Shakir Khan with Amit Kavthekar

Experience sonic shades and colors of evening moods with this classic duo of sitar and tabla. Shakir Khan and Amit Kavthekar present Strings and Rhythm, bringing together a unique combination of evening melodies and ragas set to different rhythmic cycles.

Presented with Harrice Miller Entertainment and community partner Sunny Thakkar.

About the Performers

Shakir Khan is one of the most promising young exponents of the legendary Etawah Gharana, following energetically in the footsteps of his father and guru, the sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan. Shakir represents the eighth generation of musical talent and tradition featuring the sitar and surbahar, including the legacy of Ustad Aziz Khan, Ustad Wahid Khan, and Ustad Vilayat Khan, his grand uncle.

Shakir presented his first public performance at the age of eleven. Gradually his musical talent in the Indian classical tradition matured under the careful tutelage of his father and through countless hours of study, practice, and recitals. In recent years Shakir has performed for prestigious music conferences in India, including the Dover Lane Conference, Sawai Gandharva Festival, Saptak Music Festival, Bombay Music Festival, and countless others. He has also performed extensively in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Shakir’s talent has garnered official recognition by the Indian government as the recipient of the Government of India merit scholarship and first prize at the All India Radio Music Competition. Like his father, Shakir Khan is renowned for his exquisite sense of sur (melody) and laya (rhythm).

Amit Kavthekar began his musical journey at the age of six, and when he was just eleven years old he became a student of tabla maestro Ustad Allarakha. After Khansahib’s death, Amit continued his studies with his son, the world renowned artist Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Amit has performed with Ud. Zakir Hussain and Sivamani on Zee Tv in India and Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in his documentary directed by Jabbar Patel. He accompanied Pt. Jasraj in his vocal recital in Pune, India, Ud. Shahid Parvez at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, Ud. Ashish Khan at Learnquest Festival at Regis College, MA, Pt. Buddhadev Dasgupta in Bithak, Boston, MA, and with Pt. Kushal Das at MIT, Cambridge, MA

Presently Amit is teaching tabla in the American School of Bombay (ASB) and at the New England School of Music in the Boston area, and he is a professor at Salem State University for the World Music Ensemble.