Abhay Rustum Sopori & Nihar Mehta

Experience two distinguished musicians from the Indian classical music tradition as Abhay Rustum Sopori and Nihar Mehta come together at KoncertKirken.

Abhay Rustum Sopori hails from Srinagar in Kashmir and represents the long-established Sufiana Gharana. He comes from a family of santoor musicians whose musical heritage stretches back more than 300 years. Abhay was taught by his father, the renowned santoor master and Padma Shri recipient Bhajan Sopori, and his grandfather Shamboo Nath Sopori. He has also studied Western classical music at Washington University.

Abhay Sopori’s artistic work spans Indian classical music, Kashmiri Sufi music and folk music. He has collaborated with the conductor Zubin Mehta, Wiener Sängerknaben and musicians from Morocco, Iran, the USA and France, among others. He has performed at festivals and concert venues in numerous countries and has been designated an “Outstanding Artist” by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Nihar Mehta is a renowned tabla player with roots in a family that has contributed to Indian philosophy, literature and music for generations. Among other initiatives, the family is behind Saptak Festival in Ahmedabad, India’s longest-running classical music festival.

Nihar Mehta has lived in France since 2002, where he founded Association Saptak India. He has performed with a number of prominent Indian and Western musicians, including Shujaat Khan, Shahid Parvez, Kala Ramnath, Rakesh Chaurasia and Jordi Savall. He was also a close collaborator and tour organiser for the legendary tabla master Ustad Zakir Hussain for more than 12 years.

Together, Abhay Rustum Sopori and Nihar Mehta invite the audience into the rich world of Indian classical music, where the luminous sound of the santoor’s strings meets the tabla’s vibrant and nuanced rhythms.