Pandit Pran Nath Memorial Concert in the Dream House

Ustad Hafizullah Khan, sarangi
Rik Masterson, tabla
Rose Okada, tambura

MELA Foundation Dream House
275 Church Street, 3^rd Floor, Between Franklin & White Streets in Tribeca

Thursday, June 13, 2002, 8 pm
Admission $24
Limited seating. Advance reservations recommended.

A Concert of Evening Ragas in the Kirana Style of North Indian Classical Music will be performed by Ustad Hafizullah Khan, sarangi, in a memorial tribute in honor of Pandit Pran Nath on Thursday, June 13 at 8 pm in the MELA Foundation Dream House, 275 Church Street, 3^rd Floor. Ustad Hafizullah Khan, is the only child of Pandit Pran Nath’s teacher, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Sahib, the acknowledged master of the Kirana style in the twentieth century.

Ustad Hafizullah Khan received the title of Khalifa (hereditary head) of the Kirana Gharana of North Indian classical music in 1964. Since 1967, he has been a staff artist at All India Radio, Delhi, and is now senior artist, with the highest rating. He received the Swami Haridas Sangeet Samelan Sur Mani Award in 1972, and has performed at most of the major music festivals in India. In 1975, 1989 and 1990, Hafizullah Khansahib performed on the sarangi on tour in Europe. This will be his second tour in the U.S. and his first and only New York performance. It will provide a rare opportunity to hear him perform in the serene, meditative environment of the Dream House.

Born in Kirana, India, June 4, 1946, he began his studies in voice and sarangi as a young boy with Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan’s younger brother and student, Ustad Abdul Habib Khan. Hafizullah Khansahib follows the Kirana tradition of badhat, the methodical, note by note unfolding of the raga alap in the slow tempo in bin style, characterized by abundant use of slides and grace notes with emphasis on pitch and melody. He does not play in the instrumental style of jor, jhala and gat, but rather in vocal style (khayal gayaki) of compositions. Hafizullah Khan’s technical mastery of the sarangi includes exquisite intonation, pure tone, wide dynamic range, graceful command of the bow and effortless speed over the complete range of three octaves.

Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan died when Hafizullah was a very young child. As a result, Pandit Pran Nath was like an elder brother to him and they became very close. Hafizullah Khansahib accompanied Pandit Pran Nath on sarangi for many All India Radio broadcasts and at other concerts in India.

Pandit Pran Nath, who passed away on June 13, 1996, virtually introduced the vocal tradition of North Indian classical music to the West in 1970. His 1971 morning performance at Town Hall, New York City, was the first concert of morning ragas to be presented in the U.S. Subsequently, he introduced and elaborated to Western audiences the concept of performing ragas at the proper time of day by scheduling entire series of concerts at special hours. Many students and professional musicians came to him in America to learn about the vast system of raga and to improve their musicianship. He performed frequently in New York City and in 1972, established his own school, the Kirana Center for Indian Classical Music, now a project of MELA Foundation. In Fall 1993, Pran Nath inaugurated the MELA Foundation Dream House with three Raga Cycle concerts.

Ustad Hafizullah Khan will be accompanied by his disciple, Rose Okada, tambura, and Rik Masterson, tabla. Admission $24 / $18 MELA members; seniors; students with ID. Limited seating. Advance reservations recommended. For further information: www.melafoundation.org

MELA's programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. This concert is co-produced by MELA and Kiranawest, the school for Indian classical music in Portland, Oregon that is sponsoring Ustad Hafizullah Khan’s tour.