Well known international percussionist and entrepreneur, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy will offer the sixth South Indian Percussion Institutes at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York from July 21-25. The week-long summer institutes are part of Eastman’s famous Summer@Eastman series. Students can explore essential techniques and approaches of the Carnatic percussion tradition and gain hands-on experience playing several instruments such as the pitched mridangam, ganjira, ghatam and konakkol, the vocal percussion.
The institutes will culminate in a public performance at Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall at the end of the week. Participants will receive college credit or professional development hours. Students will be provided with Eastman’s complete set of Carnatic percussion instruments that Rohan obtained while pursuing his Ph.D. and teaching an Indian Percussion Ensemble at the University.
Rohan says, “I am inspired by my students’ talent and enthusiasm. Institute participants include elementary school students, teachers, professors, surgeons and just about anyone else eager to learn something new. In just one week, I’m able to guide complete beginners to the point where they can perform complex rhythmiccompositions, speak intelligently about what they’ve learned, and apply theseskills to their primary instruments.”
A student of mridangam vidwan, Guruvayur Dorai, Rohan earned his Ph.D. in Musicology from Eastman as a ProvostFellow.Now, based in San Francisco, he recently premiered ‘Rohan’, a novel concerto for South Indian and Western percussion ensemble written specially for him by the distinguished composer and percussionist, Dr. Payton Macdonald.
For more details,visit >www.esm.rochester.edu or >www.rohanrhythm.com
