Narendra Datar Concert - Artist Information
NARENDRA DATAR
Narendra Datar began his formal musical training in 1976, at the age of sixteen, under the highly respected teacher and Agra gharana vocalist Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni. While still in school, he won several first prizes in Inter-Collegiate and Inter-University vocal music competitions, held at state and national levels. In recognition of his musical promise, he was given a special gold medal by his own high school, the Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya. A few years later, on the occasion of that institution's 75th anniversary, Mr. Datar was again celebrated as a distinguished alumnus.
He came to Canada in 1984, completing an M.Sc. in computer science at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton and B. Tech. (Electrical Engineering) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Since 1986, he has resided in Toronto, where he has been active both as a teacher and a performer of Hindustani (North Indian) classical music. His concert appearances have taken him across Canada, from Vancouver to St. John's, and he has also given concerts in numerous U.S. cities, including Atlanta, New Jersey, Boston, Ann Arbour, Battle Creek, Detroit, San Diego, Los Angeles, Washington, Rochester, and Buffalo. He participated in the Music Events at the Brihan-Maharashtra Mandal Conventions in Baltimore, Houston, Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia, which were appreciated very much by the audience. Closer to home, he performed in the 'Rhythms of India', a HarbourFront presentation in Toronto, in 1993, and 1994. As a part of the 25th Year celebration of the Marathi Bhashik Mandal, Toronto, he had helped organize and participated in various Musical Events.
As a recipient of the prestigious Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute Senior Performing Arts Fellowship in 1989, he was able to return to Bombay for one year, from September 1989 until October 1990, in order to receive advanced vocal training from Pandit Kulkarni. During that same period, he also gave a number of classical music concerts in Bombay and other locations. He has finished making two recordings of his Music, Classical as well as Devotional Songs, which has been made available to the Public. The recordings of his Classical Music was done with the help of a grant from the Ontario Art Council.
In addition to his achievements as a performer of classical, and light classical (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada) music, Mr. Datar is a composer of merit. His most recent project entailed the musical setting of a series of devotional songs, based on texts by Mr. Kishan Varma of Halifax. Mr. Datar is also an active member of the Indian community in Toronto, and has frequently participated voluntarily in local cultural events. In November 1993, the Marathi Bhashik Mandal (Maharashtrian Cultural Organization) presented him with a plaque in honour of the contributions he has made to music and to cultural life in general.
RAYA BIDAYE
Raya Bidaye was introduced to Indian Classical music by Mr. Tatya Bondale of Devgad, India. During his very illustrious music career, Raya has accompanied stalwarts such as Dr. Prabha Atre, Late Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, Pandit Prabhakar Karekar, Smt. Laxmi Shankar, and Pandit Firoz Dastur. Music is his love and he managed to find time inspite of a very busy career as a Senior Marketing Manager. Raya is also a very talented music composer and has composed many Devotional Songs. Some of his compositions are included in the CD and Cassette of Narendra Datar.
SUPHALA PATANKAR
Suphala is a student of the great tabla masters Ustad Allarakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, whose inspiration allows her to perform Indian classical music but also extend tabla into Western music. She is a performer, a producer, and a composer. Her fluency in a diversity of musical traditions can be seen in her compositions and enchanting performances. Her three albums (Instru Mental, The Now, and Blueprint) present her unique compositions using Western classical, Indian classical, jazz, and folk. She made history in 2005 by performing in Kabul, Afghanistan as the first musician to play in public after the fall of the Taliban.
