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Vijay Koparkar hails from Pune. His father was a renowned Kirtankar. He had a brother who was a successful dermatologist. Koparkar attended the Maharashtra education societies, Perugate Bhave school. Later he obtained a master's degree in Engineering (Metallurgy) from the College of Engineering, Pune and runs a small-scale manufacturing plant.  He started his musical training at the age of eight. His first musical Guru (teacher) for eight years was Madhusudan Patwardhan. This was followed by training under renowned artist of yesteryear, Vasantrao Deshpande for five years and then under Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki for seven years.

Vijay Koparkar has been trained by gurus belonging to different gharanas (schools of music), and it reflects in his singing. He has received several honors including a scholarship given by Master Sudhir Phadke Through ‘Surashree Pratishthan’ for six years from 1983 to 1990 and the ‘Pandit Ramkrishna Vaze Puraskar’ by Gandharva Mahamandal.  He has performed all over the world, including the US, Canada, the Middle East, Paris and UK.  He performed twice at the prestigious ‘Sawai Gandharva Music Festival’ held in Pune.

Vijay Koparkar has been imparting music lessons for many years. Among his students are vocalists, Senior Disciples Saurabh Deshpande, Lalit Deshpande, Ishwar Ghorpade, Mandar Gadgil, Mandar Phatak, Hrishikesh Ranade, Prajakta Ranade, son Tejas and daughter Shruti.

(Biography sourced from Wikepedia)

Rahul Gole (Harmonium)

Qualified as a Chartered Accountant, Rahul Gole is a self-taught harmonium player. He Has accompanied well-known vocalists in various concerts. He has also played the reed organ for many Marathi musical theatre productions or Sangeet Nataks. He is the great grandson of Ganpatrao Bodas, a highly recognized actor and Director on the Marathi stage.

(Biography sourced from https://baajaagaajaa.com/)

Ramdas Palsule is a respected and popular name amongst Indian Classical Music enthusiasts He carved a niche for himself as a tabla player at a very young age being introduced to Tabla by Pt. G.L. Samant in his school days.  He was born in a well-educated family in Pune. His father Dr. G.B. Palsule, a Sanskrit scholar, was a recipient of the prestigious President’s Award, Kalidas Puraskar, K.K. Birla Award, and many more for his work in Sanskrit literature.

After obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the prestigious Jnana Prabodhini Prashala and College of Engineering, his passion for tabla overtook his desire for successful career in engineering at the age of twenty-three. He became the disciple of Tabla Maestro Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, and his natural ingenuity, relentless toil and insatiable thirst for knowledge, made quick strides as an acclaimed soloist and a versatile accompanist. As a solo artist, Ramdas developed his own style of presenting traditional compositions with a new perspective and fresh thought-process. He mastered the craft of “Jod-Taal” and “Jaati-Bhed” to acquire unparalleled expertise in that area. He earned the praise of connoisseurs and patriarchs alike with his refreshingly vivid style or presentation with his trademark subtle contemporary touch. He has enthralled audiences with his enchanting solo performances as well as accompaniments at prestigious concerts like The Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav (Pune), Saptak Festival, All India Radio, and SPICMACAY, Isha Foundation’s Yaksha 2020, Dussehra Festival, All Bengal Festival, Tansen Mahotsav, Kalidas Festival, Pt. Abhisheki Mahotsav and many more.

Apart from being a proficient Solo Artist, Ramdas also proved his dexterity as a versatile accompanist with Vocalists, Instrumentalists and Dancers from both, Hindustani and Carnatic styles of Classical Music. Doyens like Pt. Jasraj, Vidushi Prabha Atre, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Vidwan L. Subramanyam, Vidwan M. Balamuralikrishna, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Birju Maharaj and many more have trusted him as an able accompanist for their performances the world over. He also has performed in countries like U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, many countries in Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Gulf. A strong advocate of the Guru-Shishya Parampara – he believes that Art needs to be ingrained with Sanskar. Ramdas imparts training to youngsters of Tabla free of cost. This has continued through online sessions even in the pandemic induced lockdown. He is a Guru at The Lalit Kala Kendra (Center for Performing Arts) of University of Pune since 1995, and at Bharti Vidyapeeth School of Performing Arts, since 2008. Ramdas is a founding member and Guru at Avartan Gurukul, a unique Gurukul started in Pune in 2016. Since 2001, Ramdas has been arranging concerts in North America thereby providing a platform for Indian Musicians and Dancers as well as propagating Indian Classical Music. Ramdas is a committee member of CFPGS (Cultural Functions and Production Grant Scheme) of Ministry of Culture, Government of India, since 2018. In collaboration with Rotary Club of Pune Westend and Maharashtra Mandal (Bay Area, California, USA), he is helping to raise funds for musicians who were economically affected due to CoVid-19 Pandemic under project “Saath”. He was also one of the organizers/performers of a concert, namely “Artist for Artist” to help all the instrument-makers in flood-affected Sangli-Kolhapur areas in 2019. Thus, Ramdas Palsule is a humble student, a passionate teacher, an intellectual academic, zealous entrepreneur, and most importantly a suave ambassador for Indian Classical Music and a role-model for generations to come.