Mark Johnson (tabla) & Gargi Shinde (sitar) present Iindian Classical March 20, 2010

Brooklyn Conservatory presents
MusicNOW!
Mark Johnson & Gargi Shinde
A presentation of Indian Classical Music

Who: Mark Johnson (tabla) & Gargi Shinde (sitar)
What: MusicNOW! At Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
When: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 8:00 PM
Where: Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 7th avenue, Brooklyn. NY
Cost: $10 / 5. Go to Zerve ticket services at 212.209.3370 or www.bqcm.org

Brooklyn Conservatory presents Mark Johnson and Gargi Shinde in a vibrant presentation of Indian classical music, Saturday, March 20 at 8pm. Tickets are $10 / 5 and can be purchased by contacting Zerve ticket services at 212. 209.3370 or through our website at www.bqcm.org.

The evening’s performance will focus on two of the most popular instruments used in Indian classical music, the tabla and the sitar. The tabla, a popular Indian percussion instrument is used in the classical and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent and in Hindustani classical music. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The Sitar is a string instrument that is plucked and has grown popularity in Western culture through artists such as Ravi Shankar.

About the Artists
Brooklyn Conservatory faculty member Mark Johnson Studied jazz and classical music at Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He was also a recipient of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to study with jazz drummer Arthur Taylor. Mark has played drums for highly acclaimed jazz trumpet player Wallace Roney and studied tablas with Ustad Allahraka.

Gargi Shinde was initiated into the performing arts simultaneously through Indian classical dance and music. Her quest for a dialogue between the Indian and Western traditions began when she heard a recording of her Sitar Guru, Padmabhushan Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan in concert with Dave Brubeck in 1958. With pianist Rod Williams, Gargi leads "Conversations in Taal", an original project that uses the complex legacy of Indian percussion to bridge diverse musical traditions. In the US, she has collaborated on projects with renowned Flamenco danseuse La Conja, pianist Adam Klipple and folk singer-songwriter, Sean Rowe. Gargi is an instructor of Theatre History at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and has lectured internationally on the history and aesthetics of Indian classical dance.