BOSTON– MIT Sangam, Learnquest Academy of Music, and India Society of Worcester (ISW) are organizing a contemporary Indian classical music concert at MIT’s Kresge auditorium on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 4:30pm.
The concert will feature New Delhi based Anirudh Varma along with his 11 member collective, who will be showcasing India’s traditional classical and folk compositions in new light. Anirudh Varma is one of India’s finest young composer, pianist, and producer.
Anirudh Varma comes from a musical family with his great-great-grandfather Major Ranjit Singh being a founding member of Allahabad’s Prayag Sangeet Samiti. A trained western pianist, he holds a masters degree in performance studies and has presented more than 500 concerts across stages in India and abroad. Anirudh Varma has performed in front of sold-out concerts at festivals such as the iconic Jaipur literary festival, the Mahindra Kabira festival, Festival of India at Kuwait and Maldives, and at prestigious Indian auditoriums such as the India Habitat Center, Neeta Ambani Cultural Center & Kamani auditorium. Anirudh’s ensemble recently won the 2023 best Indie band award of the year from Clef Music awards.
The Anirudh Varma Collective is comprised of some of the finest young musicians in India, including Hindustani and Carnatic traditions, keyboard synthesizer music by Anirudh, talented young artists on the Sitar (Soumitra Thakur), Sarod(Rohan Prasanna), Bass guitar(Madhur Chaudhury), Guitar(Shrikant Biswakarma), Tabla(Saptak Sharma), Western drums(Suyash Gabriel), Carnatic vocal (Prateek Narsimha), Hindustani vocal(Pavithra Chari & Saptak Chatterjee). USA based Hindustani vocalist Apoorva Deshpande will be participating as a special guest artist in the September 10 concert.
The purpose of the Anirudh Varma Collective is to take classical music out of its niche viewership to a larger global audience through convergence with diverse genres while keeping it rooted in Indian tradition. The emphasis is on giving a fresh interpretation to classical compositions by legends such as Kumar Gandharva, Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Rajan Sajan Mishra and other masters. The addition of Western piano, drums, bass guitar and guitar gives the traditional music compositions a contemporary feel.
The audience can expect a unique re-imagination of Indian classical music which will have a fresh and broader appeal to the young and old. The participants in the collective are among the finest young talent from India, trained by living legends and are current torch bearers of India’s precious living tradition of classical music.
How to buy tickets:
Tickets priced at $100 for premium tickets, $30 for general admission and $10 for full-time students with valid ID are available on a first-come-first-served basis at tickets.learnquest.org/avcollective
