Traditional Indian Classical Music

Name: Traditional Indian Classical Music
Start: 2026-05-22T09:00:00+10:00
End: 2026-05-22T11:00:00+10:00
Location: Tecoma Uniting Church

Schedule

Fri May 22 2026 at 09:00 am to 11:00 am

UTC+10:00

Location

Tecoma Uniting Church | Belgrave, VI

WORLD CLASS MUSIC IN THE HILLS
Join us for an unforgettable evening in the hills featuring renowned musicians Adrian McNeil, Bobby Singh, and Vinod Prasanna in a captivating concert of Indian classical music. Experience the enchanting melodies and intricate rhythms that these world-class artists will bring to life.

Bobby Singh, an ARIA Award-winning tabla player from Coffs Harbour, is celebrated for his versatility and skill. Vinod Prasanna, an award-winning bansuri player based in Melbourne, will showcase his exceptional talent, complemented by the masterful Sarod playing of Adrian McNeil.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to immerse yourself in the heart of Indian classical tradition. Secure your tickets now and join us for this remarkable musical journey. All booking links and additional information are provided below. We look forward to seeing you there!

https://www.trybooking.com/DKSMF

Bobby Singh
ARIA award-winning tabla percussion artist Bobby Singh has long been one of Australia’s most important and highly respected world-jazz players. Born and raised in England, he spent much of his childhood in Mumbai India, studying at Sangeet Mahabharati, a music institute founded by the great tabla maestro Pandit Nikhil Ghosh. Bobby’s prodigious talent was recognised at an early age, and he soon became a student of Ghosh’s senior disciple Aneesh Pradhan, now one of the world’s most sought-after tabla players. Under Aneesh’s nurturing guidance in the classical Hindustani tradition, Bobby rapidly matured into an internationally renowned tabla player himself, both as a traditional performer and as a cross-cultural collaborator.
Moving to Australia in the late 1980s, Bobby was mentored by Indian sarod virtuoso Ashok Roy, and as the local World music scene became established in the early 1990s, Bobby quicky became a key participant in many Australian-based projects. Enthusiastically adapting his intricate tabla rhythms to enhance the shared sounds within a variety of genres, his involvement in numerous ensembles successfully straddled the divide between traditional and contemporary music styles.
Often playing alongside cultural icons such as Grammy award-winning Indian slide guitarist Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, as well as Aussie fretboard favourites Slava Grigoryan and bluesman John Butler, Bobby also lent his rhythmic skills to albums and performances by American jazz drummer Billy Cobham, Aussie-Egyptian oud player Joseph Tawadros, multi-instrumentalist Kim Sanders, didjeridu exponent Charlie McMahon and The Cat Empire.
Early on, Bobby was a vital member of underground live-electronica group The Bird and world-blues trio Djan Djan. His long-running collaboration Circle of Rhythm – with percussion colleagues Ben Walsh and Greg Sheehan – continues to this day. As does his ongoing collaborative work in various projects with blues guitarist Jeff Lang, sarod player Adrian McNeil, and jazz saxophonist Sandy Evans, as well as his beautifully introspective duo albums with Sandy’s sax/clarinettist husband Tony Gorman. Bobby’s latest project is Khyal Trio, with vocalist Sarah Hyland and flamenco guitarist Damian Wright.
Bobby has performed at uncountable festivals, both nationally and internationally – including WOMADelaide, Woodford Folk Festival, Sydney Festival, Worlds Fair Bonn, Livid, Singapore Arts Festival, Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, Hyde Park Festival, and the Melbourne and Perth International Arts Festivals – and his ever-inventive tabla rhythms remain in constant global demand.
Having performed over the years on so many collaborative albums with other musicians, it’s now finally time for Bobby’s own debut album ‘Sutradhaar’ to shine. With the title literally meaning ‘thread-holder’ or ‘storyteller’, it’s a term for the character of a narrator within Sanskrit drama.
The album’s ten tracks were composed by Bobby’s illustrious tabla guru-teacher of three decades Pandit Aneesh Pradhan, with musical arrangements by Bobby’s long-time collaborator Sandy Evans. And joining in on this very diverse release is a who’s who of some of his closest musical friends, including Sandy on sax, pianist Zela Margossian, guitarist Jeff Lang, percussionists Greg Sheehan and Ben Walsh, violin-viola players Lara Goodridge and Shenzo Gregorio, and Indigenous didgeribone master Tjupurru.
So let your 2025 end with a bang, by discovering the explosive and always-creative tabla rhythms of Bobby Singh’s and his fabulous friends, on his new album ‘Sutradhaar’ out on Dec 16th!

Adrian McNeil
Born in Melbourne, Adrian lived, studied and performed in India for many years. A guitar student since childhood, Adrian began training in Hindustani music in 1980 as a disciple of Pandit. Ashok Roy. He has intensively studied the musical instrument the sarod and Hindustani classical music with Prof. Sachindra Nath Roy and also the expert vocalist and musicologist Dr. Ashok Ranade and he currently is guided by Ustad Irfan Khan and Pandit Sanjoy Bandopadhaya. He has performed extensively in Australia, Europe and Asia. He has made a number of recordings for national television and radio in India and for the ABC. He was also an ARIA award finalist in 2013.
Adrian has been a research fellow and professor in universities in Australia and South Asia. His extensive writings on Hindustani music includes the well known book Inventing the Sarod: A Cultural History (Seagull Books).

Vinod Prasanna
Born into one of India’s greatest flute-playing families, award-winning bansuri (flute) virtuoso Vinod Prasanna shines as an outstanding performer of authentic traditional and contemporary Indian music. Vinod’s emotive melodies, exquisite improvisations and divine flute song distinguish his performance of Indian classical, world and meditation music. Simply, Indian music at its finest.
Currently residing in Australia, Vinod is a performing and recording artist, teacher, craftsman and ambassador of the Bansuri. Vinod has more than 25 years of performing and teaching experience and continues a family legacy that celebrates more than two-and-a-half centuries of Indian music.
Vinod has performed and toured extensively throughout his homeland and overseas. Performances include the Folk Dance Festival in Delhi in 2005; Bhagavad Gita recitals; performances at Varanasi’s famous Benares Hindu University in 2009; and tours of north and south India. Internationally, in 2003 Vinod toured France and was featured in the French documentary Odyssey; toured Japan in 2006, sponsored by the Yamaha Music Company; and in 2007, made a musical and cultural visit to Germany, hosted by the International Arts School in Munich. In 2006, Vinod also won the prestigious Sahara All-India Flute Competition. Based in Australia since 2008, Vinod is recognised as an unrivalled Bansuri soloist. Performances in Australia include the Bellingen Global Carnival in 2008; in 2009 Music for Meditation at BMW Edge in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Vinod performed as part of the 2009 opening celebrations for Parliament of the World’s Religions, and performed with Dya Singh at the Premier’s 2009 Sustainability Awards, and at The Melbourne Arts Centre for the Mulitcutural Arts Council, Victoria. Vinod performed at the Woodford Folk Festival in 2010 and 2011. He has performed live radio broadcasts on 3PBS and 3RRR and has been featured on the ABC’s The Daily Planet, The Weekend Planet and Music Deli. Peninsula Summer Music Festival 2016
He is a member of Interact: The Australian International Music Ensemble. Most recently he has joined musical forces with world class percussionist David Jones and guitarist Evripides Evripidou to form Brothers, an exciting Indian Jazz fusion ensemble with a difference!
CD releases include: “Evening Thoughts” (2008), “Samaya” with Glen Kniebeiss on Tabla (2009) and “First Meeting” with Brothers (2010).