Musicians
Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
The Russian music legend has produced more than 50 albums since the formation of his legendary band Aquarium in 1972. His music over the years has incorporated a range of styles, from folk and blues to translucent acoustics — and includes a whole slew of various ethnic and folklore influences.
As a young student in the Soviet Union he started experimenting with poetry, music and theatre - merging Eastern philosophies and traditional Russian themes. His big break came in 1980, when he was invited to perform at the Tbilisi Rock Festival. Although his band was officially banned by the State following the festival his underground profile continued to rise sharply over the next 7 years until Perestroika ushered in a new era of opportunity. Boris became the first Russian musician to record in the West.
In Russia he can sell out any stadium. With his smoky tenor voice he continues to ‘express the inexpressable’ in a lyrical language that has earned him the affectionate title, “Poet Laureate of Russia”. When he performs to non-Russian speaking audiences he says, “There are things that are universal enough that every person who listens will perk up their ears”.
In 1989 he was the subject of “The Long Way Home,” a film by Michael Apted documenting Grebenshikov’s struggle to record his album “Radio Silence” with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.
In February, 2006 Grebenshikov met the Indian spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy who blessed him with the name Purushottama, which relates to the one who is beyond all limitations. In May 2007, inspired by Sri Chinmoy, Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov performed with his band Aquarium to a capacity audience at the Royal Albert Hall.
“There is a great silence inside of everybody, the source of all inspiration, of everything. I always prefer to let music speak for itself and then the human puppet has no further words”
Sheema Mukherjee
Sitar
Sheema Mukherjee began her study of North Indian classical music at the age of five with the giudance of one of the greatest classical vocalists, Ustad Amir Khan. She was presented a sitar at the age of nine by her illustrious uncle, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, under whom she began her study of the sitar.
She continued her study with Aashish Khan and Dhyanesh Khan in Kolkata, India. After the death of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee in 1986 she began studying with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Sheema is currently studying with Indian Classical Musicologist, Kishore Chakrabarty, who is based in Kolkata.
Sheema Mukherjee has presented lecture demonstrations on Indian classical music for many schools and universities, including the Guildhall School of Music, and worldwide for the British Council and Womad. Ideas were encouraged around music being an international language and the flexibility and use of Indian music within other forms e.g. dance, jazz, African, Irish and Arabic. Traditional Indian classical music teaching methods were always used.
Since then she has been a consultant for Thames Valley University in setting up their Indian music courses and continues to do presentations on Indian classical music in the UK and worldwide. The workshops include ‘hands-on’ Indian music practice techniques for improvement and improvisation, and also Raag theory.
Maria Pomianowska
Sarangi
Maria graduated in cello at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. As a student at the Academy, she was granted a scholarship to learn the sarangi under the guidance of maestro Pandit Ram Narayan in India. However, her instrumental repertoire is not limited to the sarangi; she also plays a collection of string instruments from around the world including the Bulgarian gadulka, Turkish Rabab, Iranian kemanche, Mongolian morin-chur and Chinese erhu - for over 25 years she has been studying the playing of these Asian instruments, travelling to India, China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan and Middle East. Her musical experience enabled her to take the leading role in reconstructing the art of creating, tuning and playing two long-lost traditional Polish instruments, the suka and the Plock fiddle.
Between 1993-96 she created The Non-European Music Section at the Chopin Music Academy, as well as gives courses at Musicology Institute at the Warsaw University which portrays the connections and differences between various musical systems. In 1994 she established Zespol Polski and became its artistic director; Zespol Polski visited Japan, Taiwan, Czech Republic, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, France as well as creating many CD’s and TV appearances. Drawing from her rich Asian experiences she composed pieces commissioned by the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma which were first performed in 2000, and were the outcome of her efforts to break barriers between cultures by connecting her experiences with Asian music with her own cultural heritage.
Brian Finnegan
Flute, Tin Whistle
Brian comes from Armagh, Northern Ireland, and currently plays with the Anglo-Irish band Flook, which won the Best Group at the BBC Folk Awards in 2006. He founded the band Upstairs in a Tent, and has released a solo album called When the Party’s Over. Recently, he has been working on his new project The Singing Tree, a brand new performance in words, music and dance celebrating the rich musical traditions of the north of Ireland, and the social and cultural changes currently taking place there.
‘He stands out, in a nation of wonderful flute players, as much more than a technical virtuoso, his playing having the freewheeling lightness of touch and inspired musical understanding that flows into improvisation in real time, at reel speed.’ - Norman Chalmers, The List
Boris Rubekin
Keyboards
Boris is a native son of Saint-Petersburg, Russia. He has been playing keyboards in Aquarium (Grebenshikov’s legendary band) since 1998. He started his musical career playing hymns in an American Baptist church - simultaneously working as a sound engineer in his own small recording studio. As a young child he lived in the building next door to the now famous underground studio where Aquarium recorded its first albums. From the day he was invited to join Aquarium he has worked tirelessly to assist Grebenshikov in making music which speaks directly to people’s hearts.
Becky Taylor
Uilleann Pipes
Becky is one of the few female exponents of the Uilleann or Irish Pipes in England today. She is renowned for her ability to give a distinctive interpretation to traditional tunes on a variety of instruments; Uilleann pipes, fiddle, Northumbrian pipes, whistle and duet concertina, and her skill in composing and arranging tunes that continue that tradition are a major feature of her music. Her eponymously-titled debut album was released in December 2002 to critical acclaim throughout the folk scene, and this year saw the release of her latest CD, Ireland Bridge. As well as being a staple of the traditional music scene in the UK, Becky has also collaborated on occasion with musicians from genres as diverse as blues, jazz, and Indian music.
Sasha Titov
Bass guitar
This concert sees BG reunite with his old Aquarium bass player Sasha Titov from St. Petersburg, Russia. Like Grebenshikov, Sasha was a key player in the Russian cultural underground in the 80s. As well as Aquarium, he was also a member of’Kino’; these two bands won enormous popular following despite being blacklisted in communist Russia. Sasha has been living in London since 1996, and has been involved in numerous international musical projects over the years.
Alok Verma
Tabla
Alok began playing tabla at the age of seven. In 1998 he won the Classical Tabla Solo competition in India, and then began to work with Bollywood artists and directors. In 2001 Alok moved to England. His numerous projects include participation in the BBC Summer Festival 2004, the Winterthur International Film Festival 2004 in Switzerland and a portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi’s life through music at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Arpan Patel
Harmonium/Vocals
Arpan was born in India and obtained a Master’s degree in the Performing Arts from MS University Baroda. He has been in the UK for nearly 4 years now. His rich singing voice featured at the Ipswich Mela and Bedford Dance Festival. He won the Sa Re Ga Ma singing competition and is looking forward to collaborating with new musicians and creating a new dimension in the music industry.
Dundubhi Dikel
Violin
Dundubhi studied the violin at the Conservatory of Bregenz, and the University of Music Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. A founding member of the female vocal and instrumental ensemble Mountain Silence, she has toured Europe, America and the Far East. As well as the violin, she also plays the chinese erhu. Dundubhi currently lives in Zurich, Switzerland.
Shamita Achenbach-König
Cello
Shamita lives in Vienna, Austria. She studied cello at the Conservatory of Bregenz, the University of Music Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Vienna Conservatory. She has performed with the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Bach Soloists. A member of the female vocal and instrumental ensemble Mountain Silence she has toured Europe, America and the Far East. In 2005 Shamita set a Guinness World Record at the Impossibility Challenger Games in Munich, playing the cello non-stop for 24 hours.
Nilasha Broughton
Violin
Nilasha began her musical studies at the
Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and continued with degrees at McGill University in Montréal and the University of Ottawa. Equally proficient on violin and viola, she has toured with orchestras in Canada, the United States, Japan and Europe. Inspired by the music of Sri Chinmoy, classical chamber music and world music, she has recently been collaborating with celtic harp, flute, guitar and Indian harmonium. Nilasha resides in Ottawa, Canada.
Listen to a full concert on Radio Sri Chinmoy…