THE UC DAVIS DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC PRESENTS THE
Hindustani Vocal Ensemble
Rita Sahai, director; vocals and harmonium with
Jerry Barr, tabla
Jennifer Newell, harmonium
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PROGRAM
Raga – Zila Kafi
Raga – Rageshri
Bhajan – Misha Desh
Vasundhara Rita Sahai, soloist
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12:05 pm, Thursday, 25 February 2010 Room 115, Music Building
[INSERT STANDARD “QUIET” TEXT.] This performance is made possible in part by the generous support from the Joy S. Shinkoskey Series of Noon Concerts endowment.
THE UC DAVIS HINDUSTANI VOCAL ENSEMBLE Rita Sahai, director
Miguel Asuzano Jogveer Singh Athwal James Banks Christina Bame Joshua Cameron Chris Congleton Kiz Sharifa Friedman Anika Hague Jordan Hamilton Paul Himmelstein Laura Holland Melisa James Andrea Kaine Calvin Le Olina Lizzy Kelvin Lo Rania Mardini Joy Jaco Pope Gayathri Ramanathan Molly Raney Shaheen Shams Christopher Turk Abdullah Yar
The Hindustani Vocal Ensemble welcomes members regardless of previous musical experience. Please consider joining us. ‐‐
ABOUT NORTH INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC
Indian classical music is generally divided into two broad categories: the North Indian Hindustani tradition and the South Indian Karnatak tradition. Today’s performance exemplifies the Hindustani tradition.
The classical music of North India is an uplifting and extraordinary music, dating back thousands of years. Although improvisation plays an essential part in the performance of this music, it has a very highly developed theory with the tala (rhythm) and raga (melody) systems.
The raga is the melodic framework of Indian music and is based on a scale of five, six, or seven notes. Its characteristics include melodic ornamentations of certain notes, inclusions of microtones, certain characteristic phrases, and the existence of certain important notes over others. All of these make the raga recognizable. Each musician tries to elaborate the raga according to his/her capacity but always staying within the notes applies to the raga. Traditionally, each raga is associated with a particular mood or emotion and time of day.
The tala is a rhythmic cycle of a certain number of beats that acts as a metrical framework for musical compositions and rhythmical improvisations. The tala usually is kept with different hand gestures, such as clapping, counting, and waving. Listeners can enjoy the music by anticipating the variations in the gamakas by the performers and expecting how the performers handle the intricate details of different ragas.
‐‐‐ ABOUT THE INSTRUMENTS
The tabla, with the sitar, is probably one of the most recognizable Hindustani instruments. It consists of two drums: the left is called bayan (the larger and rounder of the two), and the right, dahina. The right drum is tuned to sa (the Western do); the other drum is untuned. The role of the tabla is to play the theka (skeletal framework) of a tala. The tabla player will also elaborate on this and may perform his own improvisations.
The harmonium functions as an accompanying instrument that helps to enrich the sound of the melody. It also plays a drone, which is fundamental to the texture of Hindustani music.
‐‐‐ ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Born in Allahabad, India, Rita Sahai was accepted at age 9 as a disciple of renowned vocalist Pandit Rama Shankar Mishra, who groomed her in the romantic Benares Gharana style. After coming to the United States, Sahai continued her studies under the world‐famous sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Kahn, training in the Seni Allaudin Gharana style known for its creativity and purity of ragas. Impressed by her talent and passion toward music, Khan Sahib has given her the title Gayan Alankar (Jewel of Music). An acclaimed composer and performer, Sahai tours extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, and India. She is also in demand at recording studios at home and abroad, where she graciously lends her voice to many diverse musical projects, including contributing vocal tracks for Grammy Award‐ winning artist Béla Fleck and performing on Alonzo King’s Sacred Texts, a CD of international music that won the Isadora Duncan Award for music excellence. Sahai has produced serveral CDs of her own, including Rangamalika.
Jerry Barr, tabla, has studied different styles of percussion since he was a small child, formally studying jazz and African drumming. He began studying the tabla in 1995 with Ustad Zakir Hussain, and he began performing on the tabla in 2001. He regularly accompanies Hindustani classical music as well as Carnatic and Gujarati Swaminarayan devotional music. He is also a regular performer at the Sangati Center in San Francisco. He provided tabla accompaniment for the world premiere of Rita Sahai's critically acclaimed Vasundhara‐Ode to Mother Earth, performing with Sahai at UC Davis and Mills College. He has also recorded for the Swara Lahari television program. With a passion for Carnatic music, Barr provides rare tabla accompaniment for Bay Area Carnatic music festivals such as South India Fine Arts' Thyagaraja Aradhana and Silicon Andhra's Annamacharya Ustav. In July 2009, he performed for the B.A.P.S. Swaminarayan Guru Purnima Festival in Bochasan, Gujarat, India, and also performed for Bhajan programs in Amdavad and Chennai.
Jennifer Newell, harmonium, is a gifted, eclectic musician who boldly introduces a new paradigm of music invoking body, mind, and spirit. Her music honors the master musicians of the past, allures listeners to the present, and is an invitation to the future. Raised in California, Newell studied diverse musical forms, including Western Classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues. At 17, she began working as a studio session singer and voiceover artist. Her discography includes gold, platinum, and diamond award‐winning records/CDs by Aretha Franklin, Chris Isaak, Whitney Houston, George Benson, Yoko Ogimoni (Japan), Greg Allman, Clarence Clemons, Sheena Easton, Lionel Richie, George Michaels, and Rick James; the soundtrack for 9 1/2 Weeks; and many television and radio spots, including Cleo Award‐winning commercials for Sega and Got Milk, and the theme song for the Dallas Morning Show. Newell’s river met the ocean when she became a student of India’s National Living Treasure, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. With him, she studied Hindustani classical music, vocals, and harmonium. She continued her study with Rita Sahai, and together they toured and produced Sahai’s last two acclaimed CDs.
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UPCOMING EVENTS…