The recently completed Legends of India tour was the SPK Academy's first coast-to-coast tour showcasing the very finest Indian Classical Music has to offer. The tour was an all-around success with each performance unique in its own way and profoundly satisfying to the audience and artists alike.
The powerful chemistry between Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, known from years past, was particularly potent for this tour. Those fortunate enough to attend, witnessed a bouquet of raags from Yaman to Puriya Dhanashree to Khamaj and beyond. Before the start of each concert, the artists enjoyed each other's company talking about music and past masters. When the curtains fell, they met with fans and aspiring musicians backstage. Both artists acknowledged the love and commitment they felt throughout the tour from the fans and hosts.
Each concert had its own highlights, but special mention should be made of the New York concert which was dedicated by Ustadji to his guru and father, Ustad Aziz Khan. At the Phoenix concert, people discussed the SPK Academy learning experience with students at the academy booth. In San Francisco, the California State Legislature presented Ustadji and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee with awards in special recognition of their accomplishments in music, making special mention of the “peace” their art brings into a world so sorely in need of it. All of us hope for more in the years to come!
The tour would not have been possible without the students of the academy for whom it was a labor of love built on their camaraderie and enthusiasm.
Thanks also to our partner organizations IACC Connect (Phoenix), SangeetSabha (New York), Spandan (Chicago), Learnquest Academy, Chirag Foundation and Harvard’s South Asia Institute (Boston), Prayas (San Francisco), Caravan World (Vancouver) and D & A Enterprise (Washington DC).
SPECIAL NOTE: Watch out for a CD release from the tour and more videos on the SPK Academy YouTube channel.
Photo credits: Passion photography, Tathagatha Dasgupta, Sunny Thakkar, Ritu Pareek Gupta and Debu Nayak