Aneesh Pradhan

One of India’s leading tabla players, Aneesh Pradhan is a disciple of the illustrious tabla maestro Nikhil Ghosh, from whom he inherited a rich and varied repertoire of traditional tabla solo compositions from the Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farruk- habad and Punjab gharanas. Greatly appreciated by both the cognoscenti and the lay listener as a soloist and accompa- nist, Aneesh Pradhan is the recipient of several awards such as the Aditya Birla Kala Kiran Award (2000), the Natyadarpan Award for ‘Best Background Score’ (1998) for music direction to the Marathi play ‘Tumbara’ directed by Sunil Shanbag, the Vasantotsav Award (2012) instituted in memory of the eminent vocalist Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande, and the Saath Sangat Kalakar Award (2013) instituted in memory of G.L.Samant by the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Pune. A popular performer at most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the country, Aneesh Pradhan has also traveled widely and performed overseas at major events. He has also recorded prolifically for national and international record labels accompanying a host of vocalists and instrumentalists. His first tabla solo album titled »Tabla: the solo tradition« recorded in concert in 1997 and published in 2004, was followed by »Tabla solo: a continuing tradition«, a studio recording made in 2006. Apart from his work with art music, Aneesh Pradhan is also a frequent participant in cross-cultural musical collaborations both in the capacity of performer and composer. Drawn equally towards melody and rhythm, Aneesh’s compositions range from pieces composed for tabla solo to melodic and text-based compositions that are based on traditional vocal and instrumental forms of Hindustani music. Aneesh has also been a member of the Japan-based Asian Fantasy Orchestra since 1998, and has participated as composer and performer in an ongoing collaboration with Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt, since 2003. Some of his inter-cultural collaborations have also been released commercially. The project entitled Bridge of Dreams (produced and performed by the Sirens Big Band from Australia) was a collaboration between three composers, Sandy Evans, Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan. Based in Mumbai, India, Aneesh Pradhan lives a life that affords him the chance to be–in turns–performer, composer, student, teacher, researcher, and author.