Improvisers Exchange Residency: Utsav Lal & Alec Goldfarb
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Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal
University of Illinois
Global Arts / Improvisers Exchange Residency
Monday, November 9 – Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Alec Goldfarb (b. 1995) is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and Hindustani classical musician known for blending jazz, new music, and Indian classical traditions. Returning to the University of Illinois, where he earned dual B.A.s in Music Composition/Theory and Philosophy, Goldfarb will present discussions, a master class and performance featuring Young Steinway Artist, Utsav Lal (b.1992). Lal is an Indian pianist, improviser, educator and composer recognized as a musician extraordinaire who has set a precedent in the world of music with his rendition of Ragas on the Piano.
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Schedule:
Guitar Masterclass
Mon 11.09 | 7:30p
Smith 25, Smith Memorial Hall
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Food for Thought: Experimentalism in Indian Classical Music
Tue 11.10 | 12:00p
Asian American Cultural Center
Non-musicians and musicians will be introduced to histories of adapting classical Indian music traditions to western instruments and the work of two award winning, contemporary artists exploring this practice on piano and electric guitar.
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Composers Forum: Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal
Composition, Improvisation, Collaboration
Tue 11.10 | 4:00p
“Fishbowl”, School of Music Building
Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal will introduce their compositions and recorded output, present their collaborative work, and discuss how their duo is in dialogue with contemporary (western) classical, jazz, and Indian classical.
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Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal: In Concert
Wed 11.11 | 7:30p
Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall
Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal bring together Hindustani classical music and contemporary improvisation, presenting a program that moves between traditional long-form raga performance and exploratory, highly interactive improvisations. Their work is driven by an interest in creating a new experimentalism within Indian classical music, expanding the tradition through new forms of interaction, structure, and harmony. The music draws deeply from raga grammar and lineage while also engaging experimental textures and forms, creating something that feels both rooted and forward-looking.
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Additional Biographical Information
A DownBeat Magazine award-winning composer and 2026 Asian Cultural Council Fellow, Alec Goldfarb’s music is described as “full of ingenious juxtapositions” (The Wire), weaving disparate musical histories into tapestries that are equal parts research and alchemy. His interest in tuning and perception extends to “Tuning the Ear: Progressive Ear Training in Just Intonation”, his book on the practice and pedagogy of just intonation. An exponent of the Maihar Gharana, Goldfarb performs Hindustani classical music internationally using a distinctive guitar technique inspired by the sarod and sitar. https://www.alecgoldfarb.com/
Brooklyn-based Indian pianist/composer Utsav Lal, often known as the ‘Raga Pianist’ is recognized as the rarest of pianists. Stunning the world with his innovative handling of Indian Classical Music on a Western instrument, The Irish Times describes Utsav Lal as “a fleet-fingered performer whose best moments can be both highly evocative and dazzling.” Lal’s ground-breaking work has garnered an impressive career spanning two decades, with solo performances at world famous venues like Carnegie Hall (New York), Southbank Centre (London), Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Steinway Hall (New York), Asia Society (Hong Kong), Arts Center (Melbourne). https://www.utsavlal.com/
University of Illinois
Global Arts / Improvisers Exchange Residency
Monday, November 9 – Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Alec Goldfarb (b. 1995) is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, composer, and Hindustani classical musician known for blending jazz, new music, and Indian classical traditions. Returning to the University of Illinois, where he earned dual B.A.s in Music Composition/Theory and Philosophy, Goldfarb will present discussions, a master class and performance featuring Young Steinway Artist, Utsav Lal (b.1992). Lal is an Indian pianist, improviser, educator and composer recognized as a musician extraordinaire who has set a precedent in the world of music with his rendition of Ragas on the Piano.
--
Schedule:
Guitar Masterclass
Mon 11.09 | 7:30p
Smith 25, Smith Memorial Hall
--
Food for Thought: Experimentalism in Indian Classical Music
Tue 11.10 | 12:00p
Asian American Cultural Center
Non-musicians and musicians will be introduced to histories of adapting classical Indian music traditions to western instruments and the work of two award winning, contemporary artists exploring this practice on piano and electric guitar.
--
Composers Forum: Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal
Composition, Improvisation, Collaboration
Tue 11.10 | 4:00p
“Fishbowl”, School of Music Building
Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal will introduce their compositions and recorded output, present their collaborative work, and discuss how their duo is in dialogue with contemporary (western) classical, jazz, and Indian classical.
--
Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal: In Concert
Wed 11.11 | 7:30p
Recital Hall, Smith Memorial Hall
Alec Goldfarb and Utsav Lal bring together Hindustani classical music and contemporary improvisation, presenting a program that moves between traditional long-form raga performance and exploratory, highly interactive improvisations. Their work is driven by an interest in creating a new experimentalism within Indian classical music, expanding the tradition through new forms of interaction, structure, and harmony. The music draws deeply from raga grammar and lineage while also engaging experimental textures and forms, creating something that feels both rooted and forward-looking.
--
Additional Biographical Information
A DownBeat Magazine award-winning composer and 2026 Asian Cultural Council Fellow, Alec Goldfarb’s music is described as “full of ingenious juxtapositions” (The Wire), weaving disparate musical histories into tapestries that are equal parts research and alchemy. His interest in tuning and perception extends to “Tuning the Ear: Progressive Ear Training in Just Intonation”, his book on the practice and pedagogy of just intonation. An exponent of the Maihar Gharana, Goldfarb performs Hindustani classical music internationally using a distinctive guitar technique inspired by the sarod and sitar. https://www.alecgoldfarb.com/
Brooklyn-based Indian pianist/composer Utsav Lal, often known as the ‘Raga Pianist’ is recognized as the rarest of pianists. Stunning the world with his innovative handling of Indian Classical Music on a Western instrument, The Irish Times describes Utsav Lal as “a fleet-fingered performer whose best moments can be both highly evocative and dazzling.” Lal’s ground-breaking work has garnered an impressive career spanning two decades, with solo performances at world famous venues like Carnegie Hall (New York), Southbank Centre (London), Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Steinway Hall (New York), Asia Society (Hong Kong), Arts Center (Melbourne). https://www.utsavlal.com/
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Where is it happening?
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherGlobal Arts Performance Initiatives
