November 15, 2004—Rajeev Taranath, one of the world's leading exponents of the sarod—a lute of northern India—whose “luminous” playing (Los Angeles Times) ranges from the spiritual to the spirited, will perform in concert Friday, November 19, at 8 p.m.

The event will take place in Oberlin College’s Finney Chapel, located at the intersection of North Professor and West Lorain Streets. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the door the night of the concert or in advance at the College’s Wilder Hall, 135 West Lorain St. (440.775-8102).

A disciple of Ali Akbar Khan, Taranath in his performances masterfully combines the depth and rigor of the tradition of Hindustani classical music with an inspired imagination and emotional intensity. An award-winning composer as well as an internationally acclaimed performer, Taranath is respected for the clarity of musical understanding he brings to the unfolding of a raga, one of the ancient traditional melodic patterns in Indian music, and the beauty of the tone he evokes from the sarod.

Taranath was hailed as a prodigy in Hindustani vocal music. He was trained by his father Pandit Taranath and other eminent musicians and was a concert and radio artist before he turned 20. He has also composed music for several nationally and internationally honored Indian films and is the subject of the documentary Finnan Min-Al-Hind (Artist from India).

A Ford Foundation scholar, Taranath is currently based in Los Angeles, where he is a faculty member in the Indian music department of the California Institute of the Arts. He divides his time between teaching and performing and has toured extensively in India, Australia, Europe, Yemen, and throughout the United States.

He is the recipient of the Indian government's highest award in the arts, the Sangeet Natak Academi Award for 1999-2000, in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of Hindustani instrumental music.

In 1998 Taranth received the prestigious national Chowdiah award from the government of Karnataka in India for excellence in the field of instrumental music. He has also received Karnataka’s Sangeet Nritya Akademi award in 1993 and the Karnataka Rajya Prashasti in 1996.