News

Now online: the recording of my Raga Malika for drums and orchestra! Link in bio! @somerkamerorkest @grachtenfestival #rolfverbeek #wouterkuhne

Nice review after a lovely project playing Ravel and Shostakovich string quartets, Punch Brothers and many ragas! The review mentions my performance of Ustad Amir Khan Saheb's composition in raag Charukeshi: Paar Karo Mori Naav (Please bring my boat to the shore) I learned from my dear guruji @sabirsultankhan. We played it on an actual boat in the Dutch Waddenzee!

My working process writing a new piece for saxophone quartet and tape! 1) Sketching ideas 2) First rough version on paper 3) Detailed work in my notation software Finalizing the piece this week, then on to the next steps: recording and rehearsing with the great @osimun.quartet for their tour in January and February! @diegodc26 @fatimalcz @gg_ines @ricardmartinez3

Alap in raag Yaman by an orchestra! Beautiful solos by @isabella_mc__ (alto flute) and @petite_ronce (cello). This excerpt is part of my Raga Malika for Drums and Orchestra. I'm working on a full recording and will share snippets on here! recording by @concertzender orchestra: @somerkamerorkest with Rolf Verbeek @grachtenfestival

Looking forward to the première of my Raga Malika, tonight at 19:00 performed by @somerkamerorkest, Wouter Kühne and Rolf Verbeek at the @grachtenfestival! Meanwhile, enjoy these excerpts of Jhalla in Raga Darbari which I got to try out with the @noordnederlandsorkest with Henri Aavik last year. Some parts of this 6 minute piece eventually made it into the big 50 minute Raga Malika!

Interview for @dagbladvanhetnoorden about the premiere of my 49 minute orchestral work, my first raga-based piece. Swipe right to read! Raga Malika for Drums and Orchestra will be performed by Wouter Kühne, @somerkamerorkest and Rolf Verbeek 17th August @festivalveenhuizen 30th August @grachtenfestival 31st August @uitgastfestival

RAGA MALIKA FOR DRUMS AND ORCHESTRA Finished my biggest piece yet: a 50-minute concerto in five movements for drums and orchestra! For the first time I'm developing Raag into orchestral colors, very exciting! Looking forward to the first performances with Wouter Kühne, @somerkamerorkest and Rolf Verbeek. Come see it at: - 17th August @festivalveenhuizen - 30th August @grachtenfestival - 31st August @uitgastfestival

Some shots of my lastest Indian Classical recital with @niti_ranjan_biswas on tabla. We played in the exact place where I heard Indian music for the first time, almost six years ago. Safe to say that experience really changed my life! Ragas played were Rageshree and Adana Photos by Parcifal Werkman

Exciting week ahead, working on my newest piece "Jhalla in Raga Darbari" with two orchestras! @noordnederlandsorkest @conservatoriumvanamsterdam It is a special piece for me, because it's my first raga-based piece since I started studying Indian Classical music three years ago. With the blessings of my gurus and the immersion into this music I feel it has become an important part of me which I want to share in my composed music. And the adventure continues! The "Jhalla in Raga Darbari" is a preview of a bigger piece: "Raga Malika for Drums and Orchestra", a 45 minute concerto for drums and orchestra commissioned by @somerkamerorkest and @grachtenfestival. This piece will explore the vibrant colors of Raga Yaman, Saraswati, Charukeshi, Hemant and Darbari. Dates Jhalla in Raga Darbari: - Tomorrow recording session with @noordnederlandsorkest - Thursday 12:30 concert with @conservatoriumvanamsterdam symphony orchestra for @newmusicarena - 1st June, 14:30 in Amare for @dagindebranding Dates Raga Malika for Drums and Orchestra: - 17th August @festivalveenhuizen - 30th August @grachtenfestival - 31st August @uitgastfestival

A great finale to three tours with my arrangement of Bach's Matthäus Passion for @deblazers last Friday! Grateful for the opportunity to deep dive into this music, and add my own colors in some places. Enjoy one of my favorite excerpts of the show, where the duduk takes center stage in the famous Erbarme Dich, which is originally played on violin. The lower register and emotional sound of the duduk gives a new layer to this masterpiece (in my opinion ;)). Duduk - @canermalkoc1 Soprano - Claron McFadden Ney - @sinan_aratt Oboe d'Amore - Bart Schneemann

So happy to have met some of my musical heroes in Pune yesterday! Meeting Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty was a dream coming true. Also I never though I would be able to share some words with the great Ustad Zakir Hussain (failed photo attempt in second ;)). More greats not in photo: Pt. Yogesh Samsi, Ayay Joglekar. All thanks to my dear guru Ustad Sabir Sultan Khan for introducing me to these great artists.

While in India, I had a lot of fun watching @deblazers perform my arrangements on Dutch national television. Especially enjoyed this piece belonging to the Alevi tradition in Turkey, always a blast working with my dear friend @sinan_aratt! @alper_kekec #haydar #alevi #ney #nbe #nieuwjaarsconcert #arrangement #turkishmusic #music

So happy to be back in India! Joined my guru @tulika_swarayogini to Delhi for her concert, where I also got to spend time with great friend @imrankhantabla. He lead me to some of the best food, and we bought my first kurta! Now back in Mumbai for lessons and lots of riyaz (practise)!

Worried about the future of the arts in my country after yesterday's events... This is a bit of raag Patdeep which I learned from my dear guru @sabirsultankhan, whose religion is heavily under pressure in the Netherlands now. I hope my art can be one of the many examples of the treasures Muslim people bring to our country. Apart from politics: for the last months, enjoying learning the sitar so much! Refreshing to learn something new, and the way the instrument flourishes in all the vibrations is truly enchanting 🙂 Getting lots of inspiration from my teacher @siddharth_kishna #patdeep #raag #raga #improvisation #alaap #indianmusic #indianclassicalmusic #music #sitar