In the lead up to the opening of Raga Shambhala, Nicole and Paul spoke with Josh Bennett about his part in the group, and his skills and experiences.
Josh will be playing with Raga Shambhala on the 4th of September in the Space Theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre
Josh Bennett is a multi-instrumentalist and world-music prodigy who was introduced to Indian music initially by Professor Michael Junius, a Sitar and Surbahar player who studied in India for 18 years at the feet of great masters such as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Asad Ali Khan. Josh was hooked, and began learning everything he could about Indian music. He now regularly travels to Ahmedabad, India to learn Sitar from Smt. Manju Mehta, a disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar. On stage since he was fifteen, Josh performs with creativity, joy and a sense of adventure, with a depth of understanding in multiple genres and styles to draw from. In India, he has performed at Pt. Ravi Shankar’s house in Delhi, twice at the prestigious Saptak Classical Music Festival in Ahmedabad, and with the Dya Singh World Music Group in Delhi and Chandigarh. He's a regular on the Australian festival circuit, playing everything from Bluegrass and Jazz to Indian Classical and Brazilian music.
Take a journey from Tibet to India with two artistic traditions from both sides of the Himalayas. Tenzin Choegyal and Indian sitar maestro Manju Mehta draw from ancient musical traditions and lineage to present music with intensity, depth and beauty.
As part of her first Australian tour, Manju Mehta, described as the First Lady of Sitar, will be performing Indian Classical music in the style made famous by her guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Her knowledge of 'rāga' and her ability to breathe life and creativity into her music whilst staying true to her lineage has earned her enormous praise and respect.
Following his sell-out appearance at the 2010 OzAsia Festival and recent appearance at the Tibet House 21st Annual Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall, New York alongside Philip Glass, Angelique Kidjo, Tenzin will again enthral with his other-worldly sounding voice.
Joining these two masters are the prodigious talents of Adelaide’s own on tabla, and Manju's disciple on sitar, guitar and dilruba (bowed sitar)
