GemArts Riverside Ragas: Roopa Panesar and Shahbaz Hussain

Date: Saturday 21st May 2022
Time: 8:00pm
Venue: Sage Gateshead - Sage 2
Tickets: £6 - £12 plus concessions
Box Office: Tickets for the live audience concert are availbale online at sagegateshead.com or call 0191 443 4661

Considered one of Europe’s finest Sitarists, Roopa Panesar has been performing and touring internationally for over a decade receiving accolades from audiences and peers alike for her outstanding ability and quality of music.

Her soulful and unique style of playing has left her listeners captivated, touching the hearts of audiences far and wide and received blessings from many eminent musicians in the world of Indian classical music.
Accompanied by Shahbaz Hussain, a thrilling and versatile player, regarded as the leading tabla virtuoso of his generation.

Roopa Panesar began her training at the age of seven years old under the guidance of UK’s leading Indian music educationalist, maestro Ustad Dharambir Singh MBE and was recognised as a rare talent.

Her sitar’s design is modelled closely on those from the Imdadkhani gharana, and she takes inspiration from the greats of that region including the great Ustad Vilayat Khan.

Aside from touring Europe, US and India she has made numerous BBC appearances, she has played at major festivals including Womad and Darbar, collaborated with Mercury Prize winner Talvin Singh and the Belgian Symphony Orchestra, and recorded on the soundtrack of the film West is West. She released her debut album, Khoj (‘discovery’) in 2011.

Roopa also played at the VJ75 memorial, in the presence of HRH Prince Charles, which was broadcast on BBC 1 and performed with Sir Simon Rattle for the CBSO 100 programme. 
 
Shahbaz Hussain began Tabla with his father, the late Ustad Mumtaz Hussain – a prominent vocalist, and went on to study with Tabla legends Ustad Faiyaz Khan from the Delhi Gharana (school), the late Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan from the Punjab Gharana and finally the late Ustad Allah Rakha Khan. 

Shahbaz is an extremely versatile Tabla player, and his solo performances have gained great recognition all over the world. He is highly sought after for his accompaniment skills by many of the great master musicians of India and Pakistan. He has performed in many prestigious venues, including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., Lincoln Center in New York and London's Royal Albert & Queen Elizabeth Halls.

Shahbaz is also passionate about passing on his knowledge, and regularly teaches across the country, including at Newcastle University and the University of Huddersfield.


Presented with GemArts and Sage Gateshead.

 

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