Aditya Prakash Comes to Coppell Arts Center This Month

Aditya Prakash, a virtuoso of South Indian classical music, will bring his highly ornamented, stylized, and emotive Carnatic vocal style to Coppell Arts Center on Friday, April 29 at 8 PM. Aditya's innovative and dynamic take on traditional Carnatic music features a blend of Indian classical ragas, chants, and rhythms with the modern sounds of brass band arrangement, jazz harmony, and hip hop-infused beats. This concert will take place in the Main Hall at the new Coppell Arts Center (505 Travis Street, Coppell, TX 75019). Tickets are $32 and on sale now at www.CoppellArtsCenter.org • 972-304-7047.

Aditya Prakash, an award-winning vocalist known for his powerful and emotive voice, is one of the leading upcoming voices of Carnatic music (South Indian classical). Aditya was one of the youngest musicians to tour and perform with Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar at age 16, taking him to prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Disney Hall, among others. Aditya continues to collaborate with leading innovators and artists such as Anoushka Shankar, Tigran Hamasyan, Karsh Kale, and Akram Khan.

In 2010, Aditya founded the Aditya Prakash Ensemble, a group that frames Aditya's Carnatic vocal style around jazz instrumentation. Indian classical music and jazz seem poles apart but on closer look they share very many similarities in their philosophy and approach. Both are centered around improvisation, dialogue and spontaneous "creative flow" to inspire the direction of the music. The Ensemble brings together musicians of different backgrounds to dialogue, crafting a profound result: a melding of seemingly disparate cultures coming together to create one unique language. The Ensemble has created an outlet for the Indian classical and jazz aesthetic to shine forth in an accessible, modern, playful yet powerful and dynamic way.

Located in the heart of Old Town Coppell, the Coppell Arts Center serves as the anchoring entertainment venue for the newly developed retail and residential district. The Center is home to five resident art companies: The Ballet Ensemble of Texas, Coppell Community Chorale, Coppell Creatives, Coppell Community Orchestra, and Theatre Coppell.

Featuring six versatile venues, the 30,000 square-foot facility offers a diverse mix of performances, productions, and events. The 442-seat main hall hosts concerts and touring productions, the 196-seat Black Box Theater creates opportunities to experience intimate theatrical productions, and the 2,000 square-foot multi-purpose reception hall provides a space for Coppell's citizens to gather for art exhibitions and nightlife events. The Cherie and Jim Walker Pavilion at the Grove Performance Plaza offers an outdoor community space for special events with views of Old Town Coppell.

The Center is part of the City of Coppell's 30-year-plan to provide citizens with world-class entertainment and nightlife. It was built and designed by Corgan Architects in conjunction with Schuler Shook and Jaffe Holden. For more information, visit www.coppellartscenter.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram. Join the conversation by following #coppellartscenter and #oldtowncoppell.

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