Hot Ticket: Singers represent India's classical traditions
By JOHN FLEMING
Published September 23, 2004
Indian classical music achieves critical mass on Saturday with two concerts by well-known singers on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa. The music of India is as diverse as the vast country from which it comes, and the concerts represent different traditions. P. Unnikrishnan, above, is being presented by Swaralaya of Tampa Bay, an organization devoted to Carnatic music, the classical music of southern India. Ulhas Kashalkar, presented by the Indian Classical Music Foundation, performs Hindustani classical music from northern India.
A steady stream of Indian music has come to the bay area in recent years, including last year's remarkable concert by saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath, a Carnatic musician presented by Swaralaya.
Unnikrishnan performs with a violinist and percussionist at 6 p.m. Saturday in the auditorium of the College of Public Health. $15, $20, $5 for students with ID. (727) 942-8150 or (813) 679-7298. Kashalkar, accompanied by tabla and harmonium, performs at 8 p.m. Saturday in Cooper Hall 103. $15, free for USF students with ID. (813) 265-0350.
- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic
Orchestral interlude
The Florida Orchestra covers a lot of musical territory in one of its park pops concerts, from Wagner (the introduction to Act III of Lohengrin) to the theme from The Godfather. Actually, there isn't that much distance between the two, as Hollywood film scores owe a great deal to the opera composer. The orchestra makes its first appearance of the season, with Susan Haig conducting, in Al Lopez Park, Himes Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, Tampa. The pops program also includes Cuban music by Ernesto Lecuona, John Williams' Olympics Fanfare and Theme, a Shostakovich ballet suite and orchestral chestnuts such as a Dvorak Slavonic Dance and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The concert is free, with picnicking encouraged, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday.
