16th Annual Tribute to Maestro Ali Akbar Khan – Saturday, April 12 at 3 pm
16th Annual Tribute to Maestro Ali Akbar Khan – Saturday, April 12 at 3 pm
Join the Ali Akbar College of Music for an all-day musical celebration in honor of the life and work of our founder, legendary sarod Maestro Ali Akbar Khan. The afternoon performances will be from 3-5:30 PM (artists to be announced) and will be in memory of Maestro Khan’s oldest son, sarodiya Ustad Aashish Khan, and the world-renowned tabla artist and percussionist, Ustad Zakir Hussain. After a break, we will return with an evening portion from 7:30-9:30 with a performance by Maestro Khan’s two youngest sons, Alam and Manik Khan, both on sarod, with his long-time tabla accompanist, the esteemed Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri.
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16th Annual Tribute to
Maestro Ali Akbar Khan
featuring
Alam Khan, sarod
Manik Khan, sarod
Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, tabla
and with instrumental ensemble members:
Mallar Bhattacharya, sarod
John Stephens, sarod
David Cipriani, Indian slide guitar
Will Marsh, sitar
William Rossel, tabla
Tabla Ensemble:
Salar Nader, Rohan Singh Bhogal, Karan Minhas, Kiran Morarji, Tejas Tope, Vikas Yendluri
accompanied by Hardeep Chana, harmonium
schedule:
Afternoon
3 pm – Instrumental Ensemble
4:15 pm – Tabla Ensemble
5:30 break
Evening
7:30 – Alam Khan, Manik Khan, and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri
Each year, for Maestro Ali Akbar Khan’s birthday, we at the AACM honor him by inviting Indian classical musicians to perform in celebration of all the contributions he made to our lives and music. This year, we are paying special tribute to two incredible artists who we unfortunately lost in 2024: Ustad Aashish Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain. Our afternoon performances will be in dedication to them, performed by their own students in homage to the teachings and legacy they have left behind. In the 16 years we have been holding this Tribute, we find it is always our most memorable and beautiful event, and brings our community together in an unforgettable way each April.
Old First Concerts has a long history with the Ali Akbar College of Music, as many of our historic performances have taken place in the church. It has been home to our last two Tributes, and the beauty of the space and kindness of this community made those experiences incredibly profound. This is one of our favorite venues in the Bay Area, and we are grateful to be able to continue to perform in this unique space.
We have a wonderful musical line-up this year. In the afternoon, beginning at 3, we will have an Instrumental Ensemble of Ustad Aashish Khan’s students from the Bay Area and CalArts, where he taught in the World Music department for many years. More information on these performers will come soon. Joining us at 4:15 will be a Tabla Ensemble comprised of Ustad Zakir Hussain’s students and fellow artists—musicians who toured with him and performed with him for many years. We are so grateful for their contribution to this event, and will have more information on each individual artist coming soon.
We thank each musician who is taking the time to help us all remember, honor, and celebrate these great men and the lifelong impact their artistry has had on Indian classical music and beyond.
Our evening portion will feature Alam Khan, Manik Khan, and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Alam and Manik Khan are the youngest sons of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, and have followed in their father’s footsteps on the sarod. It is their great honor to perform for this Tribute and celebrate their father together on stage, and it brings us immense joy to feel his presence through them each year. Performing with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, our AACM Director of Percussion for the last 44 years, and Maestro Khan’s long-time accompanist, makes the evening feel familial and touches the hearts of all audience members deeply. This will be an unforgettable ending to a very emotional and moving day of music.
Alam Khan spent his formative years learning the sarod at his father’s feet, touring internationally with him from the tender age of 13. He continues to tour the world along with a love for composing, following in the footsteps of his esteemed family. Alam has also collaborated and performed with a wide array of artists from different genres.
Manik Khan began to formally train with his father in his early teenage years as well. Today, Manik also collaborates with musicians and various ensembles to present his father’s lineage of Hindustani classical music—honoring both the tradition and its remarkable history, while also helping to make it accessible to new audiences.
Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri is a phenomenon in the arena of Indian Classical Music. Musicians honor him as one of the most respected Tabla players, worthy of highest regard all over the world. He accompanied the Maestro for over 30 years, with an unmatched rapport and genuine friendship. His musical relationship with Alam and Manik creates an exceptional empathy and compatibility on stage.
The AACM was founded in 1967, in the Bay Area, by Maestro Ali Akbar Khan (Khansahib). During his career, he often dreamed of being able to open a school of music; an institution where musicians and music lovers alike could exist together and be surrounded constantly by their shared interests. After opening his first school in Calcutta in 1956, Khansahib was drawn to California and the incredible interest he found when visiting the Bay Area. It was his father, the esteemed Acharya Baba Allauddin Khan, who instilled in Khansahib the importance of spreading and teaching this music to any and all who wish to learn. His influence was the basis for Khansahib’s vision and remains as the mission statement of the AACM.
This concert is a tribute and celebration of the life, music, and teachings of Maestro Khan, one of the greatest sarod players of our time.