Celebrate spring with us by Immersing yourself in the tranquility and majesty of north Indian ragas played on the 20-stringed Indian slide guitar.
Thursday March 20 7:30pm, New Marigny Theater
ADMISSION: Sliding Scale donation (suggested $20.)
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFlVXVXwKrU
Stream Joel’s music: https://vibe.to/joelveena
Since 2007, Joel ‘Veena’ Eisenkramer has been traveling between his native Vermont, USA and India to study and perform Hindustani classical music on the 20-stringed Indian slide guitar. Today he is one of the leading exponents of this instrument in the world: he is the only North American performer of the Indian slide guitar to be recognized by the government of India.
Deeply steeped in the oral tradition of the music, Joel began his study of the instrument with Mohan veena player Dr. Ranjan Kumar of Delhi and has also received training from sarod maestros Pt. Alok Lahiri and Pt. Anirban Dasgupta. His music has been featured on Radio Zealand, Shemaroo Entertainment and MyGov India with 2,000+ monthly listeners on streaming platforms and 10 albums released to date. His concert tours have taken him all over India, Europe and the United States.
Joel’s performances have been noted for their welcoming and explanatory quality; pieces are presented with their cultural and historical context so as to open the door for new audiences unfamiliar with Indian classical music. His original compositions, often inspired by the ragas he’s studied, have been praised for their use of classical theory and aesthetic while creating toe-tapping, memorable melodies approachable by all.
At New Marigny Theatre, Joel will be accompanied by tabla artist Prashant Minocha. Prashant is an experienced tabla player, having begun his study of the instrument at age 7 under the guidance of Shri Dexter Raghunanan and continuing to study the intricacies of Farukkhabad style playing with maestro Pt. Anindo Chatterjee. He is the recipient of the Trinity Award at the Trinidad National Music Festival. In addition to this, he is a pediatric cardiologist by profession and also a trained classical singer in the Agra Gharana style.