TYNGSBORO, MA–Kalavaibhav and LearnQuest are presenting a vocal music concert by the well-known vocalist Rahul Deshpande on Saturday, Sept 21, 2019, at 4:00 pm at Innovation Academy IN Tyngsboro, MA.
Deshpande will be accompanied by star musicians Milind Kulkarni on the Harmonium and Yashwant Vaishanv on the Tabla. Deshpande is a versatile Hindustani vocalist who will be presenting a Hindustani classical vocal concert that will also include semi-classical genres such as Naatyasangeet.
Date: Saturday, Sept 21, 2019, 4pm-7pm
Online tickets – Premium: $50; Regular: $30 are available at: www.kalavaibhav.org
Artist Bios:
Rahul Deshpande
Rahul Deshpande is the grandson of legendary classical maestro, Late Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande. He received his initial training in music from Late Shri Gangadharbua Pimpalkhare. Rahul continued his further training in music under Late Shri Madhusudhan Patwardhan and then under Smt. Ushatai Chipalkatti. The culmination of his training in music occurred when he met and received guidance from Pt. Mukul Shivaputra, son of another legend Pt. Kumar Gandharva, a close friend and contemporary of Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande.
In his formative years, Rahul was influenced by Pt Kumar Gandharva’s gayaki, spending grueling hours listening to his nirguni bhajans and trying to reproduce them to perfection. However, as faith and genes would have it, Rahul naturally swayed in the direction of his grandfather’s style, learning complex ragas, its bandishes, thumris, dadras, ghazals, natyasangeet, bhajans, all those forms on which his grandfather had acquired absolute and unparalleled authority.
Rahul is a judge on Zee Marathi’s popular reality TV show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – Little Champs”. His work in the film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali was much appreciated. He was the playback singer for the songs of “Khansaheb Aftab Hussain Bareliwale”, played by Sachin Pilgaonkar in the film. The role was played by Rahul himself in the play Katyar Kaljat Ghusali.
Over the years, Rahul has earned accolades for being one of the most versatile vocalists of his generation. He is a recipient of several awards and honours at such a young age, such as: Rasikagrani Dattopant Deshpande Award, presented to him at the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards 2012 by Lata Mangeshkar, Mohan Wagh Puraskar, Pu La Deshpande Sanman, Balgandharva Puraskar by Natyaparishad, “Kumar Gandharva Puraskar by Kalavaibhav, Aurangabad, Sudhir Phadke Puraskar and Special Jury Award Best Singers in Zee Chitr Gaurav 2016
Rahul has also a judge through the entire schedule of Marathi “Sa re ga ma pa Little Champs”. He organizes t a 3-day annual music festival “Vasantotsav” in honor of his grandfather. He has also produced and acted in the “Sangeet Sanshay Kallol” and “Sangeet Maanaapamaan”, yesteryear’s musicals that were widely appreciated by audiences as much for its music as it was for its timely comedy. He continues to run these plays to a full house.
Milind Kulkarni
Milind Kulkarni’s natural flair for Harmonium reflects the eternal essence of Hindustani Classical Music as handed down in the true Guru Shishya Parampara. Endowed with the talent and mastery over his instrument, he has carved for himself a place in the divine world of Music capturing the hearts of the listeners. Milind’s tryst with Harmonium bloomed at the tender age of seven. Over a period of time, under the gentle guidance of his teachers and his own efforts–dedication and rigorous Riyaaz–this fine art has reached a state of exceptional caliber. Milind is today a reputed accompanist and fast emerging as a soloist.
Milind’s father, an avid Music lover, recognized the inborn talent of young Milind and opened the world of music at the age of 7th. Pt. Vasantrao Gurav of Sangli was the first formal Guru who introduced Milind to the Seven Swaras. Discovering the potential of Milind, Pt. Anna Diwan of Sangli further enriched Milind’s talents. Today Milind is under the fine tutelage of Pt. Pramod Marathe, leading Harmonium player and Principal at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune.
Milind has accompanied distinguished and renowned musicians of India such as Pt. Jasraj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Ustad Rashid Khan, Dr. Veena Sahastrabuddhe, Pt. Swapan Chaudhari, Pt. Kumar Bose, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee, Pt. Ajay Chakrabarty, Smt. Padma Talwalkar, Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Pt. Ullhas Kashalkar, Pt. Sanjeev Abhyankar, Smt Koushiki Chakraborty.
Yashwant Vaishnav
Yashwant Vaishnav is hailed by audiences and music aficionados as a ‘wonder child’. Born on 19 January 1993 in Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, Shri Yashwant Vaishnav was initiated into instrumental music by his father, Shri Rajendra Vaishnav. He further received advanced training in tabla under Shri Hemant Sachdev and Shri Mukund Bhale. Presently, he is polishing his art under the tutelage of Pt. Yogesh Samsi. Yashwant has been honored with prestigious titles from various organizations including the Bal Shree Honour from National Bal Bhavan, and the Kala Vibhuti Samman from Sanskar Bharti.
He was also awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2016 for his notable talent in the field of Hindustani instrumental music.
