Sama Arts Network is one of the UK’s oldest and most influential arts organisations in the genre of traditional and contemporary South Asian arts. It also presents Orchestral, Jazz and World Music.
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What’s On
Sama @ Tileyard London
| 11 Mar / 7:30pm | StringFEST - aavaam - we two Shreya Devnath & Praveen Sparsh - Duet for violin & mridangam |
Tileyard London | Book Now |
| 15 Mar / 6pm | KHYAL: Music & Imagination Shrinivas Joshi - Khyal - The legacy of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi |
Tileyard London | Book Now |
| 29 Mar / 6pm | StringFEST Arnab Chakrabarty & Shahbaz Hussain - Sarod & Tabla |
Tileyard London | Book Now |
What Was On
INDO JAZZ COLLABORATIONS – THE MUSIC OF JOHN MAYER with an Exhibition.
Taking inspiration from his father, Jonathan Mayer revisited material from the 1960s. John Mayer formerly Indo Jazz Fusions in 1966 and this quartet will also play new original material.
Jonathan Mayer – Sitar
Mitel Purohit – Tabla
Tony Levein – Drums
Steve Tromans – Piano
| 19 DEC / 7:30pm / 10 | Concert | Storey’s Field Centre | Book Now |
A celebration of Words, Poetry and Music.
| 24 Sep / 6:30pm | Concert | Najma Aktar | Nehru Centre |
| 30 Sep / 6:30pm | Concert | Kaleem Sheikh | Nehru Centre |
| 30 Oct / 6:30pm | Concert | Sanjeev & Karuna Loomba | Nehru Centre |
| 28 Nov / 6:30pm | Concert | Kamalbir Singh. Accompanied By Manjit Singh Rasiya Tabla, Ikram Khan Sarangi — Book Now |
Nehru Centre |
| 1 Dec / 7:30pm | Concert | Zeeshan Ali Accompanied By Shabaz Hussain Tabla — Book Now |
The Curve, Slough |
| 3 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Puja Gupta Accompanied By Shabaz Hussain Tabla — Book Now |
Nehru Centre |
| 6 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Mehtab Malhotra Accompanied By Af Malhotra Tabla, Ikram Khan Sarangi, Junaid Khan Sarangi —Book Now |
Nehru Centre |
IRFAN KHAN QUARTET
Ustad Irfan Khan is the khalifa (head) of the ancient Lucknow Shajahanpur Gharana (Traditional School) of instrumental music and is one of the last instrumentalists of the subcontinent with a vast repertoire of historic compositions and a detailed insight into Raga grammar.
His ancestors were rubab players and came to India as martial musicians from Afghanistan in the 17th century. In Lucknow they mixed with the court musicians and modified the rubab into what would become the sarod.
| 21 Nov / 6:30pm | Concert | Nehru Centre Solo Performance accompanied by Gurdain Rayyat Tabla |
Book Now |
| 22 NOV / 7:30pm / £20 | Concert | Purple Playhouse Theatre, Hove | Book Now |
| 24 NOV / 8pm / £20 | Concert | Tileyard Studios, London | Book Now |
| 25 NOV / 7pm / £13.50 - £11.50 | Concert | Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich | Book Now |
ZEESHAN ALI
Zeeshan Ali is the student of Ustad Mehdi Hasan Khan sahib and has spent his life in around the art of Ghazal Gayaki. Zeeshan was fortunate enough to be awarded the first place prize in the Asian Song Contest whereby he was given a HMV gold plate by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahib. Zeeshan has spent over 30 years amongst greats seeking their blessings and taleem, some of which include the great Ustad Salamat Ali Khan sahib, Ustad Pervaiz Mehdi Khan sahib and Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib, to name a few. Zeeshan hopes to spread the name of his Great Ustad through his passion for music.
| 1 DEC / 6pm / £20 | Concert | The Curve, Slough | Book Now |
SAAMI BROTHERS QAWWAL
Saami Brothers are a group of accomplished vocalist and worthy custodians of the Traditional Qawwali as exemplified in Khyal of the performance Hazrat Ameer Khusrau and Ustad Tanras Khan Sahab – of the Delhi / Qawwal Bahche Gharana.
The group are the sons of the much acc laimed Maestro Ustad Naseeruddin Saami. They are well – versed in several classical genres, currently performing as a traditional (Riwayati) Qawali group
| 16 NOV / 8pm / £12-£15 | Concert | mac, Birmingham | Book Now |
| 17 NOV / 7pm / £20 | Concert | Tileyard Studios, London | Book Now |
| 20 NOV / 7pm / Free | Talk/Discussion on Qawwali | The Curve, Slough | Book Now |
USTAD NASEERUDDIN SAAMI
The name of Naseeruddin Saami needs no introduction in the field of music. His ancestors founded the school of music known as the “DELHI GHARANA”. His forefathers were associated with the Darbar of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. His ancestor MIYAN SAMATH had the privilege of being the disciple of Hazrat Ameer Khusro.
Naseeruddin is a strict follower in the style of his family tradition-keeping ‘Sur’ as the most important component of his singing. His singing is peaceful and calm. Heartfelt rendition of the raga, manifesting the emotions which are mentioned in the bandish is one of the main aspects of Khyal Gaiki, in which he excels. He shows his versatility by also singing, Sadara, Thumri,Tarana, Dadra and Ghazal.
| 17 NOV / 3pm / £20 | Concert | Tileyard Studios, London | Book Now |
An introduction to the enigmatic, iconoclastic 15th century Bhakti-Sufi poet, Kabir, through storytelling, commentary, poetry and songs. The songs are in dialects of Hindi and the entire narration will be in English.
Vipul Rikhi is a singer, poet, storyteller and translator, immersed in the oral traditions of Kabir and other Bhakti and Sufi poets for over a decade
| 2 November / 7pm | Concert | SOAS, London | Book Now |
Saami Brothers are a group of accomplished vocalist and worthy custodians of the Traditional Qawwali as exemplified in Khyal of Hazrat Ameer Khusrau and Ustad Tanras Khan Sahab – of the Delhi / Qawwal Bahche Gharana.
The group are the sons of the much acclaimed Maestro Ustad Naseeruddin Saami. They are well-versed in several classical genres, currently performing as a traditional (Riwayati) Qawali group.
| 22 August/ 8pm | Concert | The Gallery, Tileyard Studios | Book Now |
Hamza Akram Qawwal & Brothers, grandsons of the revered Munshi Raziuddin, have been acclaimed for their riveting interpretations of qawwali, the ecstatic improvisational Sufi vocal tradition.
This award-winning ensemble represents the 26th generation of the seven centuries-old Qawwal Bachon ka Gharana of Delhi founded by Saamat bin Ibrahim, the first qawwal of the subcontinent and principal student of mystic Amir Khusrau.
| 31 August/ 6pm | Concert | Osterley Park Hotel, Isleworth | Book Now |
The Anuraag Collective is the coming together of a fluid, eclectic set of musicians,veterans in their own genres of music. Anuraag (composer and lead vocals) breathes life in the priceless ancient Indian philosophies as they manifest themselves in this modern-day context. Strong influences of Sufism and Hindustani Classical Music melt together, effortlessly with luscious Jazz and Neo Soul influences.
| 22 June / 8pm | Concert | Rich Mix | Book Now |
Akademi, in collaboration with SAMA Arts, presents a first-ever performance in Britain, showcasing unique selections from the court and salon Sadir dance repertoire from British India, performed by the captivating dancer, actor, and noted scholar Dr Swarnamalya Ganesh.
Sadir or the invitational performances of the 17th to early 20th century Southern India, were given by highly trained, hereditary, professional dancers, and their musician troupes in the royal durbars and sumptuous salons of rajahs, nawabs and other wealthy sponsors, often including among their guests, the officers of The Raj or British India.
| 30 June / 7:30pm | Concert | LSO St. Luke’s | Book Now |
Rhythms in Landscape is timely celebration of South Asian Dance Festival covering both Classical and Contemporary styles.
It will celebrate historic achievements and contemporary diversity of South Asian Dance in the UK and pose crucial questions to stimulate, steer and secure the future of British Asian dance as part of the UK’s ever growing dance landscape. The five day festival will cover a range of events – including performances, master classes, workshops from training to artist development and other contemporary factors that are shaping South Asian dance creation & distribution
| 28 June / 7:30pm | Concert | Sadir: Dancing for Rajahs, Nawabs, and the Officers of The Raj — Swarnamalya Ganesh | Storey’s Field Centre |
| 29 June / 7:30pm | Concert | Kathak —Alpana Sengupta Dance Company | Storey’s Field Centre |
| 30 June / 7:30pm | Concert | Bharatanatyam — Krishna Zivraj | Storey’s Field Centre |
| 19 July / 7:30pm | Concert | Kathakali Dance/Drama —Kalamanadalam Vijayakumar Kuchipudi — Arunima Kumar |
Storey’s Field Centre |
| 21 July / 6pm | Concert | Mohini Attam —Uphaar Dance Company Kathak — Parbati Chaudhury Odissi — Elena Catalano |
Storey’s Field Centre |
| 29 & 30 June & 21 July / 12pm - 1:30pm | Yoga Workshop | Yoga for Body, Breath and Mind — Tina Rawal |
Storey’s Field Centre |
| 30 June / 5pm | Concert | Chilanka Pooja — Natyanjali Dance School |
Cambridge Junction |
Progressive Carnatic fusion band from Bangalore. ’MishraM’ is an amalgamation of the western genres of music like Rock, Metal, Jazz, Reggae and Electronic music centered around the Indian classical music.
| Tuesday 2 July / 7pm | Concert | Wharf Chambers Co-operative Club, Leeds // with support from The Tenmours |
Book Now |
| Tuesday 9 July / 8pm | Concert | MAC, Birmingham | |
| Wednesday 10 July / 8pm | Concert | Rich Mix, London | Book Now |
| Thursday 11 July / 8pm | Concert | The Reardon Smith Theatre National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff |
Book Now - Rekha Girish 07540 945075 |
Shared Values is a festival of South Asian art music, contemporary, classical & traditional that seeks to showcase the achievements of non-South Asian musicians who have wholeheartedly adopted the aesthetic values of this music and emerged as accomplished performers. We believe that the breadth and depth of these artists’ with their adoptive musical culture can only be put in perspective when they are given an opportunity to share a platform with leading indigenous performers. This is a festival to project that South Asian music is universal, welcoming and inclusive. (click on the artist list to book online, click on venue for directions).
Sitar virtuoso, Nishat Khan has an impeccable international reputation and the north indian is regarded as one of the towering performers of the pre-eminent instrument of Indian classical music.
He returns to London to perform at the prestigious Union Chapel, accompanied by tabla player Pandit Sanju Sahai and with it’s “infinite and imaginative variety”, as declared by The Guardian, this is truly to be a magical evening.
| 13 May / 6:30pm | Concert | Union Chapel | Book Now |
The family of Qawwal Najmuddin Saifuddin group trace their ancestry back to the 13th-century and are considered today the leading singers of the Sufi Qawwali tradition. Their songs are of thousands of years of mystic poetry, which have been passed on from generation to generation. The songs, which constitute the qawwali repertoire, are in a number of languages. Those from the classical period are in dialects of north India like Brajbhasha and Awadhi. These dialects continue to have huge influence on qawwali in other languages. There is a rich tradition in other languages like Urdu, Punjabi, Persian and Saraiki.
UK Tour
| 5 Mar | Holywell Music Room, Oxford | 0730 605 6305 | Book Now |
| 15 Mar | Storey’s Field Centre, Cambridge | 01223 357851 | Book Now |
| 16 Mar | Dominion Centre, Southall | 0730 605 6305 | Book Now |
| 22 Mar | Tara Arts Theatre, London | 0208 8333 4457 | Book Now |
| 23 Mar | Woodside Hall, Glasgow | 0778 693 5075 | Book Now |
| 24 Mar | Excelsior, Nottingham | 0115 7100 300 | |
| 29 Mar | Midland Art Centre, Birmingham | 0121 446 3232 | Book Now |
| 30 Mar | Key Theatre, Peterborough | 01733 207239 | Book Now |
| 31 Mar | The Curve, Slough | 0730 605 6305 | Book Now |
| 5 Apr | Great Hall, Dartington | 01803 847 070 | Book Now |
| 6 Apr | Porchester Hall, London | 0730 605 6305 | Book Now |
| 7 Apr | Newhampton Art Centre, Wolverhampton | 01902 572090 | Book Online |
| 10 Apr | Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester | 0161 907 5555 | Book Now |
The Indus Festival, is a series of performances in celebration of the classical and contemporary arts of South Asia. We are presenting a number of artists in collaboration with organisations from the East region. This will be the basis for all future work of Indus Music. We propose to celebrate The Beatles’ trip to India which transformed the perception of Indian music in the West. Their historic meeting with Pandit Ravi Shankar remains to this day the key moment in the history of this music in the West.
The festival will include music – all genres, Khyal, Qawwali, Ghazals, Dance, Book Reading, Poetry.
2018
| 20 Sep / 6:30pm | Concert | Shika Ganguli — Hanif Khan - Tabla / Nafiz Irfan - Harmonium |
Nehru Centre |
| 26 Sep / 6:30pm | Concert | Rahul Mishra — Dheeraj Mishra - Tabla / Nafiz Irfan - Harmonium |
Nehru Centre |
| 25 Nov / 3pm | Concert | Shafqat Ali Khan — Shahbaz Hussain - Tabla / Gurbaksh Singh - Dilruba |
Royal Asiatic Society |
| 26 Nov / 6:30pm | Concert | Chandrima Mishra — Shahbaz Hussain - Tabla / Prabhat Rao - Harmonium |
Nehru Centre |
| 27 Nov / 6:30pm | Concert | Kaviraj Singh — Amritpal Singh - Tabla / Gurbaksh Singh - Dilruba |
Nehru Centre |
| 4 Dec Inauguration / 6pm 5-13 Dec / 10am-6pm / Mon to Fri only |
Exhibition | Khyal: Music and Imagination - Multimedia Exhibition — Led by Martin Clayton and Laura Leante at Durham University, in collaboration with GemArts, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. |
Nehru Centre |
| 4 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Khyal: Music & Imagination Exhibition Inauguration Vijay Rajput — Sanju Sahai - Tabla / Kirpal Singh Panesar - Dilruba |
Nehru Centre |
| 5 Dec / 4pm | Workshop | Vijay Rajput — Khyal Workshop |
Nehru Centre |
| 6 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Ustad Fida Husain – Felicitation Event Deepa Karnad — Budhaditya Bhattacharya — Gurdain Rayatt - Tabla / Gurbaksh Singh Matharu - Dilruba |
Nehru Centre |
| 8 Dec / 6pm | Concert | Sanjukta Mitra — Udit Pankhania - Tabla Prabhat Rao — Amritpal Singh - Tabla / Rishikesh Kardile - Harmonium |
Bhavan Centre |
| 9 Dec / 1pm | Concert | Roshan Abbas — Guest musicians |
Dominion Centre |
| 10 Dec / 4pm | Workshop | Sarojini Pati — Khyal Workshop |
Nehru Centre |
| 11 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Kaleem Sheikh — A talk on Khyal / Music — CANCELLED Tarsem Singh - Tabla / Surjeet Singh - Sarangi |
Nehru Centre |
| 12 Dec / 4pm | Film Screening | Screening 1 — Kishori Amonikar - Live in Concert |
Nehru Centre |
| 13 Dec / 4pm | Film Screening | Screening 2 — Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - Live in Concert |
Nehru Centre |
| 14 Dec / 7:30pm | Concert | Rahul Mishra — Dheeraj Mishra - Tabla |
Tara Arts |
| 16 Dec / 2pm | Seminar | Khyal Seminar — Comprehensive discussion on Khyal and gharanas (schools) |
Rich Mix |
| 16 Dec / 6:30pm | Concert | Chiranjeeb Chakraborty — Amruta Bawane Garud — Manjeet Singh Rasiya - Tabla / guest musicians |
Rich Mix |
| 24 May / 6:30pm / £ Free | Concert | Shephali Frost — Sufi Songs from 16 - 21st Century / Prelude event - Women in the Arts Festival |
Nehru Centre |
| 12 June / 6:30pm / £ Free | Concert | Chinmayi Tripathi: Poetry Project — Songs of Hindi Poets (Neo Romanticist Poetry) |
Nehru Centre |
| 12—17 June / 11am-7pm / £ Free | Exhibition | Madhubani Painting Exhibtion — Seema Singh |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 16—17 June / 10am / £27.54 | Workshop | Madhubani Painting Workshop Seema Singh |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| Saturday 16 June / 8pm / £12-15 | Concert | Mystic Songs & Sufi Qawwali — Abi Sampa with support from Chinmayi Tripathi |
Rich Mix |
| 18 June—11 July / 11am to 7pm / £ Free | Exhibition | Women in Khyal Music - Music and Imagination — A multimedia exhibition |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 19 June / 6:30pm / £ Free | Talk/Concert | A Talk by Dr Laura Leante - Khyal Exhibition — Khyal Music — Dr Milind Malshe |
Nehru Centre |
| 20 June / 6:30pm / £ Free | Talk/Book Launch | A Talk by Dr Laura Leante — Khyal Music & Visual Art Book Launch — Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta launched a fictitious musical story on Khyal between a 15th Century blind poet saint and Mughal Emperor Akbar. |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 19—23 June/ 10am to 6pm / £ Free | Exhibition | Songs of Spring — Sara Riaz Khan•Vinita Khanna•Sudipta Modi |
Asia House |
| 24 June—13 July / 11am to 7pm / £ Free | Exhibition | Songs of Spring — Sara Riaz Khan • Vinita Khanna • Sudipta Modi Transferred from Asia House |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 26 June / 7pm / £7.50 | Talk | Talk on Music of the Agra Gharana — Priya Purshothaman |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 29 June / 7pm / £15 | Concert | Priya Purshothaman — Khyal Vocal With Amritpal Singh—Tabla |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 6 July / 7.30pm / £ Free | Concert | Deepa Hattangady Karnad — Khyal Music |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 8 July / 6:30pm / £10 | Dance Recital | Indrani Datta — Kathak Katrina Rute — Bharatanatym Pallavi Anand — Odissi |
Bhavan Centre |
| 10 July—13 July / 11am to 7pm / £ Free | Exhibition | Exhibition of the Baul Tradition — Papia Das Baul |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 12 July / 6:30pm/ £ Free | Concert | Sanjukta Mitra — Khyal Vocal |
Nehru Centre |
| 13 July / 6:30pm/ £ Free | Concert | Yan White — Flute recital - Khyal Exhibition |
M.P. Birla Gallery, Bhavan Centre |
| 19 July / 6:30pm / £ Free | Concert | Sunita Avani Amin — Dhrupad Vocals |
Nehru Centre |
| 21 July / 7:30pm / £15 | Concert | Amrit Kaur Lohia — Sarangi/Voice KauRAS/ Deepa Nair Rasiya — Songs of Sufi / Sikh Tradition |
Watermans Art Centre |
| 22 July / 3pm / £15 | Concert | Sangeeta Datta — Tagore & Baul Papia Das Baul — Baul Songs |
Watermans Art Centre |
| 22 July / 7pm / £15 | Concert | Shepali Frost – Sufi Mystics / Contemporary Poets Vandana Somai – Bhakti Poet |
Watermans Art Centre |
| 28 July / 7:30pm / £13 | Comedy | Sindhu Vee: Sandhog — A night of comedy with Sindhu Vee |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 3 August / 6:30pm / £ Free | Concert | Urmi Chakraborty — Semi Classical /Hindustani Vocals |
Nehru Centre |
| 13 August / 2:30pm / £10 | Conference | Women in the Arts Conference — Keynote Speech / Panel discussions / Business of Music Music Publishing / Talent Development & Artist Management Finance & Fundraising |
Wilton's Music Hall |
| 13 August / 7:45pm / £17.50 | Concert | Nicki Wells —Turya | Wilton's Music Hall |
| 14 August / 7:45pm / £17.50 | Concert | Zoe Rahman —Jazz / Contemporary | Wilton's Music Hall |
| 15 August / 7:45pm / £17.50 | Concert | Patricia Rozario —Soprano/ Western Classical ::Naresh Sohal / John Taverner / Vijay Anand | Wilton's Music Hall |
| 16 August / 7:45pm / £17.50 | Concert | Calcutta —English Baroque meets Indian Music | Wilton's Music Hall |
Present by Tara Arts with Sama Arts
| 6 April / 7:30pm | Concert | In Praise of Khusrau: Sitar & Mystic Sufi Songs Roopa Panesar and Abi Sampa |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 7 April / 2pm | Concert | Agra Ragas Deepa Hattangady Karnad |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 7 April / 4pm | Concert |
Konnakol (Indian scat) & Carnatic Vocal / Songs of the Tanjore Quartet Konnakol and Vamshikrishna Vishnudas |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 7 April / 7:30pm | Concert | Songs of Love and SeparationAmrit Kaur Lohia and Mehtab Malhotra |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 8 April / 2pm | Concert | Rhythms in the LandscapeTaal Vadya Kacheri and Kirpal Panesar |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 8 April / 4pm | Concert | Voice of the Kirana SchoolVijay Rajput |
Tara Arts Theatre |
| 8 April / 7:30pm | Concert | Ancestral VoicesArnab Chakrabarty, Yogesh Samsi & Gundecha Brothers |
Tara Arts Theatre |