Discover classical Indian arts and culture

The OHC’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities is cosponsoring two events this fall that feature classical Indian arts and culture.

The School of Music and Dance’s World Music Series presents Josh Feinberg performing North Indian classical music on sitar on Monday, October 7th at 7:30 p.m. in Beall Concert Hall. Josh Feinberg is an instructor of sitar and Indian instrumental music at Lewis and Clark College. As a young man he studied jazz but soon discovered, and became a devotee of, North Indian classical, or Hindustani, music. Hindustani music is usually performed vocally but instrumental forms have existed since ancient times. In recent decades, especially outside South Asia, instrumental Hindustani music is more popular than vocal music. Tickets, $12 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors, are available at tickets.uoregon.edu.

The Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, Folklore, and the School of Music and Dance present a Kathakali dance drama performance on Thursday, October 24th at 6 p.m. in Berwick Hall. Kathakali is a classical Indian dance drama from southwestern Kerala state. Known for its vibrant makeup and costuming, highly emotive acting style, and large, imposing movements, this visually impressive art form narrates stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Kathakali has been widely celebrated both inside and outside of India, and its acting techniques have been incorporated into modern theater training world wide. The performance is free and open to the public.