Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 7:30 PM CDT
Kunal Gunjal & Amit Kavthekar
Indian classical santoor and tabla concert
4544 N Lincoln Ave · Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall · 773.728.6000
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 · 7:30 PM CDT
4544 N Lincoln Ave · Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall · 773.728.6000
A weekly showcase of world music and dance featuring the best local and touring talent! Most shows are Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM.
Most World Music Wednesday concerts are free with a $10 suggested donation. TO GUARANTEE YOUR ENTRY MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE EITHER ONLINE OR BY CALLING THE BOX OFFICE AT 773.728.6000. Reservations unclaimed 10 minutes before showtime will be released to waiting patrons.
After first learning tabla, the acclaimed and gifted Indian musician Kunal Gunjal then took to the ancient classical and Kashmiri folk instrument, the one hundred stringed, santoor, like a hammered dulcimer, the melodic instrument is very percussive. Kunal is taking the instrument to new directions and new heights. All while also staying true and pure to the centuries old raga tradition he learned within. An award winning santoor artist and longtime disciple of the late great Shivkumar Sharma and has performed with his guru on stage many times over the years. Kunal has performed at Chicago Ragamala Festival several times over the decade in Chicago along with many other various prestigious music festivals and conferences in the USA, India, UK and more including the Pune Festival, Ragas Live Festival in Brooklyn, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), and he has performed at the Gunidas Sangeet Samelan where he opened the festival for the late Zakir Hussian. He has many accolades to his honor including the Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande Yuva Kalakar Puraskar and was also awarded at Vedic Heritage (NY, USA) by Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj. Kunal is also a recipient of the National Scholarship, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the Sawai Gandharva Scholarship. Kunal has produced an album, ‘Nature Of All Things' which features santoor with western film score music and orchestra for the first time ever, which won the 'Global Music Award' in “World Music” in 2019. This album has also been nominated for the 'Hollywood Music in Media Award'.
Indian born tabla player Amit Kavthekar is known as the last ganda-bandhan (ordained disciple) of legendary tabla player Alla Rakha (Ravi Shankar's longtime drummer) and a prominent disciple of Alla Rakha's famous son and tabla icon, Zakir Hussain. Kavthekar is regarded as one of the leading artists of Indian Classical music and tabla. He has rhythm running in his veins. At the early age of six, he was being groomed in the art of playing tabla by the legendary Ustad Alla Rakha. He has also been fortunate enough to continue his studies under Ustad Zakir Hussain - the late maestro of Indian classical music and an international phenomenon in the fields of percussion and world music. Amit has played with many eminent Indian classical musicians such as his late guru Zakir Hussain, Amjad Ali Khan, Shahid Parvez Khan, Rakesh Chaurasia and many others. Amit is a member of the Al DiMeola Acoustic Trio and a regular collaborator with the legendary jazz guitarist. Amit frequently collaborates with western classical, jazz and world musicians. He is a member of the Purnalokha Quartet (with David Balakrishnan of Turtle Island String Quartet) and has also played with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra and others. He is also a founding member of the global music band Sawaari, which explores music from different parts of the world. Amit is currently teaching Tabla in the New England School of Music based in Massachusetts. He also teaches master classes and workshops in universities.
Anonymous
James G. Hart Foundation
Geraldine Keefe
Negaunee Foundation
Rob and Karen Ospalik
Tomford and Grossman Family