About the Performers

David Trasoff has studied sarode performance and North Indian classical music under maestro Ali Akbar Khan, India's 'Living National Treasure,' since 1972. He has also received guidance from Dr. Rajeev Taranath, renowned sarode performer and senior disciple of Ali Akbar Khan. David has appeared in concert in arts centers, universities, conservatories and festivals in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has made numerous performing tours in India. David holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.F.A. in music from California Institute of the Arts. He served as Director of the Indian Music Ensemble at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1995-1997, and has taught in the Global Arts Program at California State University, San Marcos and at the California Institute of the Arts. In 1997, David composed and directed music for an acclaimed production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. He has also participated in contemporary music, theater and dance projects in Los Angeles. He presently teaches in the Department of Music at Pomona College in Claremont, CA.

David Trasoff's Homepage

Abhiman Kaushal belongs to a family of musicians and artists. He was initiated into the art of playing the tabla by his father, R.B. Kaushal, himself a disciple of the legendary tabla maestro Amir Hussain Khan. Abhiman continued his studies with Shaik Dawood and B. Nand Kumar. He has received special training in the art of accompaniment from some of the legendary maestros of North Indian music. Abhiman Kaushal has accompanied top musicians both in his own country and in tours of Europe, the Far East, Israel and the United States, including Ravi Shankar, Jasraj, Rais Khan, Shujaat Khan and G.S. Sachdev. Abhiman teaches on the faculty of the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA and at Pomona College.

Performances - North Indian classical music (partial list)

Roy O. Disney Hall	California Institute of the Arts
Ravi Shankar Music Circle	Los Angeles, California
International Conference on Indian Music & The West	Mumbai, India
International Symposium on Musical Acoustics	Tokyo, Japan
Indian Academy of Fine Arts	Singapore
Muzikacademie Basel	Basel, Switzerland
San Diego State University	San Diego, California
University of California	Santa Barbara, California
World Music Institute	New York
World Music Festival	California Institute of the Arts
Salt Lake Music Festival	Calcutta, India
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture	Calcutta, India
National Center for the Performing Arts	Mumbai, India
India International Centre	New Delhi, India
Muziekschool Amsterdam	Amsterdam, The Netherlands
University of Maryland	Baltimore, Maryland
World Affairs Conference	University of Colorado, Boulder
Lewis & Clark College	Portland, Oregon
Evergreen State University	Olympia, Washington
University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona
University of Texas	Austin, Texas

Last Update: 1.03.04