Shubhendra Rao

Still in that space emotionally! Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to be there & put up this concert. #brazil #riodejaneiro #sitar #music #theatromunicipal #copacabana #musicislife #dreamproject

Today’s Vasant Panchami was a very special one as we had a new beautiful idol of Goddess Saraswati who came to our home just a few days ago! Getting ready for the afternoon when our students, friends & others would come for the celebration, I started cleaning my old Surbahar that I had not played in for over 3yrs. It was just an outpour of emotions I felt, playing in front of HER!! There is a beautiful story associated with how I got this 100yr old Surbahar. It was a gift to our family from the very famous Kannada film star Dr.Raj Kumar who was a great admirer of the Sitar & because of his close association with our family through my cousin Chi Udayashankar, the famous lyricist, story & dialogue writer, Dr Raj Kumar would come home late at night to listen to me!! Don’t know how he obtained this Surbahar himself but he thought our family deserved it!! This Surbahar is a very rare one made by the original KanaiLal brothers & had the original flat frets that I changed recently.#celestial #saraswati #goddess #divine #surbahar #basantpanchami #classicalmusic #divinemusic #antique #filmstar #filmindustry #drrajkumar

Green Room practice before last concert at Kamani auditorium

We are looking forward to performing tonight in Kingston with the Rao Trio. What a wonderful finale to the most fabulous introduction we could have gotten to Jamaica!!!!! The best locations , hotels and activities we could have dreamt of. We cannot thank you enough Jamaican High Commissioner His Excellency Jason Hall and his friends and colleagues here in Jamaica. It is our first trip, but we already look forward to coming back to the country, culture and most importantly people of Jamaica. @jasonkeats4

Montego Bay in Jamaica it is!!! Always been a dream to come to this country, part of the West Indies that I’ve grown up hearing about through cricket of course. To be here and getting ready to perform few concerts as a family—- wow! The land of Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, Chris Gayle. #jamaica #dreamcometrue #icons #caribbean

Graduation Day 2026 Ishaan. What a proud moment indeed. How have the 4yrs flown by? It just seems a few months ago when we dropped # this 17yr old boy and we take back a beautiful 21yr old young man with us!! How amazing this journey has been for Ishaan, growing into such a sensitive human being who’s loved by one and all and developing into an artist who’s creating music for the world he can live in ( like the old African saying!). A week after being at Berklee in 2022 when Ishaan said that, for the first time in his life, he could be unapologetically himself, Saskia and I knew that he was at the right place where he needed to be. Berklee has been a wonderful journey where he got the space, freedom and encouragement to search within himself and move forward on the path that he wanted to. His professors loved him and he was on the Dean’s List every year. Proud of you Ishaan. Next journey— your Master’s at the New England Conservatory and can’t wait to see where you go from here. Love you to the moon and back ❤️❤️ #graduation #berkleecollegeofmusic #piano #newenglandconservatory mas

"Echoes of a Legend: A Tribute to Pt. Ravi Shankar" 5/3/2025 @bhavanus @suromurchhana With: @shubsitar @indiancello @indranil.mallick.14 A bit of extra coverage, for an extraordinary evening concert. Superb. Context: @snehartsny #indianclassical #newyorkclassicalmusic #livemusicnyc #chambermusic #classicalconcert #raga #sitar #tabla #indianmusic #rhythmandraga #hindustaniclassicalmusic #concertphotography

"Echoes of a Legend: A Tribute to Pt. Ravi Shankar" 5/3/2025 @suromurchhana Romanti Auditorium Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 305 7th Ave, 17th Floor New York, NY 1 of... a fair few to come. This deep homage and tribute featured: Pandit Shubhendra Rao (sitar) Srimati Saskia Rao De Haas (cello) Indranil Mallick (tabla) This evening's revelations were just incredible. Dramatic opening statements by stellar vocalist Andrew Shantz and Anirban Chakraborty on harmonium. I hadn't heard harmonium live, and can't imagine a better introduction. Superb tabla by Manav Khurana, more on him later. I've very little experience with the singing on offer here. The soaring, mesmerizing melismas hint at scales with many more tones available in Western music. But the voice also needed to render expression, vibration and emphasis at the same time. A pleasure to hear it. The sitar playing here, with extended forays into the upper limits of pitch, was astounding. And I'm not sure words will do the Dutch master cellist any justice. When I hear the show would feature the pairing of cello and sitar, I thought of a sublime bass drone scenario similar to what a tanpura might offer. Never, ever have I been so wrong about anything. I have not heard the cello played in the way it was this evening. Counterpoint against sitar, riposte, call and response. Dueling, embracing. There were outbursts here that one might assume were only possible on sitar. The dynamism on display here was startling and enrapturing. Brava, @indiancello Sincere Shoutouts: @shampachanda : friendly, welcoming. Thank you so much for granting me space to capture such memories. @iamsunnythakkar : lovely to meet you again. Sincere apologies: the brilliant @manavkhurana_ . YES, I had seen and heard him before. But at a different venue, with Kalyanjit Das (Chhandayan Center for Indian Music, 7/26/25). Excellent then, excellent now. For your consideration: @bhavanus @snehartsny @shubsitar @indiancello @indranil.mallick.14 @musiciananirban @shantzpantzdantz #livemusicnyc #chambermusic #indianclassical #newyorkclassicalmusic #raga #sitar #tabla #indianmusic #rhythmandraga #hindustaniclassical #concertphotography

New York it is! View of the Central Park from @jwmessexhouse where we are staying. Concert tomorrow for the wonderful organisation, @suromurchhana at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Ready for the stage 🙏

Starting the 2nd leg of my tour here in the US. Saskia and I are very happy to be back to perform for the @iaa_houston and Asia Society Houston, playing a special concert— celebrating 25yrs of our life and music together! We are joined by @gourisankartabla on Tabla. #concert #music #sitar #cello

22 years to the day and we feel your love and blessings everyday. One of the most gentle souls whose Guru Bhakti is unmatched. Celebrating his life and music with the 3rd Sitar Ramarao Utsav on Saturday, 5th December at Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Bangalore. Artists to be announced soon. #unmatched #devotion #gentle #celebration #lifeandmusic