North Indian Bansuri and Tabla Ensemble

David Philipson began studying north Indian classical music and bansuri [the north Indian bamboo flute] in 1979 with the late Professor Amiya Dasgupta, tabla and rhythmic concepts with the late Pandit Taranath Rao and South Indian music, Balinese and Javanese music and Ghanaian (Ewe) music and dance with the distinguished World Music faculty at California Institute of the Arts, where he received his BFA and MFA in World Music. In 1984 he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in India with the leading exponents of the late Pandit Pannalal Ghosh lineage of bansuri performance; Pandit V.G. Karnad, Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar and Pandit Nityanand Haldipur. He has also received guidance from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Bellare and Pandit Rajeev Taranath.

Philipson performed in the US premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen's composition "Sternklang" for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival.

He was the featured soloist for the US premiere of Trichi Sankaran's composition "Lagu Misra" for the 1992 CalArts World Music Festival.

Philipson has participated in the musical accompaniment for numerous Modern dance and Indian classical dance recitals. Dancers he has accompanied include Anjani Ambegoakar, Viji Prakash, Nandita Behera, and Oguri.

He was music director, composer and performer for the Guthrie Theater's 1993 production and US premiere of Girish Karnad's 'Naga Mandala' (Play with a Cobra), directed by Garland Wright and performed music for 'Midsummer Night's Dream' at the Stella Adler Theater in 1997.

Philipson was one of five featured artists in a concert of "Emerging Artists of Southern California" presented by the 'Ravi Shankar Music Circle' in Los Angeles in January of 1997.

He was a featured performer in Mystic Voices: Music of Devotion in Islam and Hinduism, a concert in the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles (Oct 12, 1999).

Philipson worked with the innovative trumpet player/composer Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith for over 8 years as a member of his ensemble 'N'Da Kulture' and can be heard on Smith's CD releases Tao N'Jia , Golden Hearts Rememberance and Dreams and Secrets with Thomas Mapfumo.

Philipson performs with Adam Rudolph's go:organic orchestra, an ensemble featuring 12 woodwinds and 12 percussionists and can be heard on the ensemble's 3 cd releases.

Philipson resides in Los Angeles, California and performs and offers instruction on bansuri in the greater Los Angeles area.

Musicians Philipson has performed or recorded with include (among others) Mark Nauseef, Wadada Leo Smith, Miroslav Tadic, John Bergamo, William Roper, Glen Horiuchi, Leonice Shinneman, Adam Rudolph, Sunship Theus, Karen Bakunin, Jai Uttal, Ramesh Misra, Ron Marinelli, Abhiman Kaushal, Zakir Hussain, David Trasoff, Montino Bourbon, Lakshmi Shankar, Shubo Shankar, Joseph LoDuca, Joseph Jarman, Mala Ganguly, Tom Buckner, Hamza El Din, James Newton, Anthony Marinelli, Ralph Jones, David Rosenboom, Thomas Mapfumo, Yusef Lateef, Benny Maupin, Bruce Fowler, Brad Dutz, Frank Ballofet, Alex Cline and Min Xiao-Fen.

Philipson's CD titles:

• Meditations for Bansuri - a live recording of North Indian classical music with Abhiman Kaushal on tabla
Raga Gor Saraang, Thumri in Raga Mishra Piloo

• Venus Square Mars [MA Recordings] features creative improvisations with percussionist Mark Nauseef and the legendary Nubian musician Hamza El Din

• Bracha [CMP Records]

Selected Venues
 

Merkin Hall	New York
Lincoln Center Out of Doors	New York
Guthrie Theater	Minneapolis, MN
Stella Adler Theater	Los Angeles, CA
Hollywood Bowl	Los Angeles, CA
Jazz Bakery	Los Angeles, CA
Wadsworth Theater	Los Angeles, CA
Electric Lodge	Venice, CA
University of California	Los Angeles, CA
University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA
University of California	Santa Barbara, CA
Ravi Shankar Music Circle	Eagle Rock, CA
Calarts World Music Festival	Valencia, CA
South/Southwest Festival	Austin, TX
Kumbwa Jazz	Santa Cruz, CA
1984 Olympic Arts Festival	Los Angeles, CA
Theater of Yugen and Noh Space	San Fransisco, CA
Kassel Jazz Festival	Kassel, Germany
Aspen Opera House	Aspen, CA
Rang Bhavan	Mumbai, India
Cerritos Center for Performing Arts	Cerritos, CA

About Indian Classical Music

The tradition of Indian classical music traces its beginnings to the Vedas, the ancient Hindu spiritual texts. The Sama Veda describes Nada Brahma - the concept of music being the language and manifestation of the divine. This unique system of musical expression has evolved over 3,000 years to its present form - which is known as Khyal (imagination). The basis of north Indian (Hindustani) classical music are; raga - the melodic form, and tala - the rhythmic cycle. Beyond these formal components, each raga manifests its own mood and emotional expression, which the skilled artist evokes in performance. As a predominant portion of the music is improvised within these classical forms, it is living information, transmitted orally from teacher to student which maintains the fresh and vital quality of this remarkable musical tradition.

For more information about Indian classical music access:

'Indian Music and Mian Tansen'

the FAQ of rec.music.indian.classical

South Asia Womens Forum - music archive

other Indian music link

Saraswati - goddess of music and scholarship
(Mewar School - 1750)

Meditations for Bansuri
Hindustani classical music

North Indian classical music for bansuri, with Abhiman Kaushal accompanying on tabla.

Raga Gor Saraang - The popular afternoon Raga evokes moods of peace and joy. [vilambit ektal (slow 12 beat cycle), drut teental (fast 16 beat cycle)]

Mishra Piloo Thumri - Romantic moods in the light classical style. [adha / laagi]

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listen to realaudio streams:

•  Gor Saraang (excerpts) -
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•  Mishra Piloo Thumri (excerpts) -
    56K dial-up        DSL / Cable