Anoushka Shankar coming to the Kauffman Center

Renowned sitar player and composer will perform March 13 in Helzberg Hall

Kansas City, MO – Renowned sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar will perform a blend of classical Indian and experimental music on March 13 in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

A singular figure in the Indian classical and progressive world music scenes, Anoushka Shankar’s dynamic and spiritual musicality has garnered numerous prestigious accolades, including six GRAMMY Award nominations, a Songlines Best Artist Award, and recognition as the youngest – and first female – recipient of a British House of Commons Shield. She was credited as an “Asian Hero” by TIME Magazine, and she recently became one of the first five female composers to have been added to the UK A-level music syllabus.

ABOUT ANOUSHKA SHANKAR

Deeply rooted in the Indian Classical music tradition, Anoushka Shankar studied exclusively from the age of nine under her father and guru, the late Ravi Shankar, and made her professional debut as a classical sitarist at the age of 13. By the age of 20, Anoushka had made three classical recordings for EMI/Angel, which earned her first GRAMMY nomination as the first Indian female and youngest ever nominee in the World Music category. She received her second GRAMMY nomination with the release of her self-produced breakthrough album Rise. Following this nomination, Anoushka became the first Indian artist to perform at the GRAMMY Awards.

In addition to her work as a solo artist, Shankar’s compositional work has led to cross-cultural collaborations with artists such as Sting, M.I.A, Herbie Hancock, Pepe Habichuela, Karsh Kale, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Joshua Bell.

In her Kauffman Center performance, Shankar will reflect on her journey so far, drawing on classical ragas, referencing her experiences and experimenting with new ideas in a dialogue that showcases the versatility of the sitar across musical genres. The program features Shankar on sitar, with musicians Ojas Adhiya (tabla), Pirashanna Thevarajah (mridangam), Ravichandra Kulur (flute), Danny Keane (cello and piano), and Kenji Ota (tanpura).

Shankar’s artistic output increasingly seeks to reflect her impassioned support of women’s rights and social justice. Shethrew her weight behind the One Billion Rising campaign on Change.org to end worldwide violence against women. Following this, she took part in a special panel on violence against women at the annual Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi (2013). She has also coordinated a call-to-action to the UK government in response to the current European refugee crisis, which resulted in getting more than 100 signatures from leading British cultural figures and publishing a full-page advert in The Guardian newspaper in September 2015.

Learn more about Anoushka Shankar on her website.