Christopher Garcia is a critically acclaimed musician/drummer/percussionist who
has made his career by putting himself into musical situations that are consistently
musically challenging, intriguing and diverse whether playing drumset
and/or hand percussion.
In 1978 he had the privilege of studying North Indian tabla at California Institute of
the Arts on a full scholarship, studying percussion with John Bergamo, and tabla
with Pandit Taranath Rao, Leonice Shinemann.
After making a living as a working musician Christopher went back to CAL ARTS
to continue his lessons with John Bergamo and Swapan Chaudhuri.
He attributes his "style"(?) to Listening to EVERYTHING, logging in thousands of hours,
practicing, rehearsing, composing, performing and touring constantly with musicians interested
in stretching and re-inventing throughout the world with previous performance in:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary,
Italy, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Switzerland, the United States and Wales.
(SEE LINKS BELOW)
TEACHERS OF LIFE, MUSIC AND TABLA
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/tabla---teacherslife.html
Christopher Garcia Music Site
http://christophergarciamusic.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
has made his career by putting himself into musical situations that are consistently
musically challenging, intriguing and diverse whether playing drumset
and/or hand percussion.
In 1978 he had the privilege of studying North Indian tabla at California Institute of
the Arts on a full scholarship, studying percussion with John Bergamo, and tabla
with Pandit Taranath Rao, Leonice Shinemann.
After making a living as a working musician Christopher went back to CAL ARTS
to continue his lessons with John Bergamo and Swapan Chaudhuri.
He attributes his "style"(?) to Listening to EVERYTHING, logging in thousands of hours,
practicing, rehearsing, composing, performing and touring constantly with musicians interested
in stretching and re-inventing throughout the world with previous performance in:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia,
the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary,
Italy, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Norway, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Switzerland, the United States and Wales.
(SEE LINKS BELOW)
TEACHERS OF LIFE, MUSIC AND TABLA
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/tabla---teacherslife.html
Christopher Garcia Music Site
http://christophergarciamusic.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JIE MA
From a long line of traditional Chinese musicians, Jie Ma began studying music and playing the pipa at age 5. She became a professional musician at age 14. Jie received her Bachelor of Music degree from one of China's top music conservatories. Jie studied in China under celebrated pipa and ruan masters. She was also an adjunct professor in the music department at Liao Ning Normal University, and she has taught Pipa to a wide range of students in China and the United States.
After coming to the United States, in 2004, Jie began exploring the possibilities of blending traditional pipa technique with Western music and sounds from all over the world and culture. Jie enjoys playing traditional Chinese arrangements, creating her own works, and fusing Chinese and other styles to create a unique sound that is all hers. She is a consummate performer and improviser. In her continuing effort to push the boundaries of the pipa in many different contexts, Jie has played with a wide variety of musicians from a number of different genres, including jazz, country, blues, and rock. Jie's impressive technique, exotic sound, musical curiosity, and tremendous stage presence are not to be missed.
In pursuit of her passion for music and the pipa, Jie has performed in China, Japan, and at a wide variety of venues throughout the United States (particularly in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York), as a soloist, in ensembles, and as a featured performer. In 2009, Jie was referred to in the U.K. newspaper, the Guardian, as one of the "notable" pipa players in the West.
www.majiepipa.com/main/Home.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Stephens is a sitar player who performs and teaches North Indian classical music.
He has given many North Indian classical performances for various occasions including
concert programs, competitions, lecture/demonstrations, private concerts, holiday programs
and film scores.
These include performances at Cornell University, Ithaca College, Pasadena City College,
the 24th Annual Indian Music and Dance Competition at the University of Maryland Baltimore
County, the California Institute of the Arts, the Sangati Center, private recitals in Boston, Ithaca,
Baltimore, Seattle, and Varanasi, India, and appearances as tanpura accompanist for Ustad
Aashish Khan, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Sri Alam Khan at the annual Music Circle concerts,
the Ojai Music Festival and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
John earned his MFA at CalArts, majoring in sitar performance under the guidance of two legendary
musicians, his guru sarod maestro Ustad Aashish Khan, and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, from whom
he learned the art of tabla accompaniment. John lived for some time in India where he was initially
trained by Pandit Amar Nath Mishra, a Banarasi sitar player with a particularly sweet and melodious style.
Before taking up the sitar, John earned his undergraduate degree in Jazz Composition as a guitarist at Berklee College of Music, where he composed for and performed with jazz and rock ensembles of all sizes. John has also studied, Kathak dance, vocal music, the Hindi and Sanskrit languages, and other styles of music such as Balinese and Javanese Gamelan.
He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he is teaching and performing. He is a member of ASCAP
and a teacher of North Indian classical music at the California State Summer School for the Arts.
http://johnloganstephens.com/
From a long line of traditional Chinese musicians, Jie Ma began studying music and playing the pipa at age 5. She became a professional musician at age 14. Jie received her Bachelor of Music degree from one of China's top music conservatories. Jie studied in China under celebrated pipa and ruan masters. She was also an adjunct professor in the music department at Liao Ning Normal University, and she has taught Pipa to a wide range of students in China and the United States.
After coming to the United States, in 2004, Jie began exploring the possibilities of blending traditional pipa technique with Western music and sounds from all over the world and culture. Jie enjoys playing traditional Chinese arrangements, creating her own works, and fusing Chinese and other styles to create a unique sound that is all hers. She is a consummate performer and improviser. In her continuing effort to push the boundaries of the pipa in many different contexts, Jie has played with a wide variety of musicians from a number of different genres, including jazz, country, blues, and rock. Jie's impressive technique, exotic sound, musical curiosity, and tremendous stage presence are not to be missed.
In pursuit of her passion for music and the pipa, Jie has performed in China, Japan, and at a wide variety of venues throughout the United States (particularly in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York), as a soloist, in ensembles, and as a featured performer. In 2009, Jie was referred to in the U.K. newspaper, the Guardian, as one of the "notable" pipa players in the West.
www.majiepipa.com/main/Home.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Stephens is a sitar player who performs and teaches North Indian classical music.
He has given many North Indian classical performances for various occasions including
concert programs, competitions, lecture/demonstrations, private concerts, holiday programs
and film scores.
These include performances at Cornell University, Ithaca College, Pasadena City College,
the 24th Annual Indian Music and Dance Competition at the University of Maryland Baltimore
County, the California Institute of the Arts, the Sangati Center, private recitals in Boston, Ithaca,
Baltimore, Seattle, and Varanasi, India, and appearances as tanpura accompanist for Ustad
Aashish Khan, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Sri Alam Khan at the annual Music Circle concerts,
the Ojai Music Festival and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
John earned his MFA at CalArts, majoring in sitar performance under the guidance of two legendary
musicians, his guru sarod maestro Ustad Aashish Khan, and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, from whom
he learned the art of tabla accompaniment. John lived for some time in India where he was initially
trained by Pandit Amar Nath Mishra, a Banarasi sitar player with a particularly sweet and melodious style.
Before taking up the sitar, John earned his undergraduate degree in Jazz Composition as a guitarist at Berklee College of Music, where he composed for and performed with jazz and rock ensembles of all sizes. John has also studied, Kathak dance, vocal music, the Hindi and Sanskrit languages, and other styles of music such as Balinese and Javanese Gamelan.
He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he is teaching and performing. He is a member of ASCAP
and a teacher of North Indian classical music at the California State Summer School for the Arts.
http://johnloganstephens.com/