News & Events

Soumitra Lahiri to Perform Indian Classical Music at UNC Asheville

October 5, 2011

Award-winning sitar player Soumitra Lahiri and tabla player Samir Chatterjee will perform together in concert, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The concert offers a rare opportunity in Western North Carolina to hear top-level Indian musicians. The duo will perform Indian classical music blended with modern influences.

Lahiri, who has been playing since age seven, performs on guitar as well as sitar, and has been given “gold medal” and “best instrumentalist” awards in his native India, as well as a “top grade” award from All India Radio.

Chatterjee is active in the fusion of Indian and Western music, and has performed or recorded with many jazz artists including Branford Marsalis and Dave Douglas, and the late rock icon, Jerry Garcia.

Chatterjee has also accompanied many of India’s finest musicians, including Ravi Shankar, and he is the founder and director of CHHANDAYAN, an organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Indian music and culture. An educator for more than 30 years, Chatterjee is the author of “Music of India,” and “A Study of Tabla.”

Beginning at 7 p.m., early arrivals for the concert can sample Indian foods prepared by UNC Asheville students working with Keya Maitra, UNC Asheville associate professor of Philosophy, and Katherine Zubko, assistant professor of Religious Studies.

The concert is a production of UNC Asheville’s Office of Cultural Events & Special Academic Programs. Tickets are $20 for the public, $7 for all students, and $5 for UNC Asheville students. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Highsmith University Union box office, or online at www.uncatickets.com. For more information, go to cesap.unca.edu.