Qais Essar - Rabab Solo

Qais Essar (https://bit.ly/3fnmsQe) is a contemporary Afghan composer, instrumentalist and producer who channels his melodic designs through the rabab, a 2,500 year old instrument from Afghanistan. He has toured extensively, sharing his new genre of music nationally and internationally. Essar has released two LPs, four EPs and one live album. His first LP, The Green Language (2014), quickly became an Amazon #1 bestseller, followed by his second LP, Tavern of Ruin in 2016. He has contributed original music to feature films and recently was recruited by director Nora Twomey to compose an original song for her Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated film, The Breadwinner (produced by Angelina Jolie). His song won the Canadian Screen Award for “Achievement in Music – Best Original Song” for his piece The Crown Sleeps, which marks an indelible achievement for the young musician and composer.

More about Qais can be found here: https://bit.ly/3fnmsQe

Accompanied by:
Tejas Tope (Tabla)
https://bit.ly/3bsCAyT
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A journalist was attending a grand dinner in the honor of Sir Winston Churchill on his 75th birthday. While surrounded by the invited, distinguished guests from all over the world, a newspaper reporter decided to put Mr. Churchill on the spot with a very sensitive question with devious intentions. “Mr. Churchill, which (who?) is the woman in your life you really loved the most?”, he asked loudly so the entire hall could hear his questions. There was pin drop silence. Mr. Churchill, after waiving “It’s OK” to the guards, decided to answer the question. After contemplating for a few seconds, with a great sigh and a smile on his face, he said, “My mother”. This response deflated the high expectation of something spicy and newsworthy. The audience then resumed the party. The journalist loved this response from Mr. Churchill.
The next day, the journalist gathered all his friends and insisted that they ask him the question: “Which is the woman in your life you really loved the most?”. His friends knew that this journalist was a bit of a weird guy. After making fun of him over the question, one of the friends finally asked him. The journalist after contemplating for a few seconds, with a great sigh and a smile on his face, said: “Mr. Churchill’s mother”.

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Jokes aside, KUSSUM MAHOTSAV was dedicated to my late mother, Kusum Kulkarni (her maiden name) or Malati Tope (married name) as my gratitude for all the good she instilled in my family and I. She was an amazing woman who dedicated over 40 years of her life first as a Teacher, and then as a Principal of a high school. It is also equally dedicated to my father Madhukarrao Tope, who has had an equal role in instilling goodness in my family and I, who dedicated his life as a Teacher first and then as a Principal. And lastly, it is dedicated to all the outstanding musicians and dancers in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut; musicians from the rest of the USA and Canada, and the visiting senior professional musicians from India on their tour of the USA who blessed this festival.KUSSUM MAHOTSAV (September 7-9,13-16, 2018) was the longest, if not, among the longest Hindustani Classical Music festivals ever organized in the USA. Over the 7 days, there were over 70 some concerts held at the beautiful venue of Sri Venkateshwera Temple, or Balaji Temple, or Bridgewater Temple in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The following is the list of musicians and dancers who participated in KUSSUM MAHOTSAV. Here is a quick glance of the dates and times of the concert.

https://www.kussummahotsav.com/

My very special thanks go to my friends Priti & Ajoy Joshi for the spirit in which they supported me, Mark Fitzgerald of Rosewood Sound for his outstanding audio support in bringing the music to the audience, my friend Vivek Nandiwad who very painstakingly recorded these videos in addition to
supporting the concert in a meaningful way, Clair Edwards my assistant from UK for marketing and
communications, to the Bridgewater Temple, Consulate General of India, and to Clarence Pong for his hard work in bringing the Master Video and the individual videos to all of you.

I want to thank once again each and every musician and dancer for their dedication to their respective art and for their outstanding presentation. My special thanks to all outstanding accompanying musicians – tabla, harmonium, taanpura players who supported the lead musicians, emcees, volunteers, decorators, and last, but not the least, the audience and music lovers from all over the world. Thank you all for your support. God willing, we will do it again someday...

Achyut Tope, the Organizer of Kussum Mahotsav