Shankar Tucker‘s original music blends the sounds of Indian Classical music… Read Full Bio ↴Shankar Tucker‘s original music blends the sounds of Indian Classical music, Jazz, and popular music to create a seamless synthesis of cultures and traditions. As a clarinetist performing Hindustani classical music, he has shared the stage with such legendary artists as Zakir Hussain and Hariprasad Chaurasia.

Shankar currently studies with Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia in Mumbai, India. After graduating from New England Conservatory, he was awarded a grant by the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund to pursue his study of applying Hindustani music to the clarinet. While in India, he has performed at major venues in Mumbai, Chennai, and Pune, as well as the Taj Hotel in Hyderabad.

Shankar’s experience with classical western music includes performances in Boston at Symphony Hall, City Hall, and Jordan Hall, and the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. At New England Conservatory, Shankar studied with Tom Martin of the Boston Symphony, sitarist Peter Row and percussionist Jerry Leake. While in school, both of Shankar’s ensembles, a classical woodwind quintet and an Indian Fusion group, were awarded “honors” status by the Conservatory, a recognition of excellence given to only a few groups each year.

Shankar has toured with the spiritual leader and renowned humanitarian “Amma” Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, performing with her bhajan ensemble in 12 major cities across the US, including Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Toronto, and New York City. While on tour with Amma, he had the opportunity to perform with David Balakrishnan of the Turtle Island String Quartet and study with saxophonist George Brooks. Shankar recorded an album of his fusion compositions entitled Uplift, which was premiered on Amma’s 2009 US tour. Through benefit concerts and sales of the CD, he raised several thousand dollars, which was put towards a charity helping farmers in Southern India.