CAPA to Welcome Zakir Hussain And Rahul Sharma in October

The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated as one of the world's most esteemed and influential musicians, one whose mastery of his percussion instrument has taken it to a new level, transcending cultures and national borders.

Hussain returns to Columbus – he performed here in 2023 as part of acclaimed world-music ensemble Shakti – for an October 30 concert at the Southern Theatre. The concert will pay tribute to the late santoor (“hammered dulcimer”) master Pandit Sharma and feature Hussain in a duo performance with Sharma's son and worthy successor, Rahul Sharma.

Tickets start at $27 and may be purchased at the CBUSArts Ticket Center at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.), online at www.capa.com or www.CBUSArts.com, and by phone at (614) 469-0939 starting at 10 am Friday, May 24.

In the annals of Hindustani music, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma stands tall. Widely acclaimed and highly esteemed, he brought his Kashmiri folk music instrument, the santoor, to the classical concert stage. His concerts with Zakir Hussain were considered among the greatest musical feasts of our time. After five decades of accompanying this great artist, Zakir is bringing their relationship forward in duet with his son and worthy successor, the brilliant Rahul Sharma, who has established himself as the premier santoor maestro of his generation.   

A child prodigy who began his international touring career by the age of 18, Zakir has been at the helm of many genre-defying collaborations including Shakti, Remember Shakti, Masters of Percussion, Planet Drum, Tabla Beat Science and Sangam. In February 2024, Zakir made history by receiving three Grammys in one Grammy Awards ceremony, the first musician from India to be thus honored. 

As a composer, he has scored music for numerous feature films, and has composed four concertos, enjoying premieres and acclaimed performances in India, Europe and in the USA by the National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center. He is the recipient of countless awards, including five Grammys, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Officier in France's Order of Arts and Letters, and several honorary doctorates. Voted “Best Percussionist” by both the Downbeat Critics' and Readers' Polls and Modern Drummer's Reader's Poll over several years, including 2023, Zakir was honored with SFJazz's Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2017 Gala for his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music.” In 2022, he was named the Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy. 

He is the founder and president of Moment! Records, an independent record label presenting rare live concert recordings of Indian classical music and world music. 

Rahul Sharma bridges the gap between tradition and fusion in the most unique and innovative manner. The torchbearer of Padma Vibhushan Pandit Shivkumar Sharma's santoor legacy has brought newer audiences globally through his collaborations and albums with Grammy-winning musicians such as saxophonist Kenny G, pianist Richard Clayderman, electronica group Deep Forest and Peter Gabriel's Real World Music. Recently, Rahul has garnered the credit for being the first to play the 100-stringed santoor in a symphony with the prestigious 50-member Capetown Philharmonic Orchestra at the Artscape Opera House in South Africa. 

Equally at ease performing his pulsating concerts with Zakir Hussain or composing for India's legendary nightingale Lata Mangeshkar and superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Rahul has appeared at many prestigious events, including performing to a packed house of world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. By continuing his father's work as a groundbreaking star of international repute who singlehandedly brought the Kashmiri santoor to the classical concert stage, and by dint of his own brilliant, creative contributions to the development of his instrument and its audiences, Rahul has created a space and sound for the santoor never previously heard as he passes on the legacy as a Guru to his students and to his son Abhinav Sharma. 

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