Aditya Verma

Of Indian origins, raised in Montreal (Canada) and now living alternately in Toronto (Canada) and his native country, Aditya Verma has been on an ascending path since the late ‘90s. A virtuoso of the sarod, a fretless lute from Northern India, he performs classical ragas and accumulates collaborations in the field of world fusion. He tours North America, Europe and India regularly, often accompanied by tabla player Vineet Vyas. He has released albums on a number of small, hard-to-find world imprints. Verma grew up in Montreal. His parents were deeply involved in Indian traditions. His father began to teach him to play the tabla (traditional two-drum hand percussion) at an early age. In 1987 he moved to India to study classical music at the Maihar Senia Gharana. His teachers have included Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and sarod master Aashish Khan. When he came back to Canada he settled in Toronto where he soon built a following among world music enthusiasts. His virtuosity and charm soon got him on the world music festival circuit from coast to coast. In 1999 he performed a series of concerts in India and France with Vyas, Gaurav Mazumdar (sitar), an opera company and a chamber orchestra. A year later he performed accompanied by the Washington Symphony Orchestra in front of 500,000 people as part of a concert for world peace in Washington, DC. Also in 2000 he released the album Sarod on the label Oliver Sudden, still his most easily available record to date, and formed the trio Tantra with Vyas and guitarist Joyananda Anandasivam to explore a fusion of raga and jazz. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide