Classical Indian Music Concert Features India’s Renowned Musicians

Ombience Music, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting spirituality in the arts, is hosting a music and meditation concert from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m on Sunday August 7 at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Haverford. Experience deep inner peace in a lovely natural setting with music straight from the heart of India. Artists Debojyoti Bose on sarod, and Kumar Bose on tabla, are among India’s finest musicians today. The sarod is a classical Indian instrument made of one piece of carved wood with 23 strings: four strings played with the nails of the left hand; two rhythm strings turned on the high tonic; four strings placed on a flat bridge near the neck, and 13 sympathetic strings tuned on the notes of the raga. The right hand hits the strings with a coconut wood plectrum. The tabla is a pair of drums, consisting of a small right hand drum called the dayan and a larger metal one called the bayan. Pandit Kumar Bose is known as one of the best tabla players in India, and his genius is his ability to evolve a distinctive style of his own without diluting the purity of tradition. Debojyoti Bose has played the sarod with an effortless spontaneity since early childhood. He received talim (instruction) in sarod for over 20 years from Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Ombience was founded in 2003 by world musician and yoga instructor Stephen Day. A Palisadian, Day studied both music and yoga in India, then performed throughout the world for several years. He has long been inspired and intrigued by the connection between meditation and music. Ombience, literally meaning the ambience of Om, has worked with various institutions, including the California state public school system (K-12), California state universities and colleges, private schools, art and music festivals, museums, and yoga and meditation organizations. The performing arts group has performed at major venues, including the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Hall, and at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are $18, $15 for students and seniors. Admission is free for children.