Leonice Shinneman is recognized as the foremost American disciple of the legendary North Indian tabla and pakhawaj master Pandit Taranath Rao. Broadening his expertise in the Farukkhabad style of tabla performance, Leonice continued his studies with Pandit Ravi Bellare. Leonice’s original
research on calculations within the tala system has shed new light on the art of improvising rhythmic resolutions in real-time. Lessons with renowned South Indian Ghatam master T.H. Subash Chandran have led to his mastery of Karnatic percussion. Ustad Alla Rakha, T.R. Harihara Sarma, Swapan Chaudhuri and T.R. Rajamani were also his teachers. Leonice has given tabla and pakhawaj solos in Europe, India, Mexico and the U.S.A. and has performed Indian classical music in concert with Amiya Dasgupta, L. Shankar, Ganasaraswathy, Zakir Hussain and Rajeev Taranath. He is co-founder of the world music group Dark whose recordings “Dark”and “Tamna Voda” were produced by CMP records. Combining East Indian and West African Rhythms, Leonice performs utilizing an innovative drum kit of his own design. He holds several U.S. patents for original percussion equipment and received his BFA and MFA from California Institute of the Arts, where he also served on the faculty.