Sitar Workshop: Niladri Kumar (India)

This workshop is designed to give existing sitarists and students of Indian music an insight into how Niladri Kumar constructs his compositions and the techniques he uses.

Niladri Kumar, the son and disciple of Sitar Maestro Pandit Kartick Kumar, is a maverick musician. He started learning the sitar at the tender age of four and played in his first public concert at the age of six. Now with 10 internationally released albums, he is acclaimed around the world for his exciting performances.

Kumar began his career with music directors Laxmikant-Pyarelal the late 1980s.  He was part of the Masters of Percussion tour alongside Zakir Hussain. Kumar has also worked with Jonas Hellborg and V. Selvagnesh on their album Kali’s Son, and with John McLaughlin on the album Floating Point. Kumar has also worked with various music directors in Hindi cinema, including A.R. Rehman, Shankar-Ehaan-Loy and Pritam. Niladri Kumar was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, awarded to young musicians, in March 2007. He also won the MTV Immies award for Best Classical / Fusion Instrumental for his album, If.

Kumar has created a unique instrument, the zitar, which is a combination of the sitar and guitar. The concept was initiated from a travelling sitar, which was modified by Kumar to create a rock guitar sound, reducing the number of strings from 20 to five. He also added an electric pick-up inside the instrument. His first full album composed using the instrument, titled Zitar, was released in 2008.

Niladri Kumar joins world music percussion legend Trilok Gurtu as his special guest in concert at Riverside Theatres on November 5.

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