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Tapan Bhattacharyya |
Profile |
Tapan Bhattacharyya is a resident of Chicago area and has been
involved in the performance and seminar-workshops on Hindustani
classical vocal music during the last two decades in North America. Tapan had early training from the Arya Sangeet Vidyapeeth of Calcutta,
and Sri Akhilbandhu Ghosh (a disciple of Sri Tarapado Chakravarty &
Chinmoy Lahiri). He was finally tutored by Mr. Shankar Bose of Calcutta
(a disciple of Nagendranath Datta of Ranaghat, Mehdi Hossain Khan of
Rampur gharana, and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of Patiala gharana). Tapan is
an exponent of several genres of Indian classical music including
Kheyal, Thumri-Dadra, Tappa, classical Bhajans, Bengali Ragprodhan,
Tappa and old style Bengali songs, and devotional songs. His music is a
judicious blend of technical complexity and tender emotions.
Tapan has given numerous concerts, seminars, and workshops as invited
guests of musical and cultural organizations, Toronto & Chicago TV, and
educational institutions, such as the (1) Raagmala of Toronto (2)
Hindustani classical music society of Ottawa (3) “Tribeni” of Buffalo,
N.Y. (4) Bengali Association of greater Chicago (5) Indian Classical
Music Society of Chicago (6) the Vedanta Societies of Chicago, Seattle,
and Nashville (7) Cultural committee of the City of Chicago (8)
Williams College, Massachusetts, and (9) the Unitarian Church-Bharat
Samaj of Evanston, Illinois. In 1984 he was the Coordinator of a
seminar and concert on the evolution of music in Bengal at the
prestigious Bengal Studies Conference organized by the South Asian
Studies Department of the University of Toronto attended by eminent
academicians and scholars. In 1992, and 1994 he was invited to give
lecture-demonstration of Bengali Tappa, and classical songs at the
North American Bengali Conference (NABC) in Toronto, and Houston
respectively. He was an invited artist at the Parliament of Religions
held at Chicago in 1993. He was formally introduced to the leaders and
teachers of Hindustani vocal music in Bombay where he gave a
performance of Kheyal and thumris supported by professional
accompanists during the summer of 1999. A detailed list of his concerts
and musical workshops is appended (Please see the attachment).
Tapan has produced two audiocassettes of Thumris, Bhajans, and
classical Bengali songs (1989, 1990), and a CD of Khayal, thumri, and
bhajan (2001), which have been appreciated by music lovers. He has also
contributed articles on different aspects of Indian classical music in
music journals, and has written critical reviews and liner notes for
CDs of eminent musicians. During more than last two decades of his stay
in Canada and U.S.A., he has trained numerous students of various ages
and nationalities into the art and science of classical vocal music. He
has been awarded grants from the Illinois Arts Council for teaching
Hindustani vocal music under the Master-Apprenticeship program
(2000-01, 2002-3). Professionally, Tapan is a biologist with earned
doctoral degrees, and is currently associated with the College of
Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Somnath Bhattacharya is a son and disciple of Tapan Bhattacharya, and he has accompanied his father on harmonium for a number of years. Anil Datar is one of the senior most disciple of Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. He has accompanied several Hinustani Classical Musicians including Ustad Irshad Khan.
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