The 2025 Ustad Amir Khan Music Festival took place on September 13th at the Historic Hoover Theater in San Jose. Scroll below to learn more about this year’s performing artists, and stay connected for updates on future events — including the 2026 festival.
Ustad Amir Khan Music Festival
2025
PERFORMERS
MORNING SESSION
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Gunjan has been immersed in the world of music and dance since the age of three, and began her formal training in Hindustani Classical Music at just five years old. Her musical journey began in Dubai under the guidance of Sri Satish Gadagkar (now based in the Bay Area). Over the years, she continued her vocal training with Smt. Anupama Joshi, and later began her Visharad studies under Smt. Arati Pathak, a disciple of Vidushi Veena Sahasrabuddhe.
After moving to the Bay Area, Gunjan continued to deepen her training with Smt. Suparna Dangi and Pt. Hemant Pendse. She is currently a devoted student of Smt. Shubhangi Sakhalkar, a master vocalist of the Kirana Gharana and the founder of Intonation Foundation, under whose tutelage she continues to grow.
Gunjan is also a dedicated Kathak student of Smt. Anuradha Nag, and this parallel training in classical dance has given her a unique lens through which to appreciate and interpret Indian classical music.
During the global pandemic, Gunjan launched her own YouTube channel and Instagram presence, transforming a personal passion into a creative outlet to share the joy and richness of music with a broader audience.
Outside her musical pursuits, Gunjan is an academic support counselor and educator at Santa Clara University. Her combined passion for music and education inspired her to create Little Ustaads—a unique early childhood program that introduces children ages 0 to 5 to the beautiful world of Indian classical music.
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Sriram and Bharat began learning the sitar at a very young age — Sriram at 6 and Bharat at just 5 — and have been dedicated students of the instrument for the past 12 years. They have been learning under the expert guidance of Ms. Joanna Mack, Mr. Bruce Hamm, and Pandit Partha Chatterjee.
Sriram is a recent graduate of Gunn High School in Palo Alto, and Bharat is currently a senior there.
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Hailing from Dharwad, Nachiketa Yakkundi was initiated into Hindustani vocal music by his parents. His formal study began in Madras under Shri B. N. Simha, and later under Shri B. Hanumantachar. His rigorous and extended pedagogy came under the virtuoso Padma Bhushan Pandit Basavraj Rajguru. Nachiketa has performed in several cities across India and North America. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, he runs the Rajguru Sangeet Vidyaniketan school of music. In addition to the music of Nachiketa Yakkundi available on his website, there is a myriad of material available on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, and the wider internet.
AFTERNOON SESSION
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Hiten's introduction to the world of music started as a child listening to ghazals, thumris, bhajans and film music. He started learning Hindustani music with Shrimati Anupama Chandratreya in the bay area and has continued that journey for 25 years. This process of learning music has been an anchor, a discipline for self-development, a source of infinite joy and inspiration, a tool for understanding and reflection and a path to build community. He is eternally grateful to his Guru and to the innumerable other teachers/artists he has listened to and learnt from. He sincerely hopes to keep walking this path and be a life-long student of music.
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Saneyee Purandare Bhattacharjee began her musical education at the age of six under the tutelage of Smt. Prabha Bakshi in Pune. After moving to America at the age of 16, she continued learning with Smt. Usha Sathe, and then with Pt. Arun Dravid, in Orange County. In 2011 she became a disciple of Vidushi Padma Talwalkar In Pune, and has been under her frequent guidance, and also the guidance of her senior disciple Smt. Yashaswi Sirpotdar virtually since 2016. She also seeks guidance at times from Shri Srijan Deshpande and Smt. Shambhavi Dandekar.
As an artist, Saneyee has been featured in several public and private events in India and USA, like at the BMM 2024 convention in San Jose, the San Jose-Pune Sister Cities Foundation, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, concerts by the India Community center, Rangmanch Theater with a Cause, MMBA, East Bay Marathi Mandal, a fundraiser for the Ashavari Festival, and the Bayraagis to name a few.
She regularly composes musical pieces for Kathak artists and accompanies them on stage, like with Shambhavi’s international school of Kathak, and the Chitresh Das Institute. She has also been featured on Bolly 92.3 fm in a segment on semi classical film music. In 2013 she founded the Swaraswati School of Music in the Bay Area, California, to spread and nurture the love for Indian Classical Music among students. She teaches a thriving community of students, organizes Baithaks of upcoming and established artists, and workshops by visiting Gurus. Her students perform regularly at various community events under her guidance. Her school is the official center for Bharati Vidyapeeth School of Performing Arts Music Diploma exams in the Bay Area.
Along with nurturing classical traditions, Saneyee also enjoys collaborating with other world musicians to create an eclectic fusion of music. Her short fusion piece with Flamenco music at the Ethnic Dance Festival in SF in 2016, and her collaborative work titled “Melange” with Carnatic Classical music in 2024, earned her great appreciation from the Bay Area audiences.
Saneyee holds a degree in journalism, and also enjoys writing. She lives in Dublin, California with her husband and two kids, very close to her happy place - the Swaraswati Studio.
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Shri Satish Tare, affectionately known as Madhusudan Tare, embarked on his musical journey at the tender age of five under the tutelage of his father, the late Shri Madhav Tare, a distinguished disciple of the legendary Ustad Amir Hussain Khan. He later underwent rigorous training in Mumbai for nearly 15 years with the eminent Pt. Arvind Mulgaonkar, and further enhanced his musical depth under Pt. Vibhav Nageshkar during his Diploma in Music at Mumbai University. During his time in Pune, he also studied under Shri Vivek Joshi.
For the past 20 years, Satish has been pursuing advanced tabla training under the globally acclaimed maestro Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri at the Ali Akbar College of Music in California.
Satish has performed extensively across the United States—both as a soloist and accompanist—earning acclaim for his effortless blend of technical depth and musical sensitivity. A notable highlight of his career is winning first place in the Percussion Category at the prestigious South Central Zone Cultural Festival in 1989, where he competed alongside notable artists such as Rakesh Chaurasiya and Shaunak Abhisheki.
He has also accompanied an impressive roster of artists, including Ustad Iqbal Hussain Khan, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar, Pt. Ulhas Bapat, Pt. Satyasheel Deshpande, Pt. Ginde, Pt. Madhav Gudi, Smt. Neela Bhagwat, Shaunak Abhisheki, Pt. Hrudannath Mangeshkar, and Shri Ravindra Sathe. He was especially honored to participate in the Tabla Ensemble conducted by Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri in tribute to the 84th birthday of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in the USA.
Beyond performance, Satish is the visionary founder of Tabla Niketan, one of the most respected and widely known tabla schools in the Bay Area.
EVENING SESSION
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Sharwaree Tamhankar has been learning music from her childhood. She initially learned with her parents, Archana and Manoj Tamhankar. She is now learning under the guidance of Pandit Vijay Koparkar. Sharwaree has participated and received many awards in the local competitions in both classical as well as light genre. In July 2019, Sharwaree won the first prize in the Marathi Sa Re Ga Ma in the North America's Marathi convention held in Dallas. She has performed in various concerts in the Bay Area as well as other parts of the USA. She was also invited by Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri to perform Hindustani classical concert at the coveted Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California. Sharwaree also learned Kathak from Smt Anuradha Nag for more than 10 years. She recently graduated from UCLA with a degree in Cognitive Science.
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Advait Phadke is a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin and has been learning Santoor for 11 years from Dr. Dhananjay Daithankar -- senior disciple of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. He has won awards such as :
1st place in Maharashtra Mandal Bay Area’s Chaitradhun twice
1st place in One School At A Time (OSAAT’s) Vaadyavahini
He has also performed a 45 minute Santoor solo in MMBA’s art festival in the August of 2023 and performed solo in Guru Dr. Dhananjay Daithankar’s Gurupournima program in 2024.
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Shubhangi Sakhalkar is one of the founders of the Ustad Amir Khan Music Festival.
Shubhangi brings a brilliant pedigree to her music from the early years of tutelage from Mrs. Kunda Vaishampayan, followed by the devoted learning from the renowned artists, Dr. Prabha Atre and her present guru Smt. Padma Talwalkar and years of ardent "riyaaz".
She has performed in several musical circles and events in India and has accompanied her guru in concerts all over the country, including the highly regarded Savai Gandharva music festival.
A gold medallist with an M.A. degree in Hindustani classical music, Shubhangi believes in sharing the knowledge and raising the awareness of Indian Classical music by teaching her students for whom she is an inspiring mentor. She hopes for the Ustad Amir Khan Music Festival to provide opportunities to young artists in North America and to promote Hindustani Classical music appreciation throughout the world.
Accompanying Artists
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Vivek learnt art of harmonium solo and accompaniment from (late) Pt. Vinayakrao Kale, who was a Gwalior Gharana vocalist. Kalebua was a prolific composer, with more than 800 compositions of his own. Vivek has taught several of them to his disciples in bay area. Currently Vivek learns from Vidushi Seema Shirodkar as and when time permits. Seema hails from Mumbai, and is a disciple of Pandit Tulsidas Borkar.
Vivek has accompanied several noted artists such as Vidushi Veena Sahastrabuddhe, Vishushi Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, Vidushi Padma Talwalkar, Pt Arun Dravid, Pt Madhav Gudi. He has keen interest in tuning theory and applications. He co-created a unique changeable-reed harmonium with Hinge Brothers from Mumbai.
Vivek resides and teaches in the Bay Area.
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Ravi was initiated at a very early age into Tabla by Shri P. Anjaiah, in Hyderabad, India and has been studying Tabla under Maestro Swapan Chaudhuri at Ali Akbar College since 1990. He has been teaching Tabla in South Bay for the past 20 years.
Ravi was recipient of All India National Talent Search Scholarship and was a regular performer at AIR, Hyderabad. He has accompanied many noted artistes such as, Pt.Jasraj, Dr Balamurali Krishna, Smt.Lakshmi Shankar, Dr.L.Subramaniam, Shri Anup Jalota, Master Shashank etc. and has played on 14 CD recordings. -
Shripad Torvi was introduced to Tabla in early childhood by his uncle, vocalist Pt. Vinayak Torvi. His formal education began after coming to the US, where he learned from Shri. Abhinay Padhye for about 5 years. Shripad has accompanied many artists locally and visiting artists from India. He has been continuing his tabla lessons from Tabla Maestro Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri for the last 5 years. Shripad has accompanied artists at the Ustad Amir Khan Music Festival since it was founded.
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Prashant Phatak is a self taught harmonium player. He has accompanied many artists such as Shrimati Shubhangi Sakhalkar over the past 20 years. He is currently learning Hindustani vocal from Shrimati Sakhalkar.
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Manoj Tamhankar learnt harmonium in childhood from Shri Hari Baba Khare at Guhagar in Konkan Maharashtra. After his M. Tech, he learned Hindustani Vocal for 3 years in Mumbai and Pune. He has had opportunities to accompany many well known musicians such as Pandita late Dr. Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Pandita Late Laxmi Shankar, Pandit Vijay Koparkar, Pandita Shubhada Paradkar, Pandita Arati Ankalikar. He also has interest in composing music and has two music albums published, one by Times Music India and other by Jay Heramb Productions. With his wife Archana, he continues to learn and teach Hindustani Classical Music in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Shri Tanmay Bicchu is an accomplished and versatile tabla player. He has performed widely, both in India and abroad. Tanmayji feels especially grateful to have trained under the guidance of great gurus such as Shri Vinayak Naik, Shri Manohar Pimpalskar, Pandit Ramdas Palsule, Padmashri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and the legendary Ustad Zakir Hussain.
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Ashish’s musical journey began at the tender age of five under the guidance of his father, Shri Satish Tare. Today, he continues to hone his artistry with the legendary Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri ji at the prestigious Ali Akbar College of Music. Ashish holds a Sangeet Visharad in Tabla from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and a Master’s degree in Tabla from Solapur University.
Over the years, Ashish has had the honor of accompanying a host of celebrated artists from both the San Francisco Bay Area and India, including Prathamesh Laghate, Mugdha Vaishampayan, Shri Ganesh Desai, Smt. Rewa Natu, Pt. Himanshu Nanda, Shri Ravindra Sathe, Shri Charudatta Aphale, Pt. Aviraj Tayde, among many others.
His passion for performance has taken him to renowned festivals and competitions such as Maharashtra Mandal Ganeshutsav, Late Shri Madhav Tare Sangeet Mahotsav, Pt. Kashinath Bodas Music Festival, and Ud. Allarakha Birthday Festival. He has also earned recognition in prestigious competitions like Chaitradhun, Satyadevi Memorial Trust, Crescendo, and Zee TV’s International Indian Icon — where he was awarded 1st Runner-Up in the Instrumental category, receiving praise from Grand Master Bappi Lahiri.
Beyond performance, Ashish is equally passionate about nurturing the next generation of musicians. For over 13 years, he has been inspiring young talents at Tabla Niketan, where his students have consistently shined at local competitions and talent showcases.
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Mihika Maharana is a senior in high school at Basis independent Silicon Valley. She has been learning harmonium under the tutelage of Shri Vivek Datar for the last 5+ years. She is also a Hindustani vocalist and a disciple of Smt. Ashwini Khaparde for the last 11 years. She started her musical training at an early age and has won multiple awards in Vocal and Harmonium performances. She is no stranger to the Intonation platform, having performed at a past Ustad Amir Khan Festival and the Youth festival earlier this summer. She is very excited to be part of this community and perform at the festival once again!
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Preeti Tamhankar - A young and upcoming Hindustani Vocalist born and brought up in the bay area. Won many awards in the local and national singing competitions. Given numerous concerts in India as well as USA. Initial training from parents, and currently learning under Guru Pandit Vijay Koparkar. Also got to learn from Late Pandita Dr. Veena Sahasrabuddhe.
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Gandhar’s musical journey began at an early age under the guidance of his father, Shri Satish Tare, who laid the foundation of his training in tabla. He went on to receive advanced guidance from the distinguished maestro Pt. Arvind Mulgaonkar, and currently continues to refine his artistry under the legendary Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri ji at the prestigious Ali Akbar College of Music in California.
A Visharad in Tabla from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Gandhar combines rigorous training with a deep passion for performance. His playing is marked by clarity, balance, and a strong sense of traditional repertoire, infused with his own creative expression.
He has performed at various music festivals and gatherings, including a notable appearance at the Ustad Amir Hussain Khan Barsi in Dadar (2022), where his performance was warmly appreciated by audiences and peers alike.
With his dedication to the art form and commitment to carrying forward the legacy of his gurus, Gandhar represents the next generation of promising tabla artists.
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Tejas Venkateswaran began his musical journey at the age of seven, immersing himself in the rich traditions of Indian classical music. He studied tabla under the guidance of Ustad Arshad Syed Ji, a distinguished disciple of Ustad Allah Rakha Khan and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
Currently, Tejas is under the tutelage of Shri Vivek Pandya, a senior disciple of the esteemed Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, a maestro of the Farrukhabad gharana. Shri Pandya's lineage and global performances have significantly influenced Tejas's approach to tabla, blending traditional techniques with contemporary expressions.
Tejas has performed with many acclaimed musicians in the Bay Area, including Shri Nachiketa Yakkundi Ji, Prasad Bandharkar Ji, Vikram Shrowty Ji, and his own guru Ustad Arshad Syed Ji, among many others.
Professionally, Tejas works as a Machine Learning Engineer at Meta, where he applies his analytical skills to cutting-edge technologies. His dual passion for technology and music reflects a harmonious balance between logic and creativity.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Tejas is an avid enthusiast of billiards, rock climbing, chess, and nature exploration. These diverse interests enrich his life, providing a well-rounded perspective that he brings into his musical and professional pursuits.