Melbourne Hindustani Classical Music Society
The home of Hindustani Classical music in Melbourne
2026 international festival events:
2pm Saturday 7th March
Smt Rajrupa Chowdhary (Sarod)
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Smt Rajrupa Chowdhury (Sarod) successfully carries forward the legacy of the Senia Shahjahanpur Gharana and stands as one of India’s finest and mature sarod maestros. Having received talim from the likes of Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury, Pandit Ajay Sinha Roy and later Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay, she is noted especially for her intense raag emotions and spirited presence.
Chowdhury has featured in solo recitals for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. She was also the youngest Sarod player to perform at the North American Bengali Conference held at New York, USA in 1995. Chowdhury holds a Masters in Instrumental Music from the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, and is an A grade artist of the All India Radio, as well as an empanelled artist of ICCR (The Indian Council for Cultural Relations). Her emotive music has carved out a strong presence and niche in the world of Hindustani Classical Music. |
All 2026 festival events will be held at Hawthorn Arts Centre - 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
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7:30pm Saturday 7th March
Vd Kalapini Komkali (Vocal)
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Endowed with a wholly original, melodious and rich voice, Vd Kalapini Komkali is widely recognised as one of the finest classical vocalists of the younger generation. She is the daughter and disciple of the legendary Pandit Kumar Gandharva and has also been trained by her illustrious mother, Vd Vasundhara Komkali. Kalapini ji not only learnt from her distinguished parents the technique and grammar of her art, but also inherited a capacity for creativity and reflection.
Kalapini ji made her solo debut in 1993 and has since performed at many of India’s most prestigious music festivals and institutions including Sawai Gandharv and Saptak. She has earned acclaim for both her classical recital and thematic presentations which are rooted in both tradition and imagination. Apart from performing, she has organised music festivals across all major cities of India. Acknowledging her contribution to Indian Classical Music, she was awarded the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2023 by the Government of India. Kalapini Komkali’s performances are marked by youthful imagination, artistic thoughtfulness and a mature command over various aspects of classical vocalism. |
All 2026 festival events will be held at Hawthorn Arts Centre - 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
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10am Sunday 8th March
Pt Uday Bhawalkar (Dhrupad Vocal)
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Pandit Uday Bhawalkar is among the world's foremost Dhrupad vocalists and has been a strong force in its growing recognition, popularity and resurgence worldwide. He spent over 12 years studying and living in the traditional guru-shishya parampara with Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (Vocal) and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (Rudra-Veena), the towering pillars of the Dhrupad tradition.
Since his first performance at Bhopal in 1985, Uday ji has performed at a number of prestigious festivals and events in India and worldwide - across Europe, North America, UK, and all over Asia. Uday ji has worked with the contemporary dancer Astad Deboo, the Ensemble Modern Orchestra (Germany), and with many other artists internationally. He has been accompanied on the Pakhawaj by none other than Ustad Zakir Hussain at the Prithvi Festival in Mumbai, as well as being accompanied on numerous occasions by Taalyogi Pt. Suresh Talwakar and Ustad Sukhwinder Singh Naamdhari. In 2012, Uday ji became a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata. He is also a Guru at the Bengal Foundation’s 'Parampara Sangeetalay' in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Uday ji was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2021 and the Hanumant Award in 2023. |
All 2026 festival events will be held at Hawthorn Arts Centre - 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
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7pm Sunday 8th March
Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar)
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Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan is one of the most celebrated sitar players of his generation. He belongs to the Imdadkhani gharana (also known as Etawah gharana), and is the son and disciple of the legendary sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan. His musical lineage traces back seven generations to the earliest sitar exponents of his family.
Shujaat Khan’s journey with music began early - he started practising on a specially made miniature sitar at age three, and by six he had become a child prodigy and was performing publicly. Known for his distinctive style, he plays the sitar in the ‘gayaki ang’ - a vocal-style approach that seeks to mimic the subtle inflections and expressivity of the human voice. Over his long career, Khan has recorded over 100 albums and toured internationally, performing at prestigious venues such as Royal Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, and with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He was a key member of the Indo-Persian ensemble Ghazal, whose album The Rain was nominated for a Grammy in 2004. Despite the weight of tradition and his family’s storied reputation, Shujaat Khan has always emphasised forging his own musical identity: “My biggest achievement is that I have been able to establish my own identity… they enjoy me for what I am.” Today, he is widely regarded as a torchbearer of his gharana - bridging classical rigor with a fluid, expressive style that resonates with audiences worldwide. |
All 2026 festival events will be held at Hawthorn Arts Centre - 360 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
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Other upcoming Events:
7:30pm Saturday 14th February
Ustad Irfan Khan (sarod)
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Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan is an elder statesman of the tradition of the sarod. He is an eighth-generation descendant of the family that invented the sarod approximately 200 years ago. Khan was trained by great sarod maestros, which include his illustrious uncle, Ustad Ilyas Khan, and his father, Ustad Umar Khan. A widely travelled scholar-musician, Irfan Khan has performed across India, the United States, and Europe, and has lectured on music history at a number of universities. He is fluent in many languages and taught for several years at the Afghan National Institute of Music in Kabul, with which he remains associated as an Emeritus Professor. |
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Venue: Clayton Community Centre - 9/15 Cooke St, Clayton 3168