Keele Concerts
Baluji Shrivastav
14 November
7.30pm
Westminster Theatre,
Keele University
Entry £16 | £5 Student
Free Entry for Keele Music
Students and 16 and Under
Baluji Shrivastav OBE, born
in Usmapur in U.P., is one of
the greatest instrumentalists/
composers India has produced
excelling in sitar, surbahar,
dilruba, pakhavaj and tabla.
Apart from his initial instruction
at blind school he is mainly
self-taught and his success
has been due to a combination
of natural talent, hard work
and passion for music. While
still a child he graduated from
Lucknow University with a
B.A. in Vocal Studies and Sitar
going on to gain a further B.A. in
Tabla and an M.A. in Sitar from
Alahabad University. His quest
for knowledge has dispelled
many of the myths that surround
the process of mastering Indian
classical music.
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As a result he stands outside
the conventional establishment
of Indian music, often struggling
against prejudice, to take his
place amongst the greatest in
this field. He has performed and
recorded across genres with
artists such as Stevie Wonder,
Coldplay,Massive Attack,
Shakira, Ustad Fayaz Khan,
Zakir Hussein and Akram Khan.
He has written music for films,
theatre and television and has
pioneered the contribution
that composers with an Indian
classical perspective can make
to contemporary music, through
his series of commissioned
works including : “Portraits of
the Dark”, “Sitar-Guitar Suites”,
“Indian In London”, ”Song
Celestial”, “Taal Zindagi”
and the world’s only Urdu
opera Sohini and Mahival which
he composed together with
Oscar Winner Dario Marianelli.
He has campaigned for the
recognition of the contribution of
blind people in society, and has
established the world famous
Inner Vision Orchestra of blind
musicians. He was brought
to teach in Europe in 1981,
moving to UK in 1983, where
he has worked tirelessly as an
ambassador of Indian musical
culture. He was awarded
Non Resident Indian (NRI)
of the year for Arts and Culture
from Times Group India 2017,
and World Peace and Prosperity
Foundation Award at The House
of Lords for exceptional services
both nationally and internationally
to mankind.
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