Ritesh Das (born 9 June 1957 in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) is a

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player who has been teaching and composing music since the early 1970s. He is the founder and artistic director of the critically acclaimed

Toronto Tabla Ensemble The Toronto Tabla Ensemble (TTE) is a non-profit charitable organization founded by Artistic Director and tabla master Ritesh Das. The performing ensemble has toured Canada coast-to-coast six times, toured Australia in 2006, and India in 2011. ...

Biography

Early life

Ritesh Das was born in Kolkata, West Bengal to parents Nrityacharya Prohlad Das and Smt. Nilima Das. He is the brother of renowned

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

dancer, Late Pandit Chitresh Das. Das graduated from Don Bosco High School in 1975 and went on to study commerce at

City College, Kolkata City College is a composite fully state government-aided public college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Established in 1881, it is one of the heritage institutions of Kolkata, and played a prominent role in the wake of the Bengal ...

from 1976 to 1978. His parents opened a music and dance academy, Nritya Bharati, the first of its kind in Kolkata, which allowed him immediate exposure to music and tabla at a young age. His musical studies began in 1972, studying tabla with

Pandit Shankar Ghosh Pandit Shankar Ghosh (10 October 1935 – 22 January 2016) was an Indian tabla player from the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music. He was an occasional Hindustani classical singer where he followed the Patiala gharana. He wa ...

, vocals with T.L. Rana, and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

with M.D. Mullick. When Das was 22 years old, he moved to

Los Angeles, USA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, to be a part of the AMAN Folk Ensemble. While in California, he served an apprenticeship under

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

and then began studying tabla with his current guru, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri at the

Ali Akbar College of Music The Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM) is the name of three schools founded by Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan to teach Indian classical music. The first was founded in 1956 in Calcutta, India. The second was founded in 1967 in Berkeley, Californi ...

Toronto Tabla Ensemble (1991 - Present)

In 1987, Das moved to Toronto where he began teaching tabla on a full-time basis. In 1991, he formed the

. Along with the ensemble, he has nationally toured Canada six times as well as touring Australia in 2006 and India in 2011. They have performed at numerous jazz and folk festivals, and have also appeared on

CBC News Network CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

and

Much Music Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

. In 2000, their album, Firedance, received a nomination for the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Best Global Album. Along with the Ensemble, Das has released eight CDs to date and is currently composing music for the Ensemble's ninth CD. In 2016 Ritesh Das was awarded the Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition through Toronto Arts Foundation. Das served on the music committee of the Toronto Arts Council from 1996 to 1998.

Nritya Bharati Global, Ritesh Das Academy for Indian Arts

Das is the director of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble School of Tabla, with 3 teaching locations in the Greater Toronto Area. His classes are designed to produce professional tabla players, as many of his students have become. Das recently launched the first Toronto Tabla Youth Ensemble featuring young artists between 8 and 15 years of age who he continues to train. In 2014, Das founded the Indian Diaspora Festival, a yearly event which features artists of Indian music and dance trained in the West. In addition to tabla classes, Ritesh Das also hosts

kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

, orissi and

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

classes, as well as workshops, and small performances at his Centre for Indian Arts

Discography

Toronto Tabla Ensemble

*''Toronto Tabla Ensemble'' (1996) *''Rupehli Tarannum'' - LP of Ismaili Geets with Anaar Kanji & Pt. Krishna Mohan Bhatt (1983) *''Second Palla'' (1998) *''Firedance'' (2000) *''Weaving'' (2002) *''Compilations'' (2007) *''Alankar'' (2008)

Selected Performing Experience

1992–present Founder and artistic director, Toronto Tabla Ensemble 1987–present Various solo appearances 1988-2011 Founding member, Artistic co-director, M-DO Kathak Toronto 2006-2009 Toured Canada, USA, Europe, Australia with Jeff Martin and

The Tea Party The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band with industrial rock, blues, progressive rock, and Middle Eastern music influences, dubbed " Moroccan roll" by the media. Active throughout the 1990s and up until 2005, the band re-formed in 2011. The Tea P ...

1994-1995 Founding member, composer, performer, Humdrum Toronto 1979-1985 Lead Percussionist, AMAN Folk Ensemble Los Angeles, California

Selected Recent Activity

2016 Received Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition 2016 Celebrated 25 Years of Toronto Tabla Ensemble with a pair of Concerts at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto 2015 Collaboration concerts with Japanese Taiko group: Nagata Shachu 2014 Founded Indian Diaspora Festival 2014 Music licensed for documentary: ‘No easy walk to freedom’ by Nancy Nicol 2012, 2013 Music licensed for TD Bank Visa commercials 2011 Music licensed for Aga Khan Museum website 2008 Composed opening music for CBC Metro Morning News

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Ritesh Tabla players Indian music educators Canadian percussionists Hindustani instrumentalists Living people 1957 births Don Bosco schools alumni City College, Kolkata alumni University of Calcutta alumni