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Dr Pooja Goswami Pavan, Ph.D., is a Hindustani (North Indian classical) vocalist, composer, teacher and scholar, whose silky, yet strong voice has the ability to move effortlessly in three octaves. Her deep and extensive training in the traditional Hindustani idiom by several masters has allowed her to broaden her ability to sing and teach a wide variety of genres with ease. The versatility in Pooja’s repertoire is evident in her ability to sing Thumri, Dadra, Ghazal, Bhajan, Sufiana Kalam and folk genres such as the Hori, Chaiti & Kajri besides the Khayal and Tarana. A highly expressive artist, who strives to illuminate the melodic, poetic and emotional beauty in her renditions, she is also a much sought after educator, well known for making this complex system of music highly accessible to learners from all backgrounds at all levels.

She has performed to wide acclaim across India and the USA at several prominent venues such as The Ordway Center, The Guthrie, The India Habitat Center and The India International Center and at conferences such as The Learnquest Music Conference (Boston), International Music Festival (Vietnam) and The Indian Classical Music Festival (The Bahamas), among others. She has been honored with multiple awards for excellence in her work, including the prestigious McKnight Fellowship for Musicians, scholarships from the Sahitya Kala Parishad (Government of Delhi, India) and the Ministry of Culture (Government of India) and multiple grants supporting her solo and collaborative compositional and performance projects.

Pooja believes it is often music that brings people together to reflect upon their basic desire to find common ground. She endeavors to not only celebrate the Indian experience, but also bring diverse people together through interactive, hands on learning of the melodies and rhythms of Hindustani (North Indian classical) music.

Pooja has been a performer, composer, and educator of Hindustani (North Indian classical) music for over 20 years. The musical genres she sings, namely, Khayal (classical), Thumri/Ghazal (semi-classical), Kajri/Chaiti (folk), Sufi and Bhajan (devotional) are largely improvised. Pooja presents both, traditional and new works and is an active composer, presenting solo and collaborative works regularly throughout the USA and India. She has also been a teacher of Hindustani music in Minnesota, both in academic and private settings, since 2006. Using well designed, interactive and engaging material, she makes it possible for people of all cultures and musical backgrounds to have easy access to and gain appreciation of the beauty and sophistication of the Hindustani music tradition. Pooja is frequently invited by colleges and universities in Minnesota and all across the USA as a subject matter expert on Hindustani music to give lecture-demonstrations and hold performances, workshops and residencies. She especially looks forward to engaging with middle and high-school students, and adults and seniors, and open up the wonderful world of Hindustani melodies and rhythms to them all. Pooja feels privileged to be able to fulfill the clear desire in the local community for Indian music. Her concerts, workshops, lecture-demonstrations bring together hundreds of community members regularly in a celebration of Indian music, arts and culture. Her teaching and performance offerings will not only entertain and educate, but also potentially grow new audiences and students for Hindustani music in the long run.

Dr A Pavan (Tabla)

Dr. A Pavan, Ph.D., based in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, is a Tabla player and teacher. He initially trained in Tabla under Sri G. Laxmiah and has studied with several masters over the years. He 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 Minnesota based artists. 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.

Kedar Naphde (Harmonium)

Kedar Naphde has been performing harmonium solo and accompaniment concerts since 1982. He was featured as a child artist on the Mumbai Television Channel Doordarshan in the early 1980s and started performing professionally as a soloist and accompanist of Hindustani Classical music in 1990, at the age of 18. He first came into limelight with a concert at the prestigious Annual Alladiya Khan Smruti Samaroha in Mumbai, India with Smt. Padmavati Shaligram-Gokhalie in 1992.
Kedar's music is based on that of Tulshidas Borkar and P. Madhukar. In addition to classical music, Kedar also plays the semi-classical forms of Marathi Natyasangeet (Stage Music), bhajans, and thumri.

Kedar has performed harmonium solo and has accompanied vocalists at numerous concerts in India, Europe and in the U.S. He has more than 500 concert appearances to his credit, including prestigious festivals and venues such as the Alladiya Khan Smruti Samaroha, Dadar Matunga Cultural Center and Vile Parle Music Circle in Mumbai, Surel Samvadini Sanvardhan institute in Belgaum, Karnataka, Kala Academy in Panaji Goa, Bharat Natya Mandir in Pune, India, the London U.K. Marathi Mandal, The Lincoln Center in New York, Carnegie Hall in New York, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the LearnQuest Academy music conference in Boston, the Chhandayan Annual All Night Music Conference in New York etc.

He has also been featured on radio stations such as the National Public Radio, WKCR 89.9, e-Prasaran Internet radio etc. He has collaborated on stage with legendary musicians of India such as his guru Smt. Padmavati Shaligram-Gokhale, Pt. Jasraj, Smt. Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Smt. Prabha Atre, Smt. Laxmi Shankar, Pt. Phiroz Dastur, Smt. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, etc.

He has also collaborated with other instrumentalists and worked in instrumental ensembles with other instruments such as the sitar, flute, violin and mandolin.
Kedar started teaching the harmonium under Ace Open University in 2010.

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