Goethe-Zentrum to host Germany based sitar artists
Trivandrum / February 9, 2025
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 09: An eight-member sitar artists group, known as the String Theory, will perform at Goethe-Zentrum in the city on February 13 at 7pm.
String Theory weaves together the timeless beauty of classical Indian Raga with innovative contemporary compositions, promising the audience an ensemble of tradition and modernity.
The concert will have a flavourful percussion twist as renowned Tabla artiste Retnasree Iyer joins the performance for the evening.
Entry for the concert is free and interested people can get passes from Goethe-Zentrum website https://trivandrum.german.in/events
Eight Sitar players based in Germany but from different cultural backgrounds form the String Theory.
Artists from Germany, India, Russia, South Africa and South Korea living in the culturally vibrant capital region of Berlin are part of this collective, led by sitarist Sebastian Dreyer.
Sebastian is one of few European instrumentalists who picked up classical Raga music in its traditional form. Sebastian has already played three concerts for the Goethe-Zentrum and this is going to be his fourth visit to Kerala.
Since 2003, Sebastian has been studying with Partha Chatterjee, a disciple of Nikhil Banerjee and Ali Akbar Khan. Besides, he has had complementary classes with renowned sitar artists and vocalists and thus developed his individual, lyrical style.
Other band members who form ‘String Theory’ are Handong Ryu (South Korea), a musician who has been learning sitar and North Indian classical music since 2017 under the guidance of Sebastian Dreyer.
A multi-instrumentalist who plays flute, piano, and bass guitar, Tina ‘Trilli’ Bartel, started learning sitar lessons under the guidance of Sebastian Dreyer in 2021 and since been exploring the world of ragas.
Starting as a rock musician, Aleksandr Konanchuk started learning sitar from 1986. Since 2008, Aleksandr has been one of the founders of the Sitar in St. Petersburg festival.
Will Dewar, a musician who first encountered Indian classical music at age 12, and was introduced to the sitar, tabla, and sarod by friends from the Indian community. He eventually attended classes at the School of Indian Music in Johannesburg. After moving to Berlin, he started sitar classes with Sebastian.
Susanne Kretschmann is a singer-songwriter of the duo eGO2go. Primarily a vocalist, Susanne has recently started learning piano and sitar and experiments with guitar, drums and ukulele.
Matthias Seidel is a guitarist who discovered sitar through influences like "The Beatles" and the German band “Selig". Since 2023 he has been focusing on the traditional way of playing the sitar under the guidance of Sebastian Dreyer.
Anurag Sharma’s perspective on music transformed after moving from New Delhi to Berlin in 2018. He began learning music under Sebastian’s guidance and is now ona pursuit to discover new dimensions of classical music.
Other than String Theory, Retnasree Iyer, a trailblazing tabla artist who has mastered the instrument over the years will perform along with the sitarists. Retnasree blends Hindustani and Carnatic traditions and has collaborated with renowned artists like Pandit Ronu Majumdar, Rakesh Chaurasia and T V Gopalakrishnan, performing at prestigious festivals across India and abroad.
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