Our annual free holiday noon concert series returns to historic Adler Hall! Stop by for beautiful music in December.

This week features Indian Classical music performed by Ravi Rao on sitar and Maitreya Padukone on tablas.

About Ravi Mao and Maitreya Padukone

Dr. Ravi Rao has studied sitar with leading performers such as Pandit Krishna Bhatt and Ustad Shahid Parvez and received music instruction from his mother, Mrs. Anasuya Rao. Pandit Krishna Bhatt is the protege of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Ustad Shahid Parvez hails from the illustrious Imdadkhani Etawah Gharana of sitar. Dr. Rao has played extensively in the Tri-State area and has performed at venues including the Lincoln Center, the Lotus Fine Arts Center, the Museum of Natural History, the Noguchi Museum, the Rubin Museum, and for Brooklyn Raga Massive.

He has led Wellness Workshops on the techniques of relaxation, meditation and stress reduction through music. He contributed to the CD ‘Synchronicity’, the documentary film ‘Macho’ and the CD ‘Bodhisattva Mass Transit’. He performed at the WKCR Columbia University Radio Station as part of the live 24-hour Raga Festival. He has also performed for charitable causes such as World Aids Day and the World Hunger Project. Dr. Rao has a PhD in Computer Science and is a Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey.

Dr. Maitreya Padukone was inspired and initiated into the art of Tabla (Indian Drums) by Pandit Nikhil Ghosh. He plays tabla in Salsa Masala, an award winning Indo-Latin fusion band. Maitreya has accompanied well known musicians like Steve Gorn, Ustad Sultan Khan, Dr.Taranath. He is the co-founder of Raga Music Circle that organizes Indian musical concerts for the last 20 years in NYC.
He is also a Dental consultant to the Jazz Foundation of America and provides pro-bono dental treatment to struggling musicians .

Music at Noon Series Schedule

December 2 – Indian Classical music with Ravi Rao (sitar) and Maitreya Padukone (tablas)
December 9 – Jazz with Marco Panascia (bass) and Jon Weber (piano)
December 16 – New York City Guitar Orchestra
December 23 – Nutcracker Suite on Four-Hand Piano with Nelson Ojeda Valdés and Christopher Bradshaw