UNC Asheville Hosts Concert by Sandip Burman and Friends;
Event Wraps Up the 2004-05 Cultural & Special Events Season

Sandip Burman

UNC Asheville’s Cultural and Special Events season will wrap up with a concert by renowned tabla player Sandip Burman and Friends at 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The first half of the show will feature Burman and his sister Sima Burman performing classical Indian music on vocals, tabla and harmonium. During the second half, they will be joined by the Arizona State University Chamber Orchestra for a set of East-West musical fusion. Tickets are $15 general admission and $12 children ages 12 and under.

In conjunction with the concert, Burman will hold a free workshop on Indian rhythms at 10 a.m. Monday, April 18, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union Alumni Hall. Seating is limited to 60; early arrival is suggested. Drummers may bring their own instruments.

A native of Durgapur, India, Burman performs classical and innovative complex rhythmic patterns, called talas, and melodies, called ragas, on traditional Indian drums. He began studying tabla at age six and trained under tabla master Shyamal Bose. Burman has performed with many of the foremost classical Indian musicians, including Ravi Shankar and Rajeev Taranath. He came to the United States in the late 1980s, where he began collaborating on fusion projects with musicians such as Bela Fleck, Steve Smith and Glen Valez. Burman has also worked with Danny Elfman and contributed to the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s film, “Mars Attacks.” He has performed in venues around the world, including a solo performance at the Kennedy Center and concerts at the House of Blues Chicago, Wolftrap and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Audiences and reviewers alike praise Burman. A Los Angeles Times reviewer described Burman’s playing by saying that “the sounds and rhythms came so fast, with such precision, uttered with such a visible sense of joy, that both the crowd and the other players were utterly spellbound.”

For more information or to charge tickets by phone, call UNC Asheville’s Special Events Box Office at 828/232-5000.

Media Contacts:

• Bunny Halton-Subkis, UNC Asheville Cultural & Special Events Director, 8282/51-6674
• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526