Artist Biographies

Born into a family where every breath is a musical note, Gandhar Deshpande is the son and disciple of the legendary Maestro, Pt. Dr. Ram Deshpande. His journey began under the tender guidance of his mother, Smt. Archana Deshpande, and for the last 17 years, he has undergone rigorous Tapashcharya in the traditional Gurushishya Parampara.

What makes his music truly special is his command over three distinct streams of Indian classical music—the Gwalior, Jaipur, and Agra Gharanas.

An extraordinary track record of excellence marks his journey. Academically brilliant, Gandhar was a consistent topper and was honored with his college's 'Best Student' award three times. This discipline naturally flowed into his music, earning him eight consecutive Gold Medals at University and National level festivals, standing first across all of India.

His talent has been recognized by the most prestigious institutions in the country. He is a recipient of the Government of India's CCRT Scholarship and the highly coveted NCPA Kesarbai Kerkar Scholarship.

Gandhar's talent has been honored with the Hridayesh Award (presented by the legendary Kishori Amonkarji), the Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Award, and the Chaturanga Award and many other national and international awards.

While deeply rooted in tradition, Gandhar is a truly global musician. In 2017, he made waves in the international music scene through a landmark collaboration with American Western musician Justin Tracy. Their work on the album 'Mumbai Night' was a stunning fusion of cultures that captured the attention of the global recording industry, leading to its selection as an entrant for the world's highest musical honor—the Grammy Awards. This achievement highlights Gandhar's rare ability to translate the complex language of Indian Raagas for a diverse, worldwide audience.

Across the world, Gandhar has moved audiences with his soulful voice. From iconic domestic stages like Kala Ghoda, Ustad Allah Rakha Jayantee, and the Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki Mohotsav, to international venues across the USA, Canada, and Thailand, he has become a voice of his generation. You may also recognize him from his portrayal of the young Pt. D.V. Paluskar in the documentary film 'Gaanyogi'.

Sanjay Deshpande is a talented Tabla Player based in Pune, INDIA. He was born in a music loving family and was introduced to the art of playing Tabla under Late Pt. Sabade at Pune Bharat Gayan Samaj. Later he took Taleem (lessons) from the renowned Tabla player Pt. Suresh Talwalkar of Delhi-Farookabad Gharana, in a Guru Shishya Parampara. He also had the privilege of understanding the beauty of Punjab Gharana under the guidance of world renowned Tabla maestro Ustad. Alla Rakha Khan Saheb and Pt. Yogesh Samsi. At present he is taking Taleem from Pt. Vivek Joshi.

Sanjay is recipient of the coveted 'Ahmedjaan Thirakwaa Scholarship' for Solo Performance. He has accompanied renowned artists like Smt. Vasundhara Komkali, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Pt. Smt. Malini Rajurkar, Pt. Jasraj, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pt. Dinkar Kaikini, Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Smt. Veena Sahastrabudhe and many such great artists.

He has performed in major conferences such as Sawai Gandharwa Music Festival Pune, Paluskar Smarak Conference, Shankarlal Samaroha in New Delhi, I.T.C. Sangeet Sammelan, Dowerlane Conference, Kolkata.

Sanjay has performed abroad in Countries like U.S.A, U.K, U.A.E, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Russia, Belgium, Holland, Qatar, Israel, South Korea etc. He has also participated in the 'World Vocal Festival' in Sweden.

He is empanelled as GURU at the Lalit Kala Kendra, University of Pune and Bharati Vidyapeeth Pune. He has number of recordings released. His fusion album 'Wind From Ayuta' with Korean musicians won the Best album award of the year - 2002 in South Korea.

Having imbibed primary lessons in music since childhood, Siddhesh has been privileged to receive guidance from his First Guru, Shri Sharad Mathkar in Goa and later, placed under the tutelage of Pt. Tulsidas Borkar, renowned Harmonium exponent and Guru.

The difficult and lesser known art of Jaltarang was taken up by Siddhesh with inspiration from Shri Sharad Mathkar, who personally crafted his first set of Jaltarang apparatus.

Siddhesh gained valuable knowledge about Instrumental recitals and depths of Classical Music from Pt. Tulsidas Borkar, enabling Siddhesh to present Jaltarang Recitals, a very rare occurence in Indian Classical Music. He has been the recipient of many eminent music scholarships including accolades by the Govt. of India and its H.R.D. Ministry and many other awards to add to his long list of achievements. He is presently employed as a classical music teacher at Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Mumbai.