Samarth Nagarkar and Michael Cain in Conversation
Internationally Acclaimed Vocalist Samarth Nagarkar and World-Renowned Pianist Michael Cain joined MacPhail Social Media and Design Specialist Syne Barr over zoom for a Q&A Preceding their Upcoming Concert – Ragas of India.
Syne: What can the audience expect from this performance?
Answer (Samarth): It’s going to be traditional Indian classical music or Ragas music. There are different formats but what I’m going to be presenting is called Khayal. Khayal is the voice, the vocal music of North India. We have compositions that are 200-300 years old, and we integrate those into contemporary music.
I can never replicate a performance. Every time it’s going to be completely different from what I did before.
Syne: How will MacPhail’s Electronic Music Recording Arts program (EMRA) be incorporated into this performance?
Answer (Michael): The primary way is that we’re partnering with the Goldstein Museum of Design at the University of Minnesota, which is currently running an exhibit on North Indian embroidery. Isaac Rohr is creating a visual representation of some of the work and processes that will be projected in the background of the performance.
Syne: What are your top music practice tips as a music educator?
Answer (Samarth): Listen to a lot of music. That inspiration is essential. To learn any art form, especially an art form as complex as music, you need to be inspired.
I also tell students to have small goals rather than saying “I need to practice for an hour a day, two hours a day” then failing at it. When you’re setting yourself up for failure then the guilt adds onto it and it doesn’t seem fun anymore. Set small goals and then build up from there.
Syne: What do you hope the audience will take away from this performance?
Answer (Michael): I hope they get a sense that there’s this incredibly beautiful, rich tradition of music that they may not have known about or been exposed to. I hope it opens a door for them.
Answer (Samarth): I echo Michael’s words. Hopefully, this will spark more interest in and appreciation for this art form.
Samarth Nagarkar and his Khayal ensemble are bringing classical Indian music to MacPhail. The ensemble features Samarth Nagarkar (Hindustani/North Indian classical voice), Suhail Yusuf Khan(sarangi), and Abhinav Sharma (tabla), with guest artists Michael Cain, MacPhail’s Director of Electronic Music Recording Arts (piano), and Isaac Rohr, Electronic Music Recording Arts faculty member (visual projection).
This performance is sponsored by MacPhail Center for Music and EKWE™, a mobile platform designed for user-friendly and intuitive digital music creation.
Learn more about EKWE™ at MacPhail, where you can try the platform free for a whole year. (use the link for promo code)
Meet Guest Artist, Samarth Nagarkar
Samarth Nagarkar is an internationally acclaimed performing artist and one of the foremost ambassadors of Indian Raga music on the global stage. A supremely talented vocalist, educator, and author, I had the privilege of working with Samarth while recording sound samples for the Ekwe music app in New York last year. We will always be grateful for his generosity in contributing his voice, harmonium, and tanpura playing to our community of music lovers.
“Bringing Samarth to the Twin Cities for a performance at MacPhail is a rare and invaluable opportunity. His presence offers not just a performance, but an immersive experience for our community to engage with one of the finest exponents of Indian classical music today. It is a chance to witness the fusion of tradition and innovation delivered by an artist of remarkable skill and insight.”
-Michael Cain, Director of EMRA (Electronic Music Recording Arts) at MacPhail, Co-founder/CEO EKWE, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist
Meet Michael Cain, Director of EMRA @ MacPhail and Co-Founder/CEO of EKWE™
As a pianist and keyboardist, Michael Cain has had a prolific performance and recording career, appearing on albums for labels such as Blue Note, Warner Brothers, Universal, and ECM. Cain has worked with some of the most significant names in jazz and contemporary music, including Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Terence Blanchard, Robin Eubanks, Pat Metheny, Charles Neville, Dave Holland, Bobby McFerrin, and Me’shell N’degeocello, for which he received two Grammy nominations as a pianist, keyboardist, and arranger.
As an educator, Michael has held positions as a professor at the Eastman School of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Brandon University, and is the Director of the Electronic Music and Recording Arts program at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, MN.
Michael is also Co-founder and CEO of Ekwe, a mobile-based, multicultural, digital music creation app that aims to redefine diversity, equity, and access to music creation and education.