Svaranjali

Through participation in Svaranjali (tonal offerings), students at the University of Texas at Austin receive instruction in the classical music of India. Professor Stephen Slawek began the program in the performance practice of Indian classical music in 1983.

A student of the Indian sitar since 1969, Professor Slawek enjoys an international reputation as a scholar of ethnomusicology and virtuoso sitarist. After initially studying the fundamentals of India’s raga system with Professor Harold Powers, Professor Slawek pursued his study of sitar for a period of seven years under the guidance of the late Dr. Lalmani Misra, following which he was accepted as a disciple of the legendary musician, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Professor Slawek also studied the Indian tabla with masters of the Banaras tradition of tabla playing including Sri Ishwar Lal Misra, Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari, and most extensively for five years under the guidance of the late Sri Nageshvar Prasad Misra (also known as Panchu Maharaj) at the Banaras Hindu University.

While most of the activities of Svaranjali might more appropriately be viewed as studies in performance practice, students occasionally work as an ensemble and present performances as a group at venues within the School of Music.