Sunday April 17th
6:30pm in Oakland CA, USA
@ Studio Grand (by the Grand Lake Theater)
http://gautamtejasganeshan.com/concerts.html
Gautam Tejas Ganeshan - song
Ashwin Krishnakumar - bamboo flute
Rohan Krishnamurthy - mridangam
Christina Boyd - tambura
Vijay Narayan - tambura
Gautam Tejas Ganeshan has performed widely in the SF Bay Area since 2004, including at the SFMOMA, BAM/PFA, SFJAZZ, Asian Art Museum (SF), Hertz Hall at UC Berkeley, and more, as well as having given workshops at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Stanford Jazz Workshop, and guest-lectures for music courses at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz.
He is the founder and director of the Sangati Center, a non-profit chamber music concert series in San Francisco that has hosted more than 400 public chamber concerts in SF, Oakland, and Berkeley since 2006, and has earned support from the NEA, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and more.
In 2013 Gautam was awarded the Creative Work Fund, supporting the creation of a song cycle entitled "Story of This Place," and has received a number of commissions, including "By Daylight" at the ODC Theater, "Silhouette of Songs" by the LEF Foundation, and "New Directions in Indian Classical Music" by the San Francisco Foundation in 2008.
"Vocalist Gautam Tejas Ganeshan frees carnatic vocal virtuosity to access its angular outer reaches... An unflinching, intelligent intensity... Sophisticated technique and powerful repertoire."
- SF International Arts Festival
"Thoughtful, ecstatic vocal style... New music from an old tradition."
- SFJAZZ
"Subversive... Affecting and bold... The violinist and mridangam players played off, mimicked, and seemed to challenge one another during the group's two-hour set, which also included free-form solos. At times Ganeshan seemed to be shaking his head in agreement..."
- East Bay Express
"A magnet for local Indian classical musicians."
- SF Chronicle
"Ganeshan shared five of his alluring sets of lyrics [with] vocal ornamentations, involving trills and glissandos... Ganeshan's instrument was neither strong nor showy, but rather eminently lyrical and supple, its dramatic impact bolstered by the singer's expressive use of his arms and hands. A local treasure... A unique act... "
- SF Classical Voice
"A stunning performer... There's something raw and immediate about the music."
- Long Beach Press Telegram
"A dream... passionate, knowledgeable, mindblowing."
- Asian Art Museum, SF
"An incredible presence... gentle renegade performance."
- Berkeleyside
"Blending tradition and innovation in song... a rich and evocative blend, implying a nonlinear sense of time... The ensemble was quite wonderful."
- Repeat Performances
"Truly unique writing & singing. Built on a firm foundation of Carnatic music, but definitely a story of this place and this life. It's a blessing to experience his song and music filling the room on regular basis. It's a cleansing, enjoying experience. Very good vibrations, originating from serious practice, but delivered in humility and light heart."
- Subterranean Arthouse
"Carnatic music with distinction and an inimitable style... Rooted in an old tradition, Gautam sings mostly in English, opening up this classic Indian form to new audiences."
- Freight & Salvage
"Who are the raga nerds? ... Ganeshan is, doing vocal concerts in an innovative style."
- India Currents
