Ashwin Batish is a composer, sitar and tabla player, teacher of music, and a recording artist. Over the past 45 years, he has taught at San Jose State University, Mills College, UCSC and Cabrillo College, and at his Santa Cruz based private school - the Batish Institute of Indian Music and Fine Arts. He is the son of Bollywood music director, composer, author, and vocalist Pandit S.D. Batish, who was invited to teach Indian Music at UCSC's Merrill College at the university's inception in the early 60s. Presently, Ashwin is on the music faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz campus.
The Batish Institute was formed in 1973. It was Ashwin and his father's vision to aid Western and Eastern students' understanding of Indian Music. Starting in 1974, they spent almost 35 years researching the numerous ragas of the Hindustani and Carnartic music systems of Indian music. This effort resulted in the authorship of fifteen pedagogical texts on the music of India. Ashwin helped his father compose, arrange, record and produce almost 5,000 compositions with the aim of making them a tool for learning Indian music.
Ashwin and his father have also directed and produced numerous self-help tutor videos to teach Indian musical instruments such as the Tabla, Sitar, Dilruba, Dholak, Tanpura, Vichitra Veena, and Harmonium. He is also the editor of an online music magazine called "RagaNet" where he posts regular lessons on sitar, tabla, singing, harmonium etc. along with articles pertaining to Indian music theory and practice.
In 1986, Ashwin released a critically acclaimed album called "Sitar Power" where he composed and recorded raga based tunes on Western electronic rhythm and instrumental tracks. It was the first of its kind and was hailed with helping rekindle worldwide interest in the sitar. Ashwin followed this with two more albums that fused Indian classical raga with elements of pop, rock, jazz, calypso, funk, R&B and classical Western orchestra. Today he leads a band called Sitar Power that features his son Keshav Batish on tabla and drum set, his sister Meena on vocals and his daughter Mohini, Neha and Uma on vocals.
Instruments Played: Sitar and Tabla
Engage with Ashwin on his Social Media at: Website ; Facebook ; Instagram ; YouTube
