Vijay Venkat & John Ball

Vijay Venkat is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, performer and composer specialising in the violin, viola, flute, vichitra veena (an ancient Indian fret-less slide instrument) in the South Indian Classical (Carnatic) music style. Vijay has performed at major musical festivals and organisations in India and around the world, including the Madras Music Academy, Autumn Festival- Paris, Soest – Netherlands, Manchester International Festival and the Summer Solstice Festival of South Asian Arts to name a few. Vijay has also composed a specially commissioned composition for the members of the BBC Philharmonic orchestra and performed with them on vichitra veena. In 2015, he played with the members of the BBC Philharmonic orchestra for the first ever BBC Music Day live, creating new themes and music.

John Ball is an experienced performer and teacher of North Indian music specialising in the tabla and the 100 stringed santoor. He is currently World Musician in Residence at the University of Sheffield. He has received thorough and intensive santoor training under the guidance of Sri Harjinderpal Singh and as a performer he regularly accompanies high profile Indian musicians and dancers including Kathak maestro Pandit Pratap Pawar and also plays in several innovative projects including Rafiki Jazz, Ruhaani and Sarathy Korwar.

Roots Friday 2018

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