Pt. Shantanu Bhattacharyya & Students LIVE at Aga Khan Museum
Raag-Mala Toronto, in partnership with the Aga Khan Museum, is proud to present Shantanu Bhattacharya & Students on Saturday October 25th at 7:30pm
Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya is one of the foremost vocalists of Hindustani classical music today, renowned for his mastery of Khayal and Thumri and for carrying forward the rich legacy of the Patiala gharana. Trained by legendary gurus including Meera Banerjee and Ajoy Chakrabarty, Shantanu has performed at major festivals across India and around the world. His family is an integral part of his musical life: his wife Smt. Durba Bhattacharyya, a gifted singer and harmonium accompanist, and their daughter Mitra, an emerging young vocalist, often share the stage with him—embodying the living tradition of music passed from generation to generation.
For this special Raga-Mala Toronto season finale on October 25th, Shantanu is joined by Canadian brothers Jonathan Kay and Andrew Kay, long-time disciples who immersed themselves in the guru-shishya parampara, living and studying within his family’s musical orbit in Kolkata for nearly a decade. Their collaboration builds bridges across continents and generations, expanding the reach of Indian classical music through its application on Western instruments. Completing the ensemble is the brilliant tabla artist Sudhir Ghorai, a top disciple of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, whose dynamic playing brings rhythmic depth and vitality. Together, they promise an evening of artistry, dialogue, and continuity in the timeless tradition of Hindustani raag sangeet.
This concert is part of Raag-Mala Toronto’s ‘Sowing the Seeds of Raag Sangeet in Canada’ series.
Ticket Pricing:
Balcony: $40
Orchestra: $50
Raag-Mala Member Discount: 10%
A limited number of $20 student tickets will be available for purchase directly from Raag-Mala Toronto. Please email raagmalatoronto@gmail.com for details.
Tickets will be going on sale on Monday October 6th at 10am
TICKETS
If you are unable to attend a concert, pass your complimentary tickets to a friend!
To help us assign seats, you may be contacted to confirm attendance
Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya is one of the finest vocalists in Hindustani Raag Sangeet today. He came first in both Khayal and Thumri categories in the Akashbani Music Competition at the age of 20, and achieved the Top Grade designation from Prasar Bharati early in his career.
Initiated into music by his mother Ira Bhattacharyya, Shantanu received further training from Sukhendu Goswami, and received extensive taalim from the stalwarts Pandit Prasun Banerjee and Vidushi Meera Banerjee, both of whom had studied under the late Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, the legendary exponent of Patiala gharana singing style. Shantanu also studied with Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata.
Shantanu has sung at many major festivals in India such as the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, Allauddin Khan Smriti Samaroh, Sangeet Natak Akademi Festival, to name a few. He is featured regularly on radio and TV, and has travelled widely in Canada, USA, UK, France, Italy, Finland, Germany, Australia and Singapore.
He has conducted music workshops at schools all over the world, composed numerous Raag-based ensemble compositions, written articles for journals and books, compositions of devotional songs and meditation music, released in CDs.
Shantanu Bhattacharyya’s music school Aalor Pathe Raga Dhwani in Kolkata has won accolades from one and all, for the brilliant performances of the young pupils learning under him in the guru-shishya tradition.
Sri Sudhir Kumar Ghorai is an accomplished Tabla artist and a senior disciple of the legendary maestro, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee since 1990. Under his guru’s guidance, Sudhir has mastered the nuances of Tabla and establishing himself as a sought-after accompanist for both vocal and instrumental classical music.
Sudhir was born into a musical family and began his early training under his cousin, Shri Amulya Kala, and later refined his skills under Shri Bankim Maity and Shri Nirmal Adhikary. Before he becoming a disciple Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, he had received advanced training from Shri Asit Pal. To enhance his artistry and accompaniment skills, he has also trained under eminent musicians such as Pandit Partho Sarathi and Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya.
Sudhir is graded with All India Radio and regularly participates in prestigious concerts. He has performed at numerous renowned platforms across India and Bangladesh, including The All Bengal Music Conference (Kolkata), The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture (Kolkata) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Festival in New Delhi, to name a few. He has had accompanied many distinguished maestros such as Pandit Vinayak Torvi, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, Pandit Debasish Bhattacharya, Pandit Partho Sarathi, to seal his reputation as a senior tabla artist.
Smt. Durba Bhattacharyya is an acclaimed performer (vocalist as well as a harmonium accompanist), and is a guru of Hindustani classical vocal music – Khayal, Bhajan and Ragashrayee Bengali songs. A regular broadcaster from Akashvani Kolkata, she has performed all over India and in USA, Canada & Europe. Durba is an ex-scholar of ITC Sangeet Research Academy under Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and like her husband Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya, has learnt extensively from Late Guruma Meera Banerjee, the doyenne of Patiala gharana. She is a Gold Medalist from Pracheen Kala Kendra Chandigarh, and has several music albums to her credit.
Mitra Bhatacharyya has learnt singing from her mother, Smt. Durba Bhattacharyya, and has been taking advanced taalim from her father, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya.
She stood first in some of the National level raag sangeet competitions and has performed in several cities in India, as well as in Italy, USA and Canada.
Mitra has pursued both her Bachelor’s and Masters in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata; and aspires for a synthesis of music and academics in herself to present an integrated form of art that is rooted and yet ever-evolving.
She also thoroughly enjoys training younger children in the fundamentals of raag sangeet.
Jonathan and Andrew Kay, the award-winning and innovative multi-instrumentalist brothers, embarked on their musical journey as jazz saxophonists at Humber College in Toronto. Inspired by the spiritual revelations of Alice and John Coltrane in the late 60s, they dedicated themselves to Coltrane’s quest for a transcultural theory of musical transcendence, which ultimately led them to India. Their seven-year sojourn in Kolkata proved transformative as they immersed themselves in the art of North Indian Raga under the guidance of their guru, Pandit Shantanu Bhattacharyya. The Kay brothers received accolades from India’s maestros for their devotion and commitment to Raga, emerging as pioneers in expressing its intricate nuances on the saxophone and earning recognition for rendering the full development of Raga in both vocal and instrumental styles. Jonathan also spent three years in Santiniketan studying the esraj in the lineage of Ranadhir Roy with his guru, Abir Singh Khangura.
Pushing the boundaries of their craft, they have introduced innovative techniques, including Jonathan’s creation of the Shruti-phone, a non-tempered saxophone designed to express the subtle shrutis (micro-tones) of Raga, and Andrew’s development of a full set of tuned Himalayan singing bowls. Their deep engagement with Indian Classical music has led to collaborations with some of India’s most esteemed Maestros, including Subhankar Banerjee, Bickram Ghosh, Tejendra Majumdar, Ronu Majumdar, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Subhen Chatterjee, and Subhajyoti Guha. Through their dedication, innovation, and collaborations, Jonathan and Andrew Kay have become internationally recognized as artists who bring the timeless spirit of Indian Classical music into new sonic horizons while remaining rooted in the tradition of Raga.
