If You Are In New York On March 20 Don't Miss Ravi Shankar Ensemble

The multi-generational ensemble of world-class musicians is dedicated to the masterful compositions and enduring legacy of the legendary sitar-musician.

IMAGE: Pandit Ravi Shankar. Photograph: Kind courtesy worldmusicinstitute.org

Ravi Shankar Ensemble Debuts in NYC

Honouring sitar-maestro Ravi Shankar's enduring legacy, wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka Shankar have curated the Ravi Shankar Ensemble, a multi-generational ensemble of world-class musicians dedicated to the masterful compositions and enduring legacy of the legendary sitar-musician.

Led by Shubhendra Rao the ensemble will feature him on the sitar, Aayush Mohan on the sarod, Ravichandra Kulur on the flute, Padma Shankar on the violin and vocals, Anubrata Chatterjee on the tabla and B C Manjunath on the mridangam.

The World Music Institute event will take place at the Town Hall in New York City on March 20, 2026, at 8 pm EDT.

Key Points

Sukanya and Anoushka Shankar curated a multi-generational ensemble to honor Ravi Shankar's enduring musical legacy and compositions.
The tribute concert will be held at The Town Hall, New York City, on March 20, 2026.
The program includes archival visuals and performances of Ravi Shankar's iconic compositions by world-class musicians.

IMAGE: Ravi Shankar performs at Woodstock. Photograph: Kind courtesy Markgoff2972/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons

In its debut tour, the ensemble will present a special programme featuring visual elements from the Ravi Shankar archives alongside a dynamic selection of the maestro's soul-stirring music.

Bharat Ratna Ravi Shankar (1920-2012), born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, is the world's best-known exponent of Hindustani classical music, but his early grounding was not in music but in dance.

A part of his older brother Uday Shankar's dance troupe, Ravi Shankar spent his youth touring India and Europe as a dancer.

It was only at the age of 18 that he gave up dancing to pursue a career in music, studying the sitar for seven years under the rigorous tutelage of Ustad Allauddin Khan, living in his gurukul.

His fellow students were Khan's children Ali Akbar Khan and Roshanara Khan, the latter subsequently becoming his first wife Annapurna Devi.

IMAGE: Ravi Shankar and George Harrison in Los Angeles, California, 1967. Photograph: Kind courtesy John Malmin, Los Angeles Times/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons

Ravi Shankar's Global Musical Legacy

His public debut on the sitar was in December 1939, performing a jugalbandi (duet) with Ali Akbar Khan on the sarod.

After completing his musical training in 1944, Ravi Shankar moved to Bombay and did musical stints with the Indian People's Theatre Association (he recomposed the music for the popular song Saare Jahan Se Achcha), His Master's Voice, before moving to New Delhi where he worked as a music director for All India Radio from February 1949 till January 1956.

At AIR he founded the Indian National Orchestra and composed for it, combining Western and Indian classical instrumentation.

Subsequently he was music director for several Hindi movies including Godaan and Anuradha, and his music for Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy put him on the international map.

Starting 1956, Ravi Shankar began to tour Europe and America, playing and teaching Indian classical music, his association with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and Beatles guitarist George Harrison marking a fresh start for an Indian musician.

His influence on Harrison helped popularise the use of Indian instruments in Western pop music in the latter half of the 1960s, and Ravi Shankar engaged Western music by writing compositions for sitar and orchestras and touring the world in the 1970s and 1980s.

IMAGE: Ravi Shankar performs in Delhi, March 2009. Photograph: Kind courtesy Alexandra Ignatenko/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons

Bharat Ratna and other honours

As his fame spread far and wide honours and accolades were quick to follow

He was a recipient of numerous prestigious musical accolades, including a Polar Music Prize and four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for The Concert for Bangladesh in 1973, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for the blockbuster Gandhi (1982).

He was conferred India's highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna in 1999, France's Légion d'honneur, a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, 18 honorary doctorates, and five Grammy Awards, including a rare Lifetime Achievement Award.

From 1986 to 1992, Ravi Shankar served as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, and continued to perform till the very end.

The Ravi Shankar Ensemble is part of WMI's 40th Anniversary Legacy Series featuring artists who have played an integral role in the 40-year history of WMI, have been frequently presented by WMI throughout the years, and have significantly contributed to the organization's standing in New York's cultural landscape.

IMAGE: Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar at a Festival of Indian Music to celebrate 60 years of Independence at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Photograph: Kind courtesy David/Gloucester/UK/wikipedia.org/Creative Commons