Soumendra Goswami
Domain: Sitar | Educator | LIVE Concert Performer | Community Builder | Recording Studio Artist | Collaborator
Genre: #IndianClassical #sitar #improvisation #baithak #singles #albums #ensemble
Location: Noida, India
Journey
EXPLORING LOVE FOR MUSIC THROUGH TABLA, VOCALS, AND SITAR
Soumendra Goswami is born in a musical family. His mother Smt. Aparna Goswami is a vocalist and a music teacher who teaches Hindustani classical music. As a toddler, Soumendra could identify the Notes by listening to melodies sung by his mother’s students, so he received training in vocal music from his mother, and he would also fiddle with his father’s Sitar. His father Shri Bidyut Goswami, who is one of the first disciples of Pandit Kushal Das. At a tender age of 3, Soumendra started learning Tabla from his maternal uncle Shri Shankar Debnath, a senior disciple of Late Pandit Anando Gopal Bandopadhyay of the Benaras Gharnana and later on under the guidance of Shri Shambhu Nath Roy, a senior disciple of Pandit Abhijeet Banerjee of the Farukkhabad Gharana. Soumendra bagged the national-level junior scholarship award from CCRT, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India.
Subsequently, he started learning Sitar at the age of 7 under the guidance of renowned sitar maestro Pandit Kushal Das, of the Senia Maihar Gharana and his father. Apart from being a full-time Indian classical musician now, he is also keenly interested in the world of science and technology and is an avid reader of Physics, emerging technologies and innovations.
SLEEPING THROUGH THE NOTES, WAKING UP TO MELODIES: HIS WORLD OF SITAR
As a surprise to many, Soumendra started giving public performances in Sitar as early as he was 10 years old. One of his first performances was at Sangeet Sandhya, in Noida; when he was 12 or 13 years old, he played Sitar in the orchestra FULMOON, of Pandit Kushal Das, at Birla Sabhagar, Kolkata, India. The first 3 skills that he quickly mastered was: (1) Jhala, (2) Gamak, and (3) Palta. He believes that the 2 essential skills as a Sitar player are: (a) command on Sur, (b) How you present a raag and deliver the emotions
Soumendra has been pursuing both academics and music education, with elan, as is evident from his credentials listed below:
- M.A. Hindustani Music, Sitar, Faculty of Music, University of Delhi, 2020 – 2022
- Sangeet Bivakar, Sitar, Bangiya Sangeet Parishad, Rabindra Bharati University, 2020-2021
- Sangeet Shiromani, Diploma, Sitar, Faculty of Music, University of Delhi, 2018 – 2020
- B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, 2016-2019
- Sangeet Visharad, Tabla, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, 2008-2014
- AISSCE CBSE, Amity International School, 2015
By the end of his college years, Soumendra had participated in 60 winning teams in several music competitions, by virtue of his Sitar playing and a passion to nurture his music in a variety of formats, with multiple musicians, and teams.
LEARNING BY LISTENING: A PRODIGAL ORIENTATION IN MUSIC
One quality that makes Soumendra stand out from the rest is his inexplicable ability to grasp and learn Sitar skills and nuances just by listening to Sitar playing of legends and of his Guru. One of the noteworthy incidents defines this extraordinary ability:
He was scheduled to perform LIVE in a week’s time, when the organizer wanted him to perform at a time when he only knew raag Yaman, and was studying in Class V or VI, and was just taking taalim in sargam lessons, basic palta exercises, etc., and since his Guru was in Kolkata, while he lived in Noida, regular offline classes were not possible, and he would visit Guruji only during summer and winter vacations, to receive taalim on techniques and nurtured his musical creativity. So, for the concert in a week’s time, he spoke with his Guru, over phone call; his Guru explained how to structure his performance, create small taans, perform some jhaala – which is one of Soumendra’s strong skills, and over 1 or 2 phone calls, he was prepared for the LIVE concert. Also, his father has always been there to guide him on the Sitar performance.
This incident prepared him to tackle challenges and a strong aptitude towards grasping music, and shaped his musicianship in a big way. Learning by listenin – eventually became his predominant strength and helped him quickly evolve as a sought-after professional Sitarist.
FUN FACT: Soumendra doesn’t have any notebook of music lesson notes, or any theory material of his taalim with his Guru 
YOUNG PERFORMING ARTIST OF CHOICE IN INDIA AND ABROAD
We discovered Soumendra from one of his Sitar performances available online, and we have first hand experience of witnessing his teaching prowess, which instantly impressed us and immensely benefited the concerned student, who looks forward to attending every online class that Soumendra conducts. His professional accomplishments are highlighted below:
- Received Scholarship to Young Artists (SYA) in the field of Sitar from Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, 2022
- UGC NET Qualified for Assistant Professorship, Subject – Music, 2022
- Performed at the Khajuraho Literature Festival, Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, 2022
- Composed and released SOMAD, his first Single, in collaboration with Maadhavan Bhattacharjee, 2021
- Performed at the Hamsadhwani Youth Festival organized by Pt. Guru Pada Sewa Dham, Lucknow, 2019
- Lecture Demonstrator, Project Anjuman, CreateNet Education, 2018-2019
- Performed at the Youth Festival organized by Dev Gandhar School of Music, Delhi, 2018
- Invited for Performance and Demonstration of a Research Paper at Nazrul Convention, Virginia, USA, 2018
- Performed at Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Yuva Sangeet Sammelan, Noida, 2017
- Performed at the Annual Concert of Kalashree Music Circle, “Bijaya Sammilani”, Kolkata, 2016
- Scholarship in Hindustani Classical Music (Tabla) from CCRT, Ministry of Culture, 2010-2016
- School Award for Best Musician, “Sudev Best Musician Award”, Amity International School, Noida, 2015
- Pandit Laxman Rao viz Dada Pande Award, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, 2014
- Performed at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, 2014
- Trayambak Daaji Joshi Award, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, 2014
- Shri Malti Gunthey Award, Bageshree Institute of Music, Greater Noida, 2012
- Performed at All India Radio’s (AIR) Junior Artiste Programme, Delhi, 2009
Over the past decade from 2013 till 2023, Soumendra has experienced transformational growth in his musical mindset. Initially, he would listen to a lot of Indian classical music of legends such as Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and he also listened to western music and popular Band music of Linking Park, Nirvana, Dream Theatre, and others, all of which shaped his musicality, which he demonstrates now, in his repertoire. After graduating Class 12th, Soumendra was more aggressively listening to Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, sometimes, all throught the days, and he knows by heart the taans of some of his famous recordings, like raag Jaijawanti and Kausi Kanada.
Moreover, Soumendra’s interest in Physics enhanced his understanding of the instrument, the soundscape, the tone, and he can relate concept of frequency with 22 shrutis in Indian music.
One of the breakthrough moments happened in 2017, when his Guru asked him to play Sitar for his Foundation “Kalasri Music Circle”, the annual programme on Guru Purnima, he explained the aspects of performances and Soumendra had 4-5 classes on the same. During these classes, he understood the existence of music between notes, and he realized that a simple shift from Tivra M to G could make a world of difference and create an emotion among audience. Soumendra believes in never memorizing his concert that he prepares to perform.
Also, he realized that somethings that happen on stage are impromptu, and one can never be prepared for that; and that could become the crux of the whole performance; something that may not come from riyaz or effort. He says, “Faith in your music and in yourself is necessary”.
His mother Smt. Aparna Goswami has been teaching at Sur Sargam Institute of Music, and many of her students graduated from the institute and pursued music as career. In 2022, in collaboration with his mother, Soumendra launched his “Siddhatva Foundation” , as an ode to perfection; and conducted the first Baithak in the month of March 2023. He is dedicated to build his legacy of music with complete devotion and professional execution standards.
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