Benares Gharana

Sandeep started learning from Kishan Maharaj, under the Indian Guru-shishya tradition, at the age of 9.^[9] Sandeep would travel on weekends from his home in Patna, to Benaras, where his Guru lived. Later, his family shifted to Benares so that his musical education could continue unhindered. After 11 years of learning the Benaras Gharana style of Tabla playing, Das moved to Delhi in 1990, to pursue his career as a professional Tabla player.^[10]

Indian Classical Music

In 1986, Sandeep made his stage debut in India (at the age of 15), with Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.^[11] He was three times the national drumming champion.^[10] He was also, at the time, the youngest drummer to be graded by Akashvani (radio broadcaster) (All India Radio).^[10][12] Das moved to Delhi in 1990 to pursue his career as a professional Tabla player, and began playing with prominent musicians such as Shubha Mudgal, Amjad Ali Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shivkumar Sharma, and Shujaat Khan among others.

World Music

In 1991, Das debuted outside India, with steel drum bands in Trinidad. In 2001, he performed with the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of Kurt Masur for a work composed by Kayhan Kalhor.^[13] In April 2012, he premiered a work written for him by eminent composer Evan Ziporyn, as a soloist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.^[14][15] His composition Tarang is the theme music for Blind Sight,^[16] a documentary about the first Mount Everest climb by six blind climbers.

He has been nominated for the Grammy Awards twice. In 2003, his recording The Rain was nominated for a Grammy in the World Music category.^[17][18][19] In this album, Sandeep Das collaborated with Shujaat Khan and Kayhan Kalhor. In 2009, a recording with Silk Road Ensemble got him a nomination for the Grammy in the Classical Crossover section for the album Off the Map. His track Sulvasutra, composed by Evan Ziporyn,^[20] features in this album.^[21][22]

Silk Road Project

Sandeep has composed for and performed internationally with the Silk Road Ensemble of Yo-Yo Ma since the group's founding in 2000.^[23][24] When he started playing with the Silk Road, Yo-Yo Ma was surprised to learn that, Das did not read music scores, but could memorize a piece.^[25]

With the ensemble, he has performed extensively, including, the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York in 2008, BBC Proms in 2004 and 2009, and the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympic Games in Shanghai.^[26] His composition Mohini, is the theme music for a 10-episode documentary on the Silk Road, produced by Japanese TV channel NHK.^[27]

Hum Ensemble

Also a cultural and educational entrepreneur, Sandeep founded HUM (Harmony and Universality through Music) in 2009, an ensemble of world-class artists, to promote global understanding through musical performance and education. The ensemble was inspired by the Silk Road Project and Yo-Yo Ma's vision to connect the world through music.^[28] In March 2010, HUM presented its World Premiere Concert at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi and Birla Sabhaghar, Kolkatta.^[29] In February 2011, the HUM Ensemble performed its Rhythm of Life Concert at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi^[30][31][32] and NCPA, Mumbai.^[33]

In November 2012, its World Harmony Concert was performed at the Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi,^[34] and the concert received critical acclaim in the Indian media.^[35] Through these concerts, HUM raises funds for its endeavors to support education in arts of differently-abled children. HUM also plans to provide health insurance for aging artists.

The HUM Ensemble now tours extensively in the United States and has recently performed at venues like the National Gallery of Art,^[36] Carolina Performing Arts,^[37] and Cal Performances.^[38]

Mentoring

In 2012, Sandeep Das was invited by the Harvard Graduate School of Education^[39][40][41] to teach a course on Arts in Education. He has given masterclasses at Juilliard School of Music, Berklee College^[42] of Music, Rhode Island School of Design,^[43][44] Harvard University Academy of Music in Villecroze, France and Stanford University.^[45]

Vaishnavi (2018)

Vaishnavi was inspired by a ninth century statue of Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi as the Goddess Parvati on display at the Smithsonian Freer | Sackler galleries in Washington, D.C, and was commissioned by the Freer | Sackler from Silkroad in honor of Julian Raby through a generous gift from Jeffrey P. Cunard. The piece begins with an alap between the Sheng (Chinese Mouth Organ) and Bass that transitions to the rhythm cycle, Jhaptaal.^[47] Vaishnavi was originally performed as a trio of Tabla, Sheng, and Bass, but has been performed in several alternate instrumentations such as Tabla and Bass.^[48] The piece can currently be heard playing in the museum on its audio tour.