Upcoming Concert!

Alif Laila on sitar and Amit Kavthekar on Tabla will perform at Hood College in Frederick, MD on April 5, 2011.

Brodbeck Music Hall

Hood College, Frederick MD

7:30 p.m.

Free

From the college site:

A concert of classical Indian music will be presented April 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Brodbeck Music Hall at Hood College.Alif Laila will perform on the sitar, a stringed instrument with a long hollow neck and a gourd-resonating chamber used throughout the Indian subcontinent. She will be accompanied by Amit Kavthekar on the tabla, a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional Indian music.
Laila has performed in concerts in prestigious venues throughout the United States and worldwide. She taught sitar at the University of Maryland and is a faculty member of the Washington Conservatory of Music. Laila has released six CDs and two DVDs on classical sitar, and has recorded with world-renowned tabla maestros.
Kavthekar has accompanied many renowned artists and performed numerous solo tabla performances. He has toured Japan and Australia and is a recipient of several prestigious awards and scholarships.
The concert is free and no tickets are required.
For more information, contact Noel Lester, D.M.A., professor of music and concert pianist, at (301) 696-3429 or by e-mail at nlester@hood.edu.


Directions: http://www.hood.edu/about-hood/visit-campus/index.html

For more info on the artists please go to:
http://aliflilasitarmusic.blogspot.com
www.aliflailasitar.com
www.myspace.com/tablaamit

Upcoming Performance!

Review from Recent Concert in Washington

Warmth from the East on a Cold Winter Day

Alif Laila and Monir Hossain at the Washington Conservatory of Music, Glen Echo Park, MD.

by Jeff Byers, Thursday February 3^rd, 2011

The soothing sounds of Indian ragas filled the air last Sunday when sitar player Alif Laila, joined by Monir Hossain on tabla, graced the stage at the newly opened Glen Echo Park venue of the Washington Conservatory of Music.  After days of gray skies, snow, and frigid temperatures, the bright and colorful melodies beaming from Alif’s sitar seemed to work in unison with the sun as it broke out from behind the clouds and filled the day with light and warmth.

The acoustics and aesthetics of the room, combined with the joyous energy felt by the audience, came together with Alif’s music for a very special presentation. Alif began with Raag Kafi, whose romantic spark immediately captured the audience. By the end of this first piece everyone was drawn into Alif’s world, forgetting the world going by outside. Now in this place of serenity, Alif presented Raag Desh. Building slowly but earnestly, Desh developed into an intense display of emotion – Alif and Monir seemed to be reading each other’s minds as they wove raag and taal together in a beautiful mix. After an earth-shattering climax, the audience’s applause would not let Alif leave the stage. With extra time granted, she displayed a heart-felt and devotional Raag Bhairav. I myself was too mesmerized to recall what ensued until the end of the piece.

The packed venue wanted more from Alif but that would have to wait until next time. Many stayed to talk with Alif after the performance wanting to know more about the instruments and form of Indian music – knowledge that Alif loves to share – and will so more with the Washington Conservatory of Music as she begins to teach at the Glen Echo location. This is a great opportunity for all in the Washington, D.C. area to be enlightened by Indian music through the work of Alif Laila.

For more information on sitar lessons by Alif Laila contact her directly at music@aliflailasitar.com or through the Washinton Conservatory of Music by visiting www.washingtonconservatory.org or calling 301.320.2770.

Alif Live at Salisbury University

Kirwani Jhala

Live at Salisbury University MD

September '10

Sitar - Aif Laila
Amit Kavthekar - Tabla

Alif in India!

Alif is in Kolkata now working on her new DVD "I Am A River". The theme is based on the moods of the river and its relation to the emotion and stages of our life. She portrays each stage with Bernhard Ullrich on saxophone and Tanmoy Bose on tabla with intertwining Indian classical ragas and Western Jazz. The film will be directed by the very creative film maker, Sanjeev Chakravarti of Miami University and Gautam Bose of Kolkata, India. Alif is very excited about K J Singh (A R Rahmans sound engineer) doing the mixing in the audio recording. Through the music she imagines she is a river and tells the story of an artist's life.

My Inspirations

 With Anindo Chatterjee and Ravi Shankar

 With Ustad Zakir Hussain

With Ustad Rais Khan

Upcoming Concert in California

(click image to enlarge)

R.S.V.P. and More Info:  trashid42@yahoo.com