Hindustani Classical Vocal Music

Vidushi Sumitra Guha, was born in an Andhra family and music came naturally to her from her mother Smt.Rajyalakshmi Raju. Being born in an age when women were not to wish but to execute, Smt.Rajyalakshmi endowed her eldest daughter with what she had best, her voice. Initiated naturally to the Carnatic form of music, she received strong grounding under the tutelage of Sangeeta Vidwan S.R.Janakiraman. Her admission to Tagore’s Visva Bharati opened up new horizons and she was drawn to the Hindustani style. Coming to Calcutta at a tender age following her marriage into a Bengali family held great meaning, since it marked the start of her journey into the new-found world of Hindustani classical vocal music. Guiding her steps in this endeavour were the great Pandit A. Kanan and Vidushi Malobika Kanan. She also took guidance from Pt.Sushil Kumar Bose, a well-known disciple of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Since 1995 has been a top grade vocalist of All Indian Radio. She is also an outstanding artist with ICCR. sumitraguha.in

Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and a resident of Maryland, Samia Mahbub Ahmad is a Hindustani (North Indian) classical vocal musician in the Kirana Gharana. Samia has been studying, teaching and performing this ancient music of the Vedic times, live, and on television and radio in North America, South Asia, Europe and Southern Africa for the past three decades. Samia is the disciple of Padmashree Vidushi Sumitra Guha, one of India’s premier classical vocalists, and Sri Tapan Baidya, one of the pioneers of this genre in Bangladesh. Samia has widened her classical base to specialize in Nazrul Sangeet (collections from the Rebel Poet of Bengal, Kazi Nazrul Islam), Bhajans and Sufi compositions (Devotional), and New Age music, melding Hindustani classical music with contemporary melodies and rhythms of South Asia, South Africa, and the West. She has expanded her collaborative work to combine vocal music with dance choreography and the visual arts. An underlying theme in Samia’s performances and teaching is the exploration of spiritual unity in religions that share a common cultural base.  She is a recognized Master Artist of the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of the Montgomery County. She is a full-time arts educator in the Washington DC metro areas, out-of-state and around the globe. samiaclassicalmusic.com