' most prestigious honor for a master in the traditional arts, presented by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the United States Senate on September 28, 1999. In 2005, he was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council at Princeton University, where he resided for the 2005-2006 autumn semester as full professor in the music department, teaching a survey course in Indian classical music and dance. In the spring of 2007, this course was taught again by Zakir, this time at Stanford University. In the spring of 2015, he was in residence at UC Berkeley as Regents Lecturer.

In 1992, Zakir founded Moment! Records which features original collaborations in the field of contemporary world music and live concert performances by great masters of the classical music of India. The label presents live recordings of great masters of the classical music of both North and South India, world music and a Masters of Percussion series. Moment Records' 2006 release, Golden Strings of the Sarode with Aashish Khan and Zakir Hussain, was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional World Music category for that year. Moment Records' recent DVD release, Zakir Hussain: The SF Jazz Sessions, featuring a host of Zakir's world-class collaborators, has been critically acclaimed.

In 2015, he was voted "Best Percussionist" by the Downbeat Critics' Poll and by Modern Drummer's Readers' Poll.

On January 15, 2018, HarperCollins India released Zakir's long-awaited oral memoir (available on Amazon), A Life in Music, by Nasreen Munni Kabir, the distinguished British television producer, director and author. The memoir is the result of two years of intensive interviews.

Rakesh Chaurasia, the nephew and child prodigy of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, has a famous name to live up to. Amongst the promising musicians of the second generation, Rakesh has carved a niche for himself as an accomplished flautist.

Rakesh's flute has matched note and rhythm with wind instruments of other cultures and has performed jugalbandi (classical Indian duet) with Carnatic and other world famous instrumental styles. Rakesh's forte is in blending his flute without sacrificing its identity in mixed instrumental concerts. He is also an accomplished studio musician, having recorded with many of the leading stalwarts of the Indian film industry.

Rakesh has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He received the Indian Music Academy Award, presented by the Honourable President Of India, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 2007, the Aditya Birla Kalakiran Puraskar in 2008, the Guru Shishya Award in 2011, IWAP-Pandit Jasraj Sangeet Ratna Award in 2013 and the Pannalal Ghosh Puraskar in 2013.

Rakesh has regularly appeared in prominent festivals such as the WOMAD festival in Athens, Womad Earthstation in Europe, and the 'Festivals of India' in Russia, Japan, the US, and Europe, His growing maturity and status has brought him invitations to perform solo at major events within India and abroad; most notably, Rakesh was invited to conclude the twenty-four hour live BBC Radio broadcast celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee, reaching audiences worldwide.

Recently Rakesh toured as a duo for classical concerts as well as for The Masters of Percussion with legendary tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain at prestigious venues across the globe. Rakesh has also performed with some international names such as Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Joshua Redman.

This Year Marks Seven Seasons of Great Shows. Up Close. In Folsom!

The Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College brings the community together to share in cultural experiences featuring the work of artists from throughout the region and around the world. Built and operated by the Los Rios Community College District, the $50 million, state-of-the-art regional performing arts center boasts three intimate venues with outstanding acoustics, an art gallery, a recording studio, elegant teaching spaces, plenty of safe parking and all the other amenities of a world-class performing arts venue. Each year the Center hosts approximately 400 events attracting upwards of 150,000 annually.