Sanjoy Bandopadhyay: Widening Music

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·          Learn sitar on the Internet

·          Music heritage chart [.pdf file]

·          As a Teacher and Academician

·          Press says

·          A Few Write-ups

·          Get an e_book

·          On 9 1/3 beat tala

·          Sept._Oct. 2004 itinerary (Germany – Canada – USA)

Photo gallery

It is now possible to learn sitar with Prof. Bandopadhyay through Internet in real-time. Click here for outline details. [Open the .pdf document in Adobe Acrobat Reader]

Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, Chair-Professor [Ustd. Allauddin Khan Chair], at the Rabindra Bharati University [Kolkata/India] is one of the foremost sitar players of the current generation. Prof. Bandopadhyay has had the rare opportunity to learn under the doyen of many leading schools of instrumental music like, Senia-Shahjehanpur, Imdadkhani gharana, Rampur Senia gharana that ultimately helped him to develop a wide vision and as a result he could have the required inspirations for a distinctive style. His exceptional fluidity in raga elaboration, musical applications of simple and intricate laya designs in combination with skillful handling of the instrument gives the listeners a remarkable musical experience. He loves both popular and rare raga-s and use different tala-s for desired platforms for different desired musical expressions.

2006

·          Presentation at the National Seminar at the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi

Here is a Video clip. Click to play.

Training in music

He has his general training in music under his father Pt. Peeyush Prasanna Bandopadhyay (a disciple of Late Pt. Jitendra Mohan Sengupta and Pt. Ravi Shankar) since he was 6 years old. He had rigorous training under the Late Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra, the doyen of Senia-Shahjehanpore school of instrumental music, for 18 years.

Guru: Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra

Sanjoy had highly intensive and advanced training in music making from Pt. Bimalendu Mukherjee, the famous guru.

With Guru Pt. Bimalendu Mukherjee

He also had training from Pt. Manas Chakraborty, Late Pt. Ajay Sinha Roy and Dr. M.R. Gautam.

·          Panelist at the National Seminar at the ITC-Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata

2005      

·          There was a winning sitar performance at the Musee Guimet, Paris on 28 January 2005. The auditorium over flooded with music- hungry audience and they were enthralled with the sublime music.

·          Prof. Bandopadhyay visited the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as George A. Miller Visiting Professor and stayed in the campus during the first two weeks of October 2005. He gave a sitar solo performances and gave four talks in different schools of the university and gave the CAS/Miller Lecture under India Studies Distinguished Lectureship.

·          He visited the University of Chicago and did a workshop and presented a sitar solo performance.

·          He also visited The College of New Jersey and Drury University, Springfield [MO].

·          Professor Bandopadhay recorded in New York for an album of India Archive Music, Inc.

·          He performed sitar solo performances in Champaign, Chicago, Rochester, Springfield and Moline where Abhijit Banerjee and Nitin Mitta provided tabla support.

2004

·        Presentation titled “Music Stars: Promotion and Musical Values [Presentation focus: Indian Classical Music]" at the 13th International Conference of the German Musicological Society held in Weimar 16 to 21 September, 2004 received wide appreciations.

·         During this conference visit Prof. Philip Bohlman [University

Checking tuning before a concert

Performances/Presentations

Prof. Bandopadhyay has extensively performed in many important music festivals in India and Western countries. These include his brilliant concerts in festivals like, Tansen Samoraha, Gwalior; Swami Haridas Sangeet Sammelan, Mumbai; All India Sadarang Music Conference, Calcutta; Ustd. Ameer Khan Memorial Music Conference, Indore; Sangeet Research Academy, Calcutta; Dakshinee Music Conference, Kolkata; National Center for Performing Arts, Mumbai; Tarapada Music Conference, Calcutta; International Center, New Delhi; UP Sangeet Natak Academy, Lucknow; Bangalore Sangeet Sabha, Bangalore; Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal and many others. 

of Chicago, Chicago, USA], Dr. L.C. Koch [SMB Museum, Berlin, Germany], Dr. Sebastian Klotz [Humbolt University, Berlin, Germany] and Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay [Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, India] decided to go for a collaborative music project.

·         Prof. Bandopadhyay visited the Universiy of Alberta [Edmonton, Canada] under invitataion as Distinguished India-Focus Visitor [24 September to 7 October 2004]. His presentations and workshops received high acclamations from the faculty members and students of UoA and the invited guests. A concert was also organized in collaboration with Ragamala Society, Edmonton.

Presentation at the UNESCO Conference on Interculturisation of Education held in Jyväskylä, Finland, 2003

He extensively performed in a number of countries in Europe that

includes Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, The Netherlands and in North-America in Canada and in the USA. His first visited under the Maharishi Worldwide Music Conference and performed extensively in many important cities of the countries of Europe in 1991. Later he visited Austria and France in 1998 and that was sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. In 2001 he was invited by the Sibelius Academy, Kuopio, Finland to participate in an International seminar titled “Sonorous Texture” a seminar on Netcasting and Distance Education in Music at Kuhmo, Finland. This Science and Cultural exchange was a part of the information campaign “Culture 2001” organized by the Finnish Academy of Sciences. In the same visit he also gave presentations on Indian Music in the University of Jyväskylä and Sibelius Academy [Kuopio and Helsinki].  Participated in UNESCO Conference on Interculturisation of Education at Jyväskylä, Finland in June 2003 in the Plenary Session. Presentation at the University of Köln, Germany [for detailed program in Europe please click here]

·         Presentation at the Seminar titled Music and it’s scientific implications held at the Jadavpur University, Kolkata [February, 2004].

2003

·          Started a research project on ‘Standardization Musical Instruments’ iin collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology [IIT], Kharagpur, India.

·           Presented Concept Paper at the seminar tiled Musicology vs. Virtuosity by SAA-uk held at British Council, Kolkata on 31 December 2003.

·         West Bengal State Music Academy, Kolkata organized his workshop on ‘Tantrivadya’ on 21 September 2003

Commercial Cassettes/CD-s

·         Cassette/CD by RPG-HMV, India (EMI) STCS 851203 Marwa (alap, gat in Vilambit Jhaptal, madhyalaya Sitarkhani), Khambavati (alap, drut Ektal), Kafi-Kanara (alap, gats in Vilambit and drut Teental), Tritiya-se-Bhairavi (alap and gat in madhyalaya Teental)

·         Yogi, King and The Girls CD by MP3, USA: Jog, Husseini-Kanada, Mishra-Kafi and Sohini [no more available]

·         Luscious Evening CD by MP3, USA: Shyam-Kalyan, Rageshree [no more available]

·         Twilight to Midnight CD by MP3, USA: Sanjhgiri, Nand, Nayaki Kanara and Kafi Thumri [no more available]

·         Moon Moods CD by On Air Communications, Kolkata, India: Jhinjhoti, Shudh-Kalyan, Dhun.

·         A Tribute to Mozart: Live in Vienna by On Air Communications, Kolkata, India; Yaman-Kalyan, Bhairavi

·         Presented a paper on ’Career Orientation of Music Curricula’ at the University of Allahabad on 24 September 2003.

·         Working on initiation of “ UG Diploma in Music Creation and Management” program at the Rabindra Bharati University.

·          Collaborating with Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi on developing new programs at the Department of Music.

Rabindra Bharati University, Jorasanko Campus [House of the Rabindra Nath Tagore]

Academic placements

1981~1989: Lecturer in Sitar at the IKS University, Khairagarh [India]

1989~1997: Senior Lecturer at the IKS University, Khairagarh [India]

1997~2001: Reader in Sitar at the IKS University, Khairagarh [India]

May 2001~: Ustd. Allauddin Khan Professor at the Department of Instrumental Music, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata [India]

Saptarishi [9 1/3 matra]

It always remained in active discussion whether a tala with fractional matra should be adapted in performances. We have seen Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustd. Ali Akbar Khan and other musicians of the later group taking fractional matra tala-s. The fractions were limited to 'half matra'. Sanjoy gave the first performance in a tala of 9 1/3 beats [Saptarishi tala] at India International Centre, New Delhi on 10 October, 1995. He played Bageshree with the tabla accompaniment of Abhijit Banerjee. Please click to listen.

Later, he played this tala in other important music programs including at UP Sangeet Natak Academy.

You may download sitar pieces from CNet  and  AudioStreet

Academic activities

Prof. Bandopadhyay is actively involved in number of academic projects and activities [Please click for details].

Membership in academic/cultural bodies

·          Faculty Council, Rabindra Bharati University

·          Executive Council, Rabindra Bharati University

·          Academic Council, Bhatkhande Music Institute, Lucknow

·          Higher Degrees Committee, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi

·          Member, ICE global network [Intercultural Education Network]

·          Executive Committee of West Bengal State Academy for Music, Dance and Drama

·          Member of Teachers’ Selection Committees of different universities in India.

Biographical entries

His biography has been enlisted by:

·          5000 persons in the World, American Biographical Institute, USA.

·          Who's Who of Madhya Pradesh.

·          Global Directory of Hindustani and Carnatic Musicians and dancers, Mumbai.

·          UP Sangeet Natak Academy, Lucknow

·          Indo-Asian Who's Who

·          Asian/American Who's Who (1998, 2001)

·          Reference Asia: Asia’s Who’s Who of Men & Women of Achievement, 2003, 2004       

·          Asia’s Admirable Achievers, 2006

A few articles on music and other related topics [These are in .pdf format]

Title of articles

·          Promoting Peace Through Music [Read in Pre-conference to UNESCO Conference 13~14 June 2003]

·          India, Music and Intercultural Interactions [Read in the UNESCO Conference 15~18 June, 2003 at Jyväskylä, Finland]

·          Can We Define Good Music?

·          A brief survey of the development of Vilambit compositions on the sitar: the dominating influence of the Masitkhani style

·          Distance Education in Indian Music: Feasibility and Prospects

·          Traditional Art - New Challenges

·          Human Finer Expressions and the Super Machine