Trio to perform classical Indian music at the Tusten Theatre

The East Meets West trio, featuring world-renowned classical musician Maestro Ustad Shafaat Khan accompanied by Maria Del Rio and Daniel Johnson, will perform at the Tusten Theatre in Narrowsburg on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m.

Part of the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance's Tusten Theatre Fall Cultural Series, the performance is co-sponsored by The Chi-Hive. It blends Indian classical and folk music on sitar, tabla, and vocals, with flamenco, pop, guitar, keyboard, and western percussion.

In the first half of the concert, Maestro Khan will present a journey through classical Indian music on solo tabla, sitar, and vocals, from the 16th century and up to the present. The second half will be a fusion of Eastern and Western music with a variety of instruments that demonstrates how music builds bridges between different cultural traditions.

Maestro Khan was born in Mumbai, India, into a long tradition of family music making going back to the 16th century, when his ancestors were master musicians of the Mughal courts in India.

Khan has distinguished himself by being the first known artist to have attained simultaneous excellence in performing sitar, surbahar (a larger bass sitar) and tabla (drums). At 11 years old, his debut performance was for late Queen Mother. Since then he has performed at prestigious concert halls and music festivals, worldwide. He has shared the stage with the late Ray Charles in Germany and he recently performed with Stevie Wonder at The Bonnaroo Festival.

Series continues

The cultural series continues on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. with a performance by Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis Trio, which brings together elements of chamber music, South American folk, indie rock, and jazz to form a unique and intimate sound of “indie jazz.”

Rounding out the series on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 8 p.m. will be a double-bill concert by musical artists Slippery Stairs and visual artist Macro Dose followed by the indie band Sunwatchers.

The activities of the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance are supported in part by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.