ALLEGANY, N.Y. — A death in the family of Aditya Verma will cause the sarod player to miss his Friends of Good Music performance on Sunday at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
The “Music from India” concert will go on as planned, however, as the award-winning Akshara Ensemble has been booked to perform instead. The performance, the seventh in the Friends of Good Music season, will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Quick Center.
Steeped in the Carnatic music of South India, Akshara is a dynamic music ensemble that brings together world music traditions on the rhythmic and modal foundations of Indian classical music. In 2015, Akshara’s “Mohana Blues” won the Best World Traditional Song award at the 13th annual Independent Music Awards.
Akshara, featuring musical talent from New York City, is led by Bala Skandan, who was initiated into the Carnatic percussion art of Mridangam, and the violin, at the age of 6. Skandan is renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge of classical Indian music. His original compositions embrace Hindustani and Carnatic styles, as well as world music traditions.
The performance is supported, in part, by grant programs at the Cattaraugus County Arts Council, which are made possible with funding by the New York State Council on the Arts with support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Tickets are $20 at full cost, $16 for St. Bonaventure staff and senior citizens and $5 for students. For tickets and information, contact the Quick Center at (716) 375-2494.
