Home

 About Us Join Us Records Books Top 10 Articles Productions Operas Events Exhibitions Contact Us
Productions by Virsa Foundation

 

 

  • Crossing borders of perception:
    Reflections on listening to Shahid Parvez
    -Dr. Salman Ansari
    About Ustad Shahid Parvez:

     “The Indian sitarist, Ustad Shahid Parvez, was in Karachi recently for two concerts.
     One concert took place at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs auditorium
    in Karachi last Wednesday, organized
    by the Rauf Ansari Foundation
     (Mr Rauf Ansari was one of the pioneers of
    the All Pakistan Music Conference in Lahore, way back in 1959).

    The Ustad's performance of Rageshri, Des and Bhairveen was out of this world.
    The sitarist lives in Pune, India. He was born in Bombay in 1958. Coming from the illustrious family of
     Ustad Inayat Khan and his brother, Ustad Wahid Khan, Shahid Parvez's mastery over the sitar
    - rightly called the "Queen of Instruments" - is quite natural for it runs in the family.

    His superb command over sur and taal, the intricate use of meendh and kampat,
    the technically perfect barath of the raag,
     endless variations in taan and the delicate execution of zamzama,
    as well as mastery over laye, speak volumes for his hard work and riaz.
                                    - S.M. Shahid, music critic, The Daily Dawn,  Karachi


“Ustad Shahid Parvez is the best Sitar player in the world today.” 
 (The two greats of Sitar, Pundit Ravi Shankar is aged over eighty and Ustad Villayat Khan Sahib, who passed away recently,
both have spoken very highly of Shahid Parvez)
                                                                               –Ashok Chakravati, Leading music critic based in Calcutta.

“Vilayat Khan's principle disciples include his brother Imrat Khan and son Shujaat Khan, Kashinath Mukherjee
(he is the late film-maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee's brother), Kalyani Roy from Kolkata, and Arvind Parekh from Mumbai.

 But the liquid grace and beauty of his style is best represented today by Shahid Parvez,
not a direct disciple but from the same lineage of musicians. 
                                             -  Partho Datta is a musicologist and  a Reader in History, Delhi University. 


 *****************************************
 The Colors of Ecstasy: RUNG 
 Qawwali Music Of Pakistan
 FARID AYAZ QAWWAL ENSEMBLE
 Farid Ayaz and Abu Mohammad
VOL 3
Virsa Records

*****************************************
Sample New CD
 Farid Ayaz Qawwal  Vol. 3
Virsa Records
 Also available the re-released best selling vol.1 & 2.
 Qawwali Music of Pakistan
By: Farid Ayaz Qawwal (Audio CD)
$15 each
Combined Set, Vol 1, 2, 3 - $39
 Buy Now
 

***********************************

 

A Rare Video
Here's a video clip featuring Farid Ayaz Qawwal, with his father,
the late Munshi Raziuddin - A Legendary Grand Master.

 This is the only video of a live performance featuring Munshi Raziuddin.

 It was  shot  in New York, 2000.
              Sample Videos 

Producer Ishrat Ansari for Virsa Pakistan

 ***

 What Is Qawwali Music?
 WNYC - New Sounds

 John Schaefer- Host

 ***
  WNYC RADIO STUDIO 360
Click here to listenhttp://www.wnyc.org/stream/ram.py?file=studio360/studio111001b.ra&start="0:00.0"&end="11:02.7" 

Qawwali - It's a bridge between the human and the divine.
  Ishrat Ansari, owner of Caffe Vivaldi and head of the New York based Pakistani cultural foundation Virsa,
and Robert Browning of the World Music Institute talk about
the transporting sound of the devotional folk music of the Sufi Muslims.
Produced by Jocelyn Gonzales.
  ***

  • "Sufi Passion That Rises to Ecstasy"
    New York Times Music Review
    - Jon Pareles
    Jon Pareles, Chief Music Critic, The New York Times
         ( Writing in the Times about a Farid Ayaz performance)


 

A Rare Video
Here's a video clip featuring
the legendary Grand Master, the late Munshi Raziuddin (center).
Father and leader of Farid Ayaz Qawwal Ensemble.

 This is the only video of a live performance by

Munshi Raziuddin. It was  shot  in New York, 2000.
              Sample Videos 

Producer Ishrat Ansari for Virsa Pakistan 
***
 STUDIO 360
Qawwali 
It's a bridge between the human and the divine.
 Ishrat Ansari, of the Pakistani cultural foundation Virsa, and Robert Browning of the World Music Institute talk about the transporting sound of the devotional folk music of the Sufi Muslims.

    

   Members of Rajaf Quartet
 with Ishrat Ansari, Artistic Director of Rajaf Music Ensembles

 Rajaf Music Ensembles
 Rajaf Music Ensembles aim to bring the folk and classical music of South Asia to the international audience using
 a blend of international musicians and instruments.

Rajaf Music Ensembles established in 1999, by Ishrat Ansari, who is its Producer and Artistic Director, comprises of
Rajaf Quartet
Piano, Sitar, Sax, Tabla
Rajaf Quintet
Voice, Flute, Guitar, Vibraphone,Synthesizer 
Rajaf Chamber Orchestra
Piano, Tabla, Sarangi, Flute, Saxophone, Guitars, Bass, Violins

Rajaf Quintet - 2000
 Arias from folk Opera
" Heer Ranjha"

Daphna Napthali - Soprano
Steve Welsch - Flute
Yusuke Yamamoto - Vibraphone
John Heagle - Guitar
Pete Smith - Synthesizer

The first highly acclaimed performance by Rajaf  was in June 2000, when  Rajaf Quintet  performed arias from the Pakistani folk opera,
Heer Ranjha, at the Listening Room @ Caffe Vivaldi. The arias were sung with mesmerizing effect by
Soprano Daphna Napthali accompanied by flute, vibraphone, guitar and synthesizer.

The occasion was an evening with the departing Consul General and a connoisseur of art,  Abbas Haider Zaidi and his wife Zohra.

 Rajaf Quintet returns this Fall. Work is in progress for another performance of arias from Heer Ranjha in November 2006
This featured artist is Soprano Susan Oetgen.

Rajaf Quartet  - The Background
" I grew up listening to Classical Pianist Wilhelm Kempff, Jazz Pianist Ahmad Jamal, Saxophonist Coltrane  and Sitar Maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan. I do not play any musical instrument professionally, but for years I had played a South Asian Raag "Aiman", on piano, saxophone, sitar and tabla in my mind. It sounded great.

 I searched for years to get the right combination of four New York based committed professional musicians to play this ancient raag composed some 750 years ago by a Sufi saint and composer Ameer Khusro. I think I have got it now.

  Ikhlaq Hussain (Sitar), Anna Dagmar (Piano),  P.Russell Tubbs (Sax) Naren Budhakar (Tabla), with Feroz Khan as stand by tabla player, make up Rajaf Quartet. Sitarist Ikhlaq Hussain is its music director.
 After rehearsing for 7 months, we had our debut on April 15, 2005. It was a sold out event." - Ishrat Ansari

Rajaf Quartet has a busy September schedule  with  performances  on Saturday September 3, 8PM at Pakistan House - 14 East 65th Street (Between Fifth & Madison). The venue houses and elegant old hall with superb great acoustics that accommodates 200.
Another performance in New York, by invitation only is scheduled for Thursday September 15, followed by a performance in Boston on September 24 and back in  New York  by for mid November performance.

Members of Rajaf Quartet:

 Ikhlaq Hussain - Sitar
Ikhlaq Hussain is a hugely talented and creative musician and a virtuoso sitar player. He hails from the centuries old Delhi Gharana. He was taught by his father Ustad Imdad Hussain, an internationally known sitar master and teacher. Settled in the States, he tours extensively and has performed at MIT, Harvard U, Boston TV to name a few.

Ikhlaq is one of the select group of South Asian musicians who have been given a permanent residency status (green card) by INS on the basis of being an outstanding artist of international status.


Anna Dagmar - Piano
Anna Dagmar is a British-born classical and jazz pianist, trained at the Eastman School of Music, and now based in NYC. She has released two albums of original songs and has performed as a soloist in cities including London, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.. Anna has also shared the stage with artists including Kenny Wheeler, Toots Theilemann, Peter Erskine, and Bobby McFerrin and has studied improvisation with Harold Danko, Michael Cain, Wayne Reiss and Bevan Manson. She currently studies voice with Theo Bleckmann. This fall she will be recording a new CD with producer Ben Wittman (Lucy Kaplansky, Patti Larkin, Jonatha Brooke).
She is thrilled to be expanding her musical horizons as a member of the Rajaf Quartet.


Premik Russell Tubbs - Saxophone
A master of woodwinds, Premik has performed with the very best in music both jazz, rock, classical and world music. He has performed with Santana, John McLaughlin, Ravi Shankar and recorded with Whitney Houston. He plays regularly with the highly acclaimed Singer /Songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Vivaldi and other venues all over the United States.

  
   Naren Budhakar - Tabla
With his background in classical, semi classical and world music, Naren, Naren has one of the busiest schedules
Born into a musical family; grown up in Pune, the cultural capital of Western India and migrated to America; Naren Budhakar as a tabla player represents a link in the global cultural bridge. He has been studying with Ustad Shabbir Nisar, a tabla maestro; from whom he has inherited a wealth of the rich Indian percussion tradition of centuries. This, he has used to contribute to many world music forms creating a dialogue of music and people from world over. As a classical tabla player Naren has performed with artists from all three categories of Indian music namely vocalists,
 instrumentalists and dancers.


 Alternate Member of Rajaf Quartet
Feroze Khan - Tabla
Feroze Khan, is very talented and accomplished young tabla player, who has performed with some of the leading
South Asian musicians. He is the son of Ustad Kader Khan.

The Performance Repertoire
 A typical Rajaf Quartet performance consists of:
1.Raag Aiman on Sitar, Piano, Sax and Tabla - 45 minutes
15 minute alaap and jor, - Sitar, Piano, Sax; 27 minute gat in 16 beats in drut laye and 3 minute jhala - Sitar, Piano, Sax and Tabla.
2. A  Raag on Sitar and Tabla only - 30 minutes
3. Raag Bhairveen - 15 minutes
Sitar, Piano, Sax and Tabla
 

A Rajaf Experience at Vivaldi!
A Rajaf Quartet performance at Vivaldi is a total experience - music, drinks. and food. There is a special menu, highly popular with the guests, taken from the forthcoming book, 'Mughal Cuisine of Pakistan and India' by Ishrat & Rafat Ansari. Here is a sample of what you can look forward to on the next Rajaf Quartet's performance:

 

 

Mughal Haute Cuisine Special Menu for Rajaf Quartet Performance at Vivaldi
 

Chicken Biryani Nizamuddini
Exotic rice pilaf prepared from the recipes gathered from the eateries in old Delhi around the shrine of 13th centaury Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Aulia

Choice of
Chapli Kebab Inqualibi
Favorite of Emperor Baber. First tasted by him as he crossed the fabled Khyber Pass and stopped at the town of Kohat on his way to Delhi to establish the Mighty Mughal Empire. In the town of Kohat. the lean ground lamb Chapli Kebabs are made today from the same ingredients as in the 15th century
or
Vegetarian Shami Kebab Akbari
Named after Emperor Akbar the Great, grandson of Baber.
Akbar was a Muslim - a meat eater. However in his council of 9 ministers,
affectionately dubbed by him as the "Nine Jewels", there nobles of different
religions including Hindu nobles who were vegetarian.
The royal court chefs prepared special vegetarian dishes for these court nobles, including these delicious kebabs.
Raita Lahori
Like Delhi, the 2,000 year old city of Lahore is famous for its food,
one of its specialty is the delicate yoghurt based "Raita" sauce.
Assortments of Sweets
Eaten fondly by Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs alike, these favorite sweets need an excuse to be offered - a wedding, a social gathering or a music event .
(Copyright: Mughal Cuisine of Pakistan & India by Ishrat & Rafat Ansari)

 

2006

Ustad Khan Sahib Rais Khan

 " Prince among performers " - Anwer Mooraj, Daily Dawn, Karachi

Rais Khan                                                        Farhan Khan
 
After his sold out concert at The Kennedy Center, Washington D.C,

 produced by Virsa,  in March 2001,

Ustad Rais Khan returns to North America in Spring 2006.

******************************************************************************************

 

2005

Most of Virsa's activities for 2005 have been downtown at the Listening Room @ Caffe Vivaldi, with sold out debut performance on April 15 by Rajaf Quartet. ( see above). The exception was a  memorable Tina Sani Ghazal recital.

 

 ******************************************************************

 

 

 

After her standing-room-only 2002 Ghazal recital, produced by Virsa, Tina Sani returned to New York on Saturday April 30 for 1 night only on Saturday April 30, 2005 for another standing room only Virsa concert. at Pakistan House, 12 E 65th. Street  
 (between Madison and 5th. Avenues)

About Tina Sani:
Tina Sani is the recipient of PRESIDENT'S AWARD FOR PRIDE OF PERFORMANCE – Pakistan Higest Award 

Tina Sani is South Asia’s leading exponent of the Ghazal style of singing. She is a disciple of the legendary Mehdi Hassan. Farida Khanum, Iqbal Bano and Begum Akhtar are the artists who have most influenced her singing. She grew up in cosmopolitan city of Karachi. Altough she cames from a highly educated family – her father went to M.I.T. choosing poetry of Faiz became her life long passion. Tina lives in Karachi with her husband and eight year old son.

Virsa will bring her back later this year for another US tour.

 

 Farid Ayaz Qawwal and Brothers - US TOUR 2004

The US tour of Farid Ayaz Qawwal and Brothers that started in April ended on June 1, 2004.

 

The tour was a great success .It established Farid Ayaz as the foremost Qawwali ensemble in the world. This year they have
an extremely busy schedule. With performances in Europe, Near East, the Maghreb, Central Asia and India. Farid Ayaz will be back in
North America in March/April 2006


WNYC RADIO STUDIO 360
Qawwali
It's a bridge between the human and the divine. Ishrat Ansari, of the Pakistani cultural foundation Virsa, and Robert Browning of the World Music Institute talk about the transporting sound of the devotional folk music of the Sufi Muslims. Produced by Jocelyn Gonzales.

 Ishrat Ansari, of the Pakistani cultural Organization Virsa, and Robert Browning of the World Music Institute talk about
the transporting sound of the devotional folk music of the Sufi Muslims.


WNYC SOUNDCHECK

Listen to “Soundcheck” hosted by John Schaefer on WNYC on June 17, 2004 for a program with Farid Ayaz Qawwal
(Check your local listing)


FARID AYAZ QAWWAL & BROTHERS

 



 Sample Videos

“…vocal fireworks…” THE NEW YORK TIMES
(For the complete NY Times review click here)

 Not since the days of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali has a Sufi qawwali group generated such interest and excitement
internationally as Farid Ayaz Qawwal and Brothers. Performing the ecstatic devotional music of Sufi Muslims, the ensemble has
gained recognition for both the popular traditional form of qawwali and the more introspective ancient classical qawwali that is
seldom heard today. In qawwali, which is similar to gospel in its use of call-and-response and spiritual fervor, the lead singers
are accompanied by percussive hand clapping, harmonium, tabla (drums) and a chorus.  The concert will be dedicated to the group’s
late leader, the 93-year-old master Munshi Raziuddin, who died last July.

Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that numbers millions of adherents throughout the world, embraces music and dance as a means
to achieve unity with the divine.  The Qawwali (Urdu for “utterance”) song repertoire is made of mostly Urdu poetry and includes
13th century Persian poems and more recent  poems in other South Asian regional languages that speak of divine love. Qawwali, like
gospel music, has the power of transporting its listeners into a trance-like state.  The songs build to a frenzied climax that has audiences
dancing in the aisle and showering the stage with money.  While American audiences may not understand the words the music - which
is highly ornamental - transcends all linguistic, social and cultural barriers.  This is the music of ecstasy and one does not need to know
the words to be moved.

Farid Ayaz Qawwal & Brothers, one of Pakistan’s best known ensembles, has promoted the art of qawwali throughout
Pakistan, India, Europe, Iran, the Middle East, and the U.S. The group members specialize in classical qawwali, which they
learned from their forefathers.  They belong to the Delhi gharana (school) of Ustad Tan Ras Khan Sahib, who was the teacher
of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. The group sings in many languages including Urdu, Seraiki, Punjabi, Sindhi,
Hindi, Persian, Arabic, Bengali and Purbi. Recently the ensemble toured Greece under the auspices of WMI as part of the Cultural
Olympiad, appearing at the renowned Herodeon (at the Acropolis), Thessalonika, Olympia, and Mt. Olympos.

 

Junoon

 Sample Videos

 

With lines going around the block, Virsa Pakistan’s June 5, Junoon Concert at Webster Hall, NYC, was a huge success.
According to Salman Ahmed, the group’s leader, it was one of the best concerts ever.

 

Next Date with Junoon

Virsa will bring back Junoon for another New York concert in Fall 2005

 

Some of the artists who perform regualrly for Virsa

 

        1.   Ikhlaq Hussain

          Sitar Nawaz Ikhlaq Hussain has won rave review for his performances at M.I.T, Boston TV, Harvard U,
          Washington DC and the West Coast.

 

           The most recent Washington event was a memorable one. The featured raag was Puriya Kalyan. Playing  in front of the
           cream of Washington diplomatic corps including 10 ambassadors , his virtuoso performance was a huge success.

 

            Ikhlaq Hussain, who has performed extensively in many other countries including India, belongs to the Delhi Gharana.
            He was trained by his father Ustad Imdad Hussain, who makes his home in Karachi, Pakistan. In 1991 Ikhlaq Hussain went to
            New Delhi where he was a student of Pundit Ravi Shanker for two years. Since 2001 he has been living in the United Stated as
            a performing artist.
 

         2.  Mahnaz Begum
          
           Sample Videos

          
            Daughter of the legendary Kajjan Begum of Lucknow Gharana, Mahnaz Begum                         
            vowed the audience with her performance of geet, ghazals and songs, at Jiva Mukti Yoga         
           Center, New York. This memorable event was organized and presented by Virsa.

 
           She returns to this year for another event by Virsa. The venue and the date will be announced
           in the coming weeks. We will post other events as they are finalized.

 

           

 

Trust Virsa for quality and memorable events!

June 2007
  Tina Sani 
  Virsa has presented Tina Sani twice in New York in the past two years.
 Her fans have complained that the venue for the events was too small
 for all the lovers of Ghazals who wanted to attend the Mehfils.
This year, we are pleased to announce that the venues being selected
 would be able to accommodate all her fans.
Details to follow.

March - April 2008
US Tour:
  Farid Ayaz Qawwal  & Brothers

Sample Videos 
 produced by Ishrat Ansari fro Virsa Pakistan 
Qawwali 
 WNYC RADIO STUDIO 360
 Qawwali - It's a bridge between the human and the divine.
 Ishrat Ansari, of the Pakistani cultural organization Virsa,
and Robert Browning of the World Music Institute
talk about the transporting sound of the devotional folk music of the Sufi Muslims.
 (Producer by Jocelyn Gonzales.)
WNYC - New Sounds: Program #2297 (June 17, 2004)  
... On this edition of New Sounds, hear the Qawwali music of Farid Ayaz Qawwal.
 One of the leading performers of the ..
*****
Recent Events:
 Saturday April 28, 2007.    8PM

Ustad Shahid Parvez

Aditya Kalyanpur - Tabla

 Philip Coltoff Center
 219 Sullivan St. NYC 10012
 (Bet. West 3rd & Bleecker Sts)

Tickets available at the door or buy online now from our website
$35 - 2nd front row     
$25 - all other rows      
Buy Now
 or Call 212-477-5329 
        
Ustad Shahid Parvez
“Vilayat Khan's principle disciples include his brother Imrat Khan and son Shujaat Khan, Kashinath Mukherjee
(he is the late film-maker Hrishikesh Mukherjee's brother), Kalyani Roy from Kolkata, and Arvind Parekh from Mumbai.
But the liquid grace and beauty of his style is best represented today by Shahid Parvez,
not a direct disciple but from the same lineage of musicians." 
-  Partho Datta         
          ( Prof Datta is a musicologist and  a Reader in History, Delhi University)            

        Crossing borders of perception:     
                Reflections on listening to Shahid Parvez       
              -Dr. Salman Ansari


Saturday March 17, 2007, 8PM
 World Music Institute
 in association with
Virsa Pakistan & NYU Skirball Center
Present
Sufi Songs and Ghazals of Pakistan
Featuring
Shafqat Ali Khan
(Son of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan)

December 2005
 Special Event
 Yash Paul Soi & Soi International Group
in association with
Virsa Pakistan

Proudly Presents

Ustad Zakir Hussain in Concert
with Anup Jalota


 

 A Benefit Concert for

The Earthquake Victims of

Pakistan and India

 

Production 1:

Year: 1999

In the year 1999, Virsa Foundation collaborated with World Music Institute to introduce a young sitar player Ashraf Shareef Khan Poonchwale. His stunning performance at Symphony Space, New York, before an audience of over 600, was the first time ever in 50 years that a classical musician from Pakistan performed in New York. His entire tour was financed by Rauf Ansari Foundation - a not for profit organization.

Production 2:

Year: 2000
 

In the year 2000, Virsa Foundation presented Farid Ayaz Qawwal & Brothers featuring Grand Master Munshi Raziuddin at the United Nations. Not since Nusrat Fateh Ali, has any group created such a sensation. In New York, during October 2000, Farid Ayaz & Brothers were supposed to give only two performances. The demand was such that we had to have their visa extended and they ended up giving eight performances.

Production 3:

Year: 2000

A sneak preview of Virsa Foundation production opera "Heer Ranjha". Waris Shah's Heer was sung in original Punjabi so movingly by an American soprano that it brought tears in the eyes of those present. The occasion was the farewell party for Abbas Haider Zaidi at Caffe Vivaldi. The well-known American composer, Carson Kievman, is writing the music for the opera.

Production 4:

Year: 2000

In the year 2000 Virsa Foundation staged two performances, one each in Washington DC and New York, by the legendary sitar maestro Khan Sahib Ustad Rais Khan.

Production 5:

Year: 2000

In the year 2000 Virsa Foundation presented a reading by our young novelist Mohsin Hamid at Caffe Vivaldi. Mohsin Hamid"s first novel, "Moth Smoke" was on the New Times best sellers list.

Production 6:

Year: 2000

Master Painters of Pakistan - The New York Collection
In the year 2000 Virsa Foundation designed this beautiful coffee table art book. Brain child of Abbas Haider Zaidi this collection includes priceless paintings from private collections never before seen in public. The book will be available through this site in 2002.

Photography by Sebastian Piras
Text by Dr. Akbar Naqvi
Art direction by Phillip Shung

Production 7:

Year: 2000

In the year 2000 Virsa Foundation presented the first New York performance of our famous TV singer Bilqees Khanum of "Anokha Ladla" fame.

 

Copyrights © 2003 VirsaOnline.com All Rights Reserved