Anoushka Shankar

Aug. 22 (public on-sale)
Tickets: Adults: $19.00/$16.50; Seniors: $18.00/$15.50
Sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar has emerged as one of the leading figures in World Music today. She is deeply rooted in Indian classical music, having studied exclusively with her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, and is now one of the foremost performers in that tradition. In tandem with this, she has flourished as a performer and composer, exploring fertile ground in the crossover between Indian music and a variety of genres including electronica, jazz, flamenco and Western classical music.
Born June 9, 1981, Anoushka has been playing and studying the sitar with her father since she was nine. At age 13 she made her performance debut in New Delhi. That same year, Anoushka entered the recording studio for the first time, to play "Adarini" on her father's album In Celebration. Two years later she made her debut as a conductor on her father's Chants Of India album, produced by George Harrison. Shortly thereafter she signed an exclusive record contract with Angel/EMI, and in the autumn of 1998 her first solo recording, Anoushka, was released to critical acclaim. Anourag (2000), Anoushka's second release, expanded upon and refined what she had previously recorded, and was followed by Live at Carnegie Hall (2001), which garnered her first Grammy nomination, making her the youngest-ever nominee in the World Music category.
A highlight of 2002 was the Concert for George, a tribute to the late George Harrison at London's Royal Albert Hall, in which she conducted a new composition written by her father, "Arpan", which featured Eric Clapton on solo guitar. Anoushka also performed Harrison's "The Inner Light" that evening.
In 2007 Anoushka collaborated with Karsh Kale, the Indian-American producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, to jointly create the album Breathing Under Water, which displayed a fusion of Eastern and Western music. This album features a rare guest appearance by her father, and well as contributions by her half-sister, Norah Jones, Sting and others.