One-World Music Series Brings Indian Vocalist to Campus

Danville, Kentucky—The Centre College Music Program will host a free concert featuring the spellbinding Indian music tradition known as dhrupad on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Weisiger Theatre on campus.  Noted Hindustani vocalist Uday Bhawalkar will give a performance accompanied by the fiery and intricate drum work of one of India's leading pakhavaj masters, Manik Munde.

"Not only does Uday rank among the most talented and highly-acclaimed of all Indian Druphad singers, but his music reaches out to everyone, even those with no experience whatsoever in Indian music," says Nathan Link, assistant professor of music at Centre.

Dhrupad is the oldest surviving genre of classical singing in India.  Its name, from dhruva-pada, simply means "refrain", and today it denotes both a form of poetry and a style of music in which the poetry is sung.

"One of the most amazing aspects of Uday's musicianship is how accessible his singing is to such a wide range of people.  The warmth and artistry in his voice is immediately apparent to musicians and non-musicians alike," adds Link.

While studying Indian Classical music as a boy in Ujjain, Bhawalkar longed to be a classical singer.  His dream began to unfold when he was selected at 15 to study at the Dhrupad Kendra in Bhopal.  By the age of 18, he had begun to realize the depths and potential of this style of music, and since that time he has devoted himself to the development of the Dhrupad style.  It has become his career and his life's purpose.

Bhawalkar lived and studied dhrupad for 12 years in the residences of his Gurus Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and the Rudra-Veena Maestro Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar in Bhopal and Mumbai.  His long training with his Gurus in the rigorous practice of dhrupad helped him to appreciate the subtle nuances and majesty of this music.

Bhawalkar has received numerous awards and honors, and he has performed at many prominent international music festivals.  Several recordings of Bhawalkar's dhrupad performances are available on CD in India and around the world.

Manik Munde is one of India's foremost masters of the pakhawaj, the ancient Indian barrel-drum.  Born in Maharashtra, he studied with Bhakta Ganesh Anna Chaudhari, Pandit Mahant Amarnath Mishra and Govind Deshmukh.

He first played in the U.S. with the late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar in 1985 during the Festival of India, and most recently performed in the U.S. with Shubha Sankaran in 2000.

Part of the Centre College One-World Music Series, information about this event can be obtained by contacting Nathan Link at nathan.link@centre.edu or (859) 238-5430.