Indian Classical Music: Nishat Khan, sitar, and Nitin Mitta, tabla

Sitar maestro Nishat Khan returns to UC Santa Cruz with tabla maestro Nitin Mitta in an Indian classical music concert. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation for his unique and inspiring work, Khan’s masterful collaborations truly connect music globally. With the strike of a single, unmistakable note, the sound of Khan’s sitar instantly captivates and transforms one’s mood. Listeners are transported to another realm by a sight and sound unlike any other. As a torchbearer of the most recorded musical family in the world, the Imdad Khani Gharana, seven generations of wisdom reside in his fingertips. While grounded in centuries of tradition, Khan forges his own signature sound with a refreshing twist: familiar yet challenging, unfolding with emotional contrasts and surprises at every turn. Touring and performing throughout the world since age 13, Nishat Khan’s unique cosmopolitan perspective has inspired a great sensitivity and connection to the cultures of music of the world. He gave his first public concert at age 7, and was the youngest performer on an All India Radio national programme at age 15. In more recent years, Khan created history in summer 2025 by composing and creating the first ever traditional (Western) opera from the Indian subcontinent, the Taj Mahal Opera . The opera had its premiere at the Grange Park Opera in the UK to sold-out performances and wide critical acclaim. His recent performances in 2026 include a sold-out concert at the Freight in Berkeley, California. The press calls Khan: “Profound and electrifying…pure exhilaration, taking tradition as a blueprint for ecstasy” ( The New York Times ); “Etherial, compelling, sensual, Nishat Khan master of the sitar” ( Los Angeles Times ); “Freewheeling virtuosity inflected with infinite imaginative variety” (BBC Proms, The Guardian ); and “Ferociously gifted…no conceivable limitations…his sitar roars, cries, and exults” ( Times of India ). Nitin Mitta is regarded as one of