Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan is a Minneapolis, MN based performer, composer, teacher and scholar of Hindustani (North Indian classical) vocal music. She received her early training in Hindustani classical vocal music from her father Pandit Surendra Goswami and later from Prof. Ajit Singh Paintal. Currently she receives training in Khayal from her elder brother Dr. Shailendra Goswami. Pooja earned a Ph.D. in Indian Classical Music from the University of Delhi in 2005, under the supervision of Prof. Ajit Singh Paintal, for her thesis on the life and music of Pandit Amarnath, who was the prime disciple of the iconic vocalist Ustad Amir Khan.

Pooja is also trained in semi-classical music by the eminent vocalist Vidushi Shanti Hiranand, the reigning queen of Thumri and Ghazal and the universally acclaimed successor of the legendary vocalist, the Late Begum Akhtar. The versatility in Pooja’s repertoire is evident in her ability to sing Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Bhajan, Sufi and various folk inspired genres such as the Hori, Chaiti & Kajri besides the Khayal. Pooja has received prestigious National Scholarships in Hindustani classical music awarded by the Ministry of Human Resources and the Sahitya Kala Parishad in India.  The prominent venues she has performed at include the India Habitat Center (New Delhi), the Sangeet Natak Academy (New Delhi), the India International Center (New Delhi), the Vietnam International Tourism Festival (Hanoi), the Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, MN), the Ordway Center for Performing Arts (St. Paul, MN) and the O’Shaughnessy (St. Paul, MN). She has performed widely and lectured at several premier academic institutions spread across the USA. Pooja has been the recipient of the Artist  Initiative Grant and the Folk and Traditional Arts Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Next Step Grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the 416 Club Commissions from the Cedar Cultural Center and the Subito Grant from the American Composers Forum for her various projects. An active composer, she frequently collaborates with many leading music, dance and theater organizations including the Pangea World Theater, Ananya Dance Theater and the Katha Dance Theater. Pooja was honored with the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Musicians by the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, MN. 

Pooja has several recordings to her credit, including an album of Sufiana Kalam (“Piya Basey Kaun Des (In What Land’s My Beloved)”), one of Ghazals (“Kaise Keh Duun (How Shall I Say)”) and one of Bhajans (“Govinda Guna Gana (In Praise of Krishna)”), all featuring original compositions of her own. Pooja has also been an adjunct faculty member at the School of Music, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and at Macalester College, St. Paul, where she has taught several courses in Indian music and culture ever since coming to Minnesota in 2006. For the last four years, Pooja has also been leading a workshop on Hindustani classical music along with her husband, Tabla artist, A. Pavan, at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat in The Bahamas. Her recent performances of note include, the prestigious Thumri Festival in Delhi, India, the Learnquest Academy of Music Annual Music Festival in Boston, MA and the Begum Akhtar Centenary Music Festival in Lucknow, India.

A Pavan (Tabla)

Dr. Pavan is a regular figure in the Twin Cities music circles as a Tabla player and teacher. He initially trained in Tabla under Sri G. Laxmiah, senior disciple of Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan of Hyderabad, India. He has studied with several masters over the years and presently trains with Sri Rajendra Nakod and Ustad Shabbir Nisar, the illustrious son and disciple of the Tabla legend Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan. He has performed for Katha Dance Theater, Pangea World Theater and Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) in several productions and concerts. Pavan also appears on recordings of world/fusion music with many MN based artists. Since 1999 Pavan has been providing Tabla instruction to a number of students. Pavan co-composed and performed with Nirmala Rajasekar, Minnesota based Veena artist, the score for Pangea World Theater’s production “Partitions” in 2002, and the score for “5 Weeks” in 2017 with Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan, his wife, who is a Hindustani vocalist, teacher and composer. Pavan has also performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra along with Nirmala Rajasekar.
 
A senior technology management professional, Pavan is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota from where he received his Ph.D. His association with the Indian Music Society of Minnesota (IMSOM) goes back to 1989 when he first moved to Minnesota. He has served in IMSOM in various capacities, first as a volunteer, then playing various roles as a member of the Executive Committee for several years and finally as President of the Society from 1997 – 2001. He continues to be very active in IMSOM and presently serves as a member of the Advisory Board. Dr. Pavan was the Executive Director for several of IMSOM’s big concert productions in the past including “Masters of Percussion” (2002 and 2006), “Legends of India” (2003), “Remember Shakti” (2003) and “Rhythm Fantasies of India” (2004). Dr. Pavan leads the grant writing responsibilities for IMSOM and has won well over 50 grants for the society under his leadership for artistic projects, capital improvements, management consultancy and arts learning..