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Regarded as the foremost disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Kartik Seshadri has quickly established himself as an acknowledged master of the great forms of classical Indian music for sitar. Seshadri begins the WilliamsCenter for the Arts Sound Alternatives Series on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the performance are free for students, $4 for faculty and staff, and $18 for the public. They can be obtained by calling the WilliamsCenter box office at (610) 330-5009.
Other performers in the Sound Alternatives Series are Acoustic Africa, featuring Habib Koité and Bamada, Saturday, Nov. 11, $20, and Music from China Friday, Feb. 2, $20.
Seshadri will give a free presentation noon Oct. 3 in the WilliamsCenter on the fundamentals of Indian music. Joining him for both the noon presentation and the evening concert is the esteemed tabla artist Arup Chattopadhyay, who rose to prominence as soloist and ensemble collaborator under the tutelage of Pandit Shankar Ghosh. For information on the noon presentation call 610-330-5010.
After meeting maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar in 1965 and becoming a disciple of Shankar in 1975, Seshadri immersed himself in the unique styles of the Senia, Beenkar and Dhrupad traditions.
Seshadri has appeared as a featured artist at the Asia Society, World Music Institute, and the KennedyCenter, and as special guest at Ravi Shankar’s 75th birthday concert. He recently collaborated on the Orion project with noted composer Philip Glass and the Brazilian group UAKTI with worldwide performances ranging from the Brooklyn Academy of Music to Mexico’s Cervantino Festival and Australia’s Melbourne International Arts Festival.
His most recent recording, Raga Rasa: That which Colors the Mind, mentioned in the world music’s top ten in acclaimed London-based magazine, “Songlines,” proves to be an international success.
The Washington Post praised Seshadri as “an amazingly accomplished and unflagging performer.” With concerts all around the world, he continues to amaze audiences with his knowledge and musical talent.
The 2006-2007 Performance Series at Lafayette College is supported in part by gifts from Friends of the Williams Center for the Arts; by provisions of the Josephine Chidsey Williams Endowment, the Alan and Wendy Pesky Artist-in-Residence Program, the James Bradley Fund, and the Ed Brunswick Jazz Fund; and by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour; the F.M. Kirby Foundation, the Dexter and Dorothy Baker Foundation, and the New England Foundation for the Arts.