"Tihais Unlocked" delves into one of the most fundamental yet intricate concepts in Indian classical music - the Tihai. This workshop will provide the tools to build a strong foundation for creating tihais in any taal. Once the core logic of building tihais is introduced, Vivek will demonstrate how simple tihai structures can be slightly modified to create complex tihais. Furthermore, you’ll learn how to transpose basic tihais across a variety of taals, adapt them rhythmically, and eventually craft tihais that land on mukhdas.

This workshop offers a unique insight into the profound impact of Ustad Zakir Hussain, presented by his student and friend, Michael Lewis. Michael will share personal experiences, “gems of wisdom” gleaned over years of learning from Zakirji, and insights into his inclusive teaching style, which embraced the influences of many great tabla maestros. Following this, David Lewis will recount his own cherished memories with Zakirji. The workshop culminates in a special duet by Michael and David, demonstrating the vibrant “musical conversation” that emerges when tabla and Western percussion unite, a concept so passionately championed by Zakirji himself. MICHAEL LEWIS is recognized as one of the finest North American tabla Players today, disciple of Ustad Alla Radha, and long time student of Ustad Zakir Hussain. Michael has accompanied many eminent Indian artists, including Zakir Hussain, Vishal Mohan Bhatt, Krishna Bhatt and Partha Chatterjee. He was invited to join as a member of Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience from 1988 until their last performance in 2006. He is also highly recognized in world music and fusion circles where he has performed with Rajeev Taranath, Terry Riley, George Brooks, Ken Zuckerman, Depak Ram, Krishna Das, David Trasoff, Ty Burhoe, Steve Oda and many other leading artists. He is a long time beloved member of the tabla community, commonly known as “Doc”. Michael first was introduced to Indian Classical Music in 1972 in Berkeley California, taking lessons from Pundit Krishna Bhatt. Over the years, they have performed many times together. His love for tabla took him to India, numerous times, where he lived from 1979-1980 with Pundit Nikhil Banerjee, which was a very cherished time in his musical journey. Besides being an exceptional life long student of tabla, (fifty years), Michael is a physician, and has been working in the San Francisco Bay Area for 35 years in Primary Care. He sides in the Bay Area and Vancouver, B.C.

This workshop aims to open the spiritual heart of Kathak dance. We will explore how the critical elements of classical dance practice lead the dancer and the audience toward a greater sense of oneness with their own bodies and emotions, with each other, and with the divine (under any name). Inspired by the legacy of Lucknow gharana artists, this workshop will focus in particular on the role of shringar rasa---romance, love---in the story of divine union and our own journey as humans towards the same kind of oneness. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Shweta Saraswat is a company performer and board member at the Indian Performing Art Center and faculty member at the Kathak Kala Academy. She received her Ph.D. in Culture and Performance from the department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA, where her ethnographic research focused on the relationship between diasporic identity and Kathak dance in Los Angeles and London. She started learning Kathak as a child in 1998 from Guru Rachana Upadhyay, one of the first resident practitioners of Kathak in Los Angeles, and has trained continuously in the Lucknow gharana of Kathak with her ever since. Shweta has presented both her dance work and academic work at venues such as the Getty Museum, the School for Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, Academia Sinica in Taipei, the Dance Studies Association annual conference, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, UC Riverside, and Cal Arts. Shweta’s original writing on traditional arts and identity has been published in the Journal of American Folklore and the anthology Fifty Contemporary Choreographers by Routledge.

An overview, demonstration and explanation of ideas drawn, applied, synthesized from studying tabla. Highlighting and sharing certain facets and ideas essential to my own work as a drummer/percussionist, composer, and educator, not to mention some of the myriad of other benefits and byproducts of studying tabla. "one of America's great percussion virtuosi" - Percussive Notes, The Journal of the Percussive Arts Society Protégé of percussion vanguard John Bergamo and longtime student of Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Regarded for his longstanding work as a catalyst and founding member of the acclaimed percussion group Hands On’Semble, Gloss has also worked with: Ziggy Marley (Grammy winning album Fly Rasta); violinist L. Shankar; pianist Larry Karush; Carlos Niño & Friends; Andre 3000; Linda Perry; Montaigne; Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble; flautist Nicole Mitchell; Lian Ensemble; Go: Organic Orchestra; and many more; as well as having contributed percussion to numerous film, television, videogame soundtracks, theater productions, and multiple software sample libraries; and has released several albums and published numerous works of solo and ensemble percussion music. Randy teaches at CalArts since 1999. For more information, please visit: www.randygloss.com

Explore what makes a sound connected to a place/region/country. Chris explores this vast subject in an interesting and creative way. Chris Votek is an acclaimed cellist, composer, arranger, producer, and sound engineer living and breathing music in Los Angeles. He is a student of the legendary Indian violinist Dr. N Rajam, much of his work involves adapting the oral tradition of Hindustani raga to the cello and the cross-pollination of Western and Indian Classical Traditions. As an intercultural music translator he has arranged symphonic music with Neelamjit Dhillon for Ustad Zakir Hussain, notably his Triple Concerto for Tabla, Bansuri, and Sitar with orchestra premiered by the Symphony of India in 2023. Votek’s original chamber and electro-acoustic compositions have been presented at REDCAT, the Hammer Museum, Clockshop, and SF Soundbox. His string quintet Memories of a Shadow received critical acclaim “superbly blending raga melody with early European polyphony”. A sought after touring and studio cellist, Votek has performed or recorded with Sigur Ros, The Marias, The Silk Road Ensemble, Chris Martin, Father John Misty, WildUp, Julia Holter, and many others. Votek is an active member of many world music and cross cultural ensembles. He is the principal cellist of Nabil Azzam’s Arabic Orchestra MESTO, a member of LA’s chamber orchestra of cultural diversity Bridge to Everywhere, and a collaborator with Iranian singers Homayoun Shajarian and Mamak Khadem.