Ragas from New York:

Classical music concert

Ragas from New York , a classical music concert by Pradeep Ratnayake and Nitin Mitta will be held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on January 6, at 7 p.m. Pradeep's and Nitn's collaboration on the sitar and tabla began during Pradeep's tenure as a Fulbright student at Colombia University, New York from 2008 - 2010.

Nitin Mitta

The duo have previously performed at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC and the Markham Theatre of Performing Arts in Canada.

The concert is a part of a series of concert to mark the return of Predeep to Sri Lanka.

The second concert will be held on January 22 at the Lionel Wendt and will feature his innovative compositions played by some of the leading musicians in Sri Lanka like Ravibandu Vidyapati, Ratnam Ratnadurai, Eshantha Joseph Pieris, Alston Joachim, Upula Madhushanka, Sumudu Suraweera, Chandralal Amarakoon, Surekha Amarasinghe and the Meneka de Fonseka choir In the first concert Pradeep will focus on classical music with one of the best accompanists on tabla currently performing in the USA.

Nitin Mitta has a reputation as a tablist with a rare combination of technical virtuosity, spontaneity, clarity of tone, and sensitivity to melodic nuance. He belongs to the prestigious Farukabad Gharana. He is a highly sought after accompanist who has performed with some of India's most celebrated musicians, including Pandit Jasraj, Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Nishat Khan and Ustad Shahid Parvez. Nitin has also made a mark as a versatile collaborator in other spheres performing alongside Jazz Pianist Vijay Iyer and Carnatic Electric Guitarist Prasanna in a unique trio band named Tirtha. His work with Prasanna can be heard on the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning documentary 'Smile Pinki'.

He received his early training in Hyderabad from Pandit G. Satyanarayana. Endowed with talents in his early years, he performed his first ever solo tabla performance at the age of ten. During his studies he won many accolades, including first prize in the All India Competition held in Calcutta.

To expand his repertoire of tabla compositions, he sought the guidance of Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar of Mumbai, one of the most highly respected mentors of his generation. Under Mulgaonkarji's tutelage, Nitin not only expanded his tabla vocabulary, but also learned how to bring the material to life in performances through his interpretation, improvisation and an appreciation for the dynamics between instrumentalist and rhythmic accompanist. Both of Nitin's gurus are disciples of the late Ustad Amir Hussain Khan Saheb, legendary doyen of the Farukhabad Gharana.

After moving to the United States in 2002, Nitin received a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on Arts. He maintains a busy schedule of performances and tabla workshops, travelling throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada and India. He has performed at several prominent venues including the Music Academy in Chennai (India), the Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Purcell Room in London.

Pradeep Ratnayake is a sitar virtuoso whose performances and compositions have drawn world wide acclaim. A classically trained, sitarist holding a Masters Degree in Music from the University of Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, India, he also composes fusing the major traditions of music and the folk melodies of his country in his work. In his absence from the Sri Lankan music scene for the past two years he has done some major concerts across the world and brought great credit to his country.

In November 2009, he gave a 'Pradeepanjalee' concert at Weil Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York with seven musicians from New York, three of them his own professors at Columbia, Ben Waltzer who taught him Jazz playing the piano, Arthur Kampela who was his modern music teacher playing the guitar and Terry Pender, his computer music teacher on the mandolin. Miranda Cuckson, called "a brilliant young performer who plays daunting contemporary music with insight, honesty, and temperament" by the New York Times, played the violin for it. The audience was packed and he and his friends were given a standing ovation at the end. In April 2010 a 'Pradeepanjalee' concert was held at The Markham Theatre for Performing Arts, Canada with Terry Pender, well known Hussain Jeffrey on bass and inspiring young Mahesh Balasuriya on piano. In May the same year Pradeep, Nitin and their friend Jacob Friedman on piano performed at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Pradeep Ratnayake and Nitin Mitta at a performance

Soon after, again in May 2010, Pradeep's work for sitar, cello and orchestra, the 'Kuweni Concerto' premiered with the Neubrandenburg Orchestra in Germany, with Pradeep on the sitar and leading German cellist Ramon Jaffe as soloists. Again there was a standing ovation from a completely German audience, testifying to the universal power of music, for the Kuweni Concerto was based on the Sri Lankan Kuweni asna and the German musicians and the audience alike related absolutely to it.

A glowing review was published in a German newspaper the following day. In Berlin, there was a Pradeepanjalee concert a few days later, where Pradeep played with Ramon Jaffe, Patrick Zimmerli on saxophone and German tablist K.S. Rajkumar on tabla. Patrick Zimmerli again was a professor of Pradeep's at Columbia.

After returning to Sri Lanka in June 2010 after his Fulbright tenure, Pradeep continued to perform internationally, giving a Pradeepanjalee concert in Melbourne Australia this September. Leading Australian pianist Joe Chindamo and three other well know Australian musicians joined Pradeep to play his music. Soon after returning, Pradeep was off to Brussels on the invitation of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brussels.

There he performed at the European parliament and the prestigious BOZAR. The President of the European Union was the Chief Guest at the 'Pradeepanjalee' concert at BOZAR.

Pradeep Ratnayake has now resumed his work as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Cultural Studies, University of Sri Jayewardnepura and is getting ready to perform in Sri Lanka again after his long absence.

- RC