About Suvendu
I belong to “Gaya Gharana”(heritage) which is the pathfinder of solo Harmonium playing in India. I am a graded artist of Prasar Bharati(All India Radio) & am empanelled with ICCR(Gov of India). I have been learning harmonium from my grandfather Pandit Deb Kumar Banerjee since the age of 7. My guru Pandit Deb Kumar Banerjee a legendary Harmonium player, enriched Gaya Gharana with his “Gayaki” (Vocal nuances) style of playing and made solo harmonium playing appealing more than ever. My ancestor & dadaguru Sangeetacharya Montu Banerjee is a legendary figure in the history of harmonium playing. I am currently learning from Pandit Shyamal Chatterjee, the legendary sitar maestro of Senia-Maihar gharana & senior most disciple of Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar.
I had rigorous sessions of “Talim”(learning) as well as “Reyaaz”(practice) every day under the strict guidance of my grandfather. Prior to this, in order to enhance my rhythm sense, I learnt Tabla from legends like Ustad Sabir Khan, Pandit Shankar Ghosh and Sri Bickram Ghosh.I have also taken vocal training from Pandit Kumar Prasad Mukherjee. Since childhood I had the privilege of meeting musical maestros like Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and many more, and got their blessings.
I have had the honour to be very close to Padmabhushan Sri Manna Dey since my childhood. Eminent music director duo Kalyanji- Anandji (Bollywood) invited me to Mumbai where I had the fortune to perform under their banner “The Small Wonders”.
I have completed my MSc in Advanced Computer Science from the University of Manchester (2010 -2011). I want to establish my “Gharana”, my instrument Harmonium, and myself in the global arena of Indian Classical Music. I want to win the hearts of millions of music lovers throughout the world, and establish my instrument Harmonium, as a solo instrument.
“Music has such tremendous power over the human mind; it brings it to concentration in a moment” ~ Swami Vivekananda
