Special Pandit Pran Nath Memorial Birthday Tribute Concert in the Dream House

October 24, 1999�For Immediate Release

MELA Foundation presents

Special Pandit Pran Nath Memorial Birthday Tribute
Concert in the Dream House

Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan, voice

Accompanied by Naren Budhakar, tabla

Michael Harrison, voice and tambura

MELA Foundation Dream House

275 Church Street, 3rd Floor

Sunday, October 31, 3:00 pm

Admission: $18

Information: 212-925-8270�

Limited Seating. Please arrive early to insure admittance.

Between Franklin & White Streets in Tribeca

A Concert of Afternoon Ragas in the Kirana Style of North
Indian Classical Vocal Music will be performed by Ustad
Mashkoor Ali Khan in a memorial birthday tribute in honor of
Pandit Pran Nath on Sunday, October 31st, 1999 at 3:00 pm
in the MELA Foundation Dream House, 275 Church Street, 3rd
Floor. Ustad Mashkoor Khan, one of the greatest living
vocalists of the Kirana lineage, is the grandson of the
illustrious singer Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Mashkoor Khan
was trained by his father, sarangi master Ustad Shakur Khan,
who along with Pandit Pran Nath received the highest teachings
from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Sahib, the acknowledged master of
the Kirana style in this century.

Ustad Mashkoor Khan, who has been performing since his boyhood,
has devoted his life to uphold and continue the legacy of this
ancient musical form. His singing, steeped in the Kirana tradition,
uniquely evokes the character of each raga, captivating the
listener with his power and virtuosity. Here in New York for
the first time during his second US tour, Ustad Mashkoor Khan
is also a talented teacher and member of the Sangeet Research
Academy in Calcutta. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of ragas
and compositions. This is a rare chance to hear him perform
in the serene, meditative environment of the Dream House
before his imminent return to India next week.

Pandit Pran Nath, who passed away in 1996, virtually
introduced the vocal tradition of North Indian classical
music to the West in 1970. His 1971 morning performance at
Town Hall, New York City, was the first concert of morning
ragas to be presented in the U.S. Subsequently, he introduced
and elaborated to Western audiences the concept of performing
ragas at the proper time of day by scheduling entire series
of concerts at special hours. Many students and professional
musicians came to him in America to learn about the
vast system of raga and to improve their musicianship.
He performed frequently in New York City and in 1972,
established his own school, the Kirana Center
for Indian Classical Music, now a project of MELA Foundation.
In Fall 1993, Pran Nath inaugurated the MELA Foundation Dream
House with three Raga Cycle concerts.
November 3, 1999 would have been his 81st birthday.

Ustad Mashkoor Khan will be accompanied by Naren Budhakar,
tabla, and by his disciple Michael Harrison, voice and tambura.
Admission is $18.00.

For further information on Pandit Pran Nath�s musical legacy,
call 212-925-8270, or see the MELA website:
http://www.virtulink.com/mela/main.htm