and I ultimately moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to study directly with Ali Akbar Khan for eight years . After the Maestro ’ s passing in 2009 , I continued my training under the guidance of Ali Akbar Khan ’ s son , Alam Khan . I also received guidance from Smt . Annapurna Devi .
Maestro Ali Akbar Khan is undoubtedly one of the greatest artists in human history . Not only was he a master of his craft , but he revealed and opened doors to new universes of expression and emotional experience in music . To have been born in the same century and to have heard his music is extremely good fortune ; to have learned with him personally is nothing short of a miracle . I felt that he took me apart musically and put me back together , remaking me into a new musician , and really , a new person . I ’ m still learning from my time with him and from his legacy of teachings . He was a deeply caring teacher , and in a way because of that , he could also be very stern and no-nonsense and would give bluntly honest critiques on a regular basis . This allowed him to show us precisely the direction in which musical growth was to be found , because he didn ’ t water his teaching down at all . He pointed directly to the truth , musically speaking ; showing us , even if we weren ’ t ready to see it yet , where to find the magic .
Tell us about some techniques that you are currently working on of tremolo techniques that incorporate influences from European classical guitar , as well as technical approaches from Ali Akbar Khan , Ravi Shankar , and Vilayat Khan .
Talk to us about artist collaborations and your best one yet
In 2022 , I collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra , Chinese composer Yu-Peng Chen , HOYO-MiX and an international team of musicians to record as a featured soloist for the soundtrack to Genshin Impact - Sumeru . I was also the featured sitar soloist for the world premieres of Jack Perla ’ s River of Light
( 2014 — Houston Grand Opera ), and Shalimar the Clown ( 2016 — Opera Theatre St . Louis ).
This past year , I have been particularly interested in exploring the intersection of Indian Classical and Baroque music , and worked with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra to premiere my piece Bach in Bengal .
Three aspects of Sitar that you think one must know or learn .
# 1 How to deeply listen # 2 How to listen even more deeply than in # 1 # 3 strong sitar technical foundation , and musical understanding of raga within indian classical music .
Tell us about your upcoming projects
I am looking forward to working with a variety of ensembles to further develop my Bach in Bengal Suite , as well as some exciting new crosscultural projects with western classical strings and orchestras . I ’ m also working on some contemporary pieces that explore the sitar from a modern lens , incorporating light electronics and effects and other modern tools to explore its sonic possibilities . Many of these projects will be completed in 2023 , so it will be a very dynamic year for me !
I am also really embracing the opportunity post-pandemic to tour various projects and share my music with audiences throughout the world . During the first 6 months of 2023 alone , I have the opportunity to tour across 4 continents , which is very exciting for me .
I am constantly exploring the possibilities of the sitar , and I see it as an instrument that is very dynamic at this moment in history , with a lot of growth potential . I am continuing to develop , at the moment , a category
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