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Paul Livingstone
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, international performing artist Paul Livingstone is one of the leading sitarists in America today. He has focused his studies in the creative tradition of Indian classical raga music in which he has been rigorously trained for the past 25 years in India and the US studying under the late Amiya Dasgupta, Rajeev Taranath and the living legend Pandit Ravi Shankar. Paul has performed in around the US, Mexico, Europe & Asia and has just returned from a major concert tour performing Indian music in Nepal, India, Czech & Germany. As a committed composer Paul leads his own Arohi Ensemble and has composed for film, television, theater and dance. He also plays a variety of fretless guitars and requintos of his own design and has also developed a unique style of 'ragajazz chamber music' blending Indian ragas, jazz, counterpoint & rhythmic material from diverse world traditions. As a creative force for true 'world music synthesis', Paul maintains a clear vision for the dissemination of traditional forms and is grounded in the rich cultural milieu of Los Angeles as a dedicated teaching artist & community activist.
Website: Paul Livingstone
Shanti Shivani
Shanti Shivani is a singer, composer, vocal coach, sound healer and teacher of Dhrupad and the Yoga of Sound. She is one the few Western pioneers bringing the sacred traditions of Nada Yoga and Dhrupad to the West. She brings a wealth of vocal, meditative, and movement experience to her classes and performances.
In 1981 she had the great fortune to be accepted as a parampara student of the premier family of the Dhrupad lineage, the Dagar family. The Dagar family has been passing on the Dhrupad tradition for nineteen generations. Dhrupad was originally only played or sung by Hindu Swamis as a means of communion with the Divine. It induces a deep meditative state in the singer as well as the listeners. The core of Dhrupad is Nada Yoga – the Yoga of Sound, the ultimate goal of which is to attain Self-realization by connecting with the inner sound current.
Shanti has been teaching internationally at conferences, in retreat centers, Ayurvedic centers, liberal arts colleges, schools, hospitals and birthing homes and privately since 1986. She has been performing in Europe, Asia and the USA in concert and at festivals such as the World Sacred Music Festival in Los Angeles since 1989. She has several albums to her credit and has been recording Dhrupad, world music chants and meditative, improvisational music as a solo artist and in collaboration with many World Music artists since 1993. She is currently living in Eugene, OR.
Website: Shanti Shivani
Pandit Hom Nath Upadhyahya ~ tabla
Hom Nath Upadhyaya, Nepal’s foremost exponent of tabla is an accomplished performer, educator and scholar who has brought the music of North India and Nepal to audiences throughout the world. His gurus include Pandit Ramji Mishra of Benares, Pandit Shambhu Mishra of Kathmandu, Nepal, and the legendary Ustad Ahmedjaan Thirakwa. Homnathji has performed and/or recorded with top artists from both Hindustani and Western musical traditions. He holds an ongoing teaching position at the UCSB, Santa Barbara. He holds a B.A. in English, History, and Sanskrit from Gorakhpur University and an M.A. in Music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad, India.
Website: Pandit Hom Nath Upadhyaya |
