SATISH VYAS

Renowned Santoor Maestro Pandit Satish Vyas, blessed with a formidable musical background and training, thanks to both his father and his guru, has build an outstanding reputation as a soloist on the Santoor (hammered dulcimer). His first fortune was to be born the son of Padma Bhushan (Late) Pandit C. R. Vyas, one of the most respected vocalists on the Indian music scene, a fine and highly knowledgeable performer who was the young Satish's first teacher. His second fortune was to be accepted as a disciple by the great legend Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma - a man 'so identified with his instrument that classical Indian Santoor playing is unthinkable without Shiv Kumar Sharma's contribution to the art. Before taking the decision to make music his profession, Satish Vyas had completed his education with Bachelor's and Master's degrees in science & Management Studies, and even begun to establish a career in the business world. This background is no doubt of use to him in his work as a major and one of the most successful organizers of Classical Music Festivals in India, and indeed as Artistic Director of Navras Records Ltd. of UK in India. Pandit Satish Vyas has been a regular concert artist for the last more than 30 years or so, performing and recording all over the world, more extensively in the USA, UK & Europe, Japan and Australasia. In 1997, he was the only non-Western instrumentalist invited to perform in Venice, Italy at the "Mostra Mozart Festival", organised by the prestigious European Mozart Foundation. Vyas had also manifested his versatility by performing as a "guest musician" with the Jazz / World Music Fusion Group, "Silk" accompanying the renowned vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, the Percussion maestro Shivamani, well known Composer /Pianist / Keyboard artiste Louis Banks and Karl Peters (Bass Guitar) at a Barbican Centre concert in London few years back. He also had the privilege of performing at the world famous EDINBURGH Festival in Scotland. Apart from being a Top Notch Classical Musician Satish Vyas is the Chairman cum Secretary of a Charitable Trust through which he has been promoting India's Rich Tradition of Indian Classical Music and Dance by organizing major Events viz. GUNIDAS SANGEET SAMMELAN, GUNIJAAN SAMAROH in Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, as well as small towns like Kolhapur, Nagpur, Vadodara , Pune, Indore featuring Top Notch Performers of Classical Music & Dance as also up & coming young artistes for last 40 years. The people all over India look to him as Messiah of Music due to his single handed contribution to the Society in general. Pandit Satish Vyas has a number of recordings to his credit with labels such as UK-based Navras Records, Music Today, Times Music, BMG Crescendo and Sony Music. Recently Sony Music has released an album titled RESONANCEwhich is partly composed by Satish Vyas along with 3 Boston ( USA) based American Musicians. Satish Vyas has been decorated with many awards and a few of which are mentioned below. The Government Of India has honoured Pandit Satish Vyas with Padma Shri in 2003. He is also bestowed upon with " Kumar Gandharva Rashtriya Sanman" by Kumar Gandharva Foundation, Mumbai in 2010. In January 2015 Satish Vyas was honored with the prestigious Award SWARSAGAR SANGEET PURASKAR by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. On February 28 , 2015 Satish Vyas was presented with the prestigious " GURU MADAN LAL KOSER-GURU SHOBHA KOSER AWARD" by the premier Institution "Pracheen Kala Kendra" of Chandigarh at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. Recently Satish Vyas was awarded "LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD" by a prestigious organization Spandan from Goa.

JONATHAN VOYER

Musician and scholar, Jonathan Voyer has a Bachelors degree in Education, a Masters in Religious Studies and a PhD in Music from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM). He received his initial training with voice teacher Louise Yard from whom he learned the secrets of the Bel Canto singing technic. Disciple of santoor maestro Pandit Satish Vyas and of vocalist Pandit Somanath Mardur, he now evolves in the Hindustani Classical Music tradition. With dancer Julie Beaulieu, he founded the company Samskara to promote transcultural dialogue through arts. Jonathan is a membre of Centre d’études et de recherche sur l’Inde, l’Asie du Sud et sa diaspora (CERIAS). He performs and presents workshops regularly in Canada and abroad.

MUKUNDRAJ DEO

One of the finest young Tabla Players from India, Mukundraj Deo comes from a family with a love for Dance and Music. He has undergone a rigorous training of Tabla from Late Pt. Brijraj Mishra of Banaras Gharana and Pt. Mridangraj of Ajrada Gharana. He completed Sangeet Visharad and Alankaar in Tabla from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. His talent was acclaimed in the form of National Scholarship from Government of India in 1990, a prestigious title Taalmani from Sursingar Samsad, Bombay in 1993 and National fellowship in 1997. He is an 'A' grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. Mukundraj has written a book on Tabla in Marathi named 'Susamvad Tablyashi''. Recently he has been awarded title 'PANDIT' by Savarkar Seva Sanstha, Thane. He has the distinction of having accompanied maestroes like Natraj Gopikrishna, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Begum Parveen Sultana, Ustad Dilshad Khan, Pt. Jasraj, Late Pt. C.R.Vyas, Dr. N. Rajam, Ustad Rais Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Shivkumar| Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Ramnarayan, Pt. Satish Vyas, Rahul Sharma, Pt. Ronu Majumdar & Ashatai Khadilkar. Mukundraj has travelled to Gulf countries, Japan, U.K., U.S.A., France, Switzerland, Hongkong, Seychelles, Mauritius and also participated in International Music Festivals in Adelaide, York, Morocco, Sydney and Seychelles.

SHAWN MATIVETSKY

Dynamic performer Shawn Mativetsky is considered one of Canada's leading ambassadors of the tabla, and is a pioneer in bridging the worlds of Western and Indian classical music. Called an “exceptional soloist” by critic Réjean Beaucage, WholeNote's Andrew Timar adds that “as a leading disciple of the renowned Sharda Sahai, he has serious street cred.” Shawn Mativetsky is highly sought-after as both performer and educator, and is active in the promotion of the tabla and North Indian classical music through lectures, workshops, and performances across Canada and internationally. Based in Montreal, Shawn teaches tabla and percussion at McGill University. His solo album, Payton MacDonald: Works for Tabla, was released in 2007, and Cycles, his recording of Canadian compositions for tabla, was released in the fall of 2011. He recently released Rivers, a solo tabla album rooted in the rich traditions of the Benares style of tabla playing. As a practitioner of Indian classical music, Shawn regularly gives solo tabla performances, as well as accompanying kathak dance, voice, and instrumental artists. Since 2003, Shawn has been affiliated with the Pandit Ram Sahai Foundation (UK/India), and in the summers of 2006 and 2008, hosted tabla maestro Pandit Sharda Sahai's annual summer tabla workshop. Since 2011, Shawn has been hosting his own annual summer tabla workshop at McGill University. In recent years, he has been working closely with santoor player Jonathan Voyer, sitarist Uwe Neumann, and kathak dancer Sudeshna Maulik.