Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan in Concert

Irfan Muhammad Khan is the presiding chief of the Lucknow-Shahjahanpur Gharana, a lineage of sarod and sitar players traceable to the nineteenth-century royal court of Lucknow. Born in 1954 in Lucknow, Irfan Muhammad Khan learned sarod and sitar from his father Umar Khan (1916-1982), and from his uncle Ilyas Khan (1924-1989). From 1984 to 1988, and again from 2010 to 2013, Irfan Muhammad Khan lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he trained students and concertized extensively. He has also performed and taught in the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Germany, and Japan. He lives and teaches in Calcutta, his home since early childhood.

Hemant Ekbote, a prominent exponent of Indian tabla drums in the United States, is not only known for his performances on tabla alongside accomplished artists worldwide but also for his dedicated teaching of tabla to aspiring students at the Divine School of Music, which he established in Irvine, Southern California. Hemant studied under the esteemed tabla master Pandit Sudhir Kumar Saxena, a leading figure of the Ajrada Gharana. He has collaborated with well-known artists such as Pandit Jasraj, Smt. Lakshmi Shankar, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan, Pandit Hrdaynath Mangeshkar, Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar, Smt. Vandana Ghate, and many others.