Kartik Seshadri
Encyclopedia
Kartik Seshadri is a leading sitarist, composer
and teacher. He was noted as a child prodigy in India
. He began studying under Ravi Shankar
in 1974. He is currently a professor at the University of California, San Diego
where he heads the Indian Music Department by leading sitar
classes.
Most recently, Seshadri collaborated on the Orion project with the noted composer Philip Glass and the Brazilian group UAKTI with worldwide performances ranging from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park and Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York to the Cervantino Festival in Mexico and Australia’s Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Seshadri is also a distinguished composer and educator of Indian music. His composition Quartet for a Raga received its world premiere in Washington, DC under the auspices of the Contemporary Music Forum. He also teaches at the University of California, San Diego, where he heads one of the largest programs of Indian Classical music in the country. Seshadri’s latest recording Raga: Rasa- That which Colors the Mind recently earned the worldmusic’s top ten list from the prestigious Songlines Magazine in London.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and teacher. He was noted as a child prodigy in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He began studying under Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
in 1974. He is currently a professor at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
where he heads the Indian Music Department by leading sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
classes.
Early life and background
As a sitarist, Kartik Seshadri attracted widespread attention when he began performing full-length solos at the age of 6 in India. The sitar prodigy has blossomed into an “amazingly accomplished” musical powerhouse noted for his music’s expressive beauty, rich tonal sensibility, and rhythmic intricacy, praised the Washington Post. The prestigious British magazine Songlines declared Seshadri “stands out amongst sitarists for his clarity and intricate rhythmic sensibility.” The publication selected the sitar guru’s 2004 Raga: Rasa – That Which Colors the Mind album for its World Music Top 10 list and cited his 2006 Illuminations record as “sitar at its lyrical best.”Career
Seshadri performs extensively as a soloist in major venues throughout India and abroad. His concerts in India frequently include prestigious festivals such as the Sangeeth Nataka Academy, Dover Lane Music Conference, Sangeeth Research Academy (ITC Music Festival), Gunidas Sangeeth Sammelan, Madras Music Academy, Indian Fine Arts Society, and Saptak, establishing him as a musician of national importance. In the United States and Canada, his recent solo engagements have included Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, World Music Institute, Asia Society, Vancouver Jazz Festival and Ravi Shankar’s 75th Birthday Celebration. He has accompanied Ravi Shankar in major concert halls throughout the world, from India, Europe and the Middle East, to Japan, Mexico and the United States, including New York’s Carnegie Hall. Seshadri’s performances are noted for their expressive beauty, rich tonal sensibility and extraordinary rhythmic intricacy.Most recently, Seshadri collaborated on the Orion project with the noted composer Philip Glass and the Brazilian group UAKTI with worldwide performances ranging from the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park and Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York to the Cervantino Festival in Mexico and Australia’s Melbourne International Arts Festival.
Seshadri is also a distinguished composer and educator of Indian music. His composition Quartet for a Raga received its world premiere in Washington, DC under the auspices of the Contemporary Music Forum. He also teaches at the University of California, San Diego, where he heads one of the largest programs of Indian Classical music in the country. Seshadri’s latest recording Raga: Rasa- That which Colors the Mind recently earned the worldmusic’s top ten list from the prestigious Songlines Magazine in London.