Kartik Seshadri

Sitar virtuoso Kartik Seshadri is internationally acclaimed as one of India’s outstanding musicians and the foremost disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. Kartik was hailed as a child prodigy by critics and prominent musicians when he began performing full-length solo recitals at the age of six. His initial training in music began with Shri Shankar Rao of All India Radio, who nurtured his precocious musical abilities. As a young genius, Kartik had an illustrious performing career, and in 1965 he met the world renowned maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was already a profound musical influence in his life. Kartik became a disciple of the maestro in 1974 and has since been receiving taleem (knowledge) steeped in the distinctive and pure styles of the senia, beenkar and dhrupad traditions.

As a soloist, Kartik performs extensively in major venues throughout India and abroad. His concerts in India frequently include prestigious festivals such as the Sangeeth Nataka Academy, Madras Music Academy, Indian Fine Arts Society, Saptak and Sancharini, establishing him as a musician of national importance. In the United States and Canada, Kartik’s recent solo engagements have included the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, World Music Institute, Asia Society, Vancouver Jazz Festival and Ravi Shankar’s 75th Birthday Celebrations. Kartik has had the added honor of accompanying Pandit Ravi Shankar in major concert halls throughout the world: India, Europe, Middle East, Japan, Mexico and the United States, including Carnegie Hall. His consistently brilliant performances are marked for their expressivity, rich tonal sensibility and exciting rhythmic intricacy.