Musical Blend Of Classical-Modern, Indian-Western To launch Year of India

OSWEGO — World-renowned musician Ustad (Maestro) Shafaat Khan will bring his unique concert presentation — featuring Indian classical/folk music, Sufi-inspired compositions and a multicultural fusion of jazz, pop and more — to SUNY Oswego’s Sheldon Hall ballroom Thursday, Sept. 7, to kick off the Year of India at the college.

The free public concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. also will include Khan’s ensemble: Beledo and Mike Corso on guitar, Tamar Dart on guitar and vocals, Ted Schneider on saxophone and Matthew McGraw on drums.

Presented with the support of Artswego and the college’s School of Communication, Music and the Arts, Khan’s concert begins the Institute for Global Engagement’s Year of India at the college, said IGE’s director, Ulises Mejias, a communication studies faculty member.

“What makes this a very good way to start the year is Ustad Shafaat Khan is a performer who can help us understand the rich musical tradition of India, yet expose us to its impacts on the rest of the world,” Mejias said.

Descended from revered musicians, Khan debuted at age 11. He is a master of the sitar, surbahar and tabla. He has performed at many concert halls, festivals, universities, museums and more around the world, and appeared with Stevie Wonder at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee and with Ray Charles in Germany.

The Year of India’s formal kickoff is Sept. 20, when University at Buffalo President Satish K. Tripathi will deliver the keynote address.

Throughout the fall and spring semesters, there will be lectures, a film festival and other entertainment and educational tie-ins, giving students and others on campus insights into Indian cultures, languages, religions, politics and economics.

“What I always tell people is that my own vision for what the IGE does is to bring the world to Oswego,” Mejias said. “The goal of the program is to expose Oswego to the richness and cultures of the country in focus.”

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