Saxophonist, composer and konnakol artist Arun Luthra, UW–Madison fall 2021 interdisciplinary artist-in-residence. is an American musician of Indian heritage who fuses Black American Music with elements of Indian classical music, especially konnakol – Carnatic (South Indian classical) music vocalized rhythms. He connects a wide range of modern and classic musical influences to create a vibrant new sound and style.
As part of the residency, Luthra is teaching “The Universal Language of Rhythm: Explorations Through Konnakol and Black American Music.” This course is an introduction to konnakol, as well as an exploration of the blending of konnakol with other musical traditions – particularly Black American music, and a survey of the concept of rhythm as a universal phenomenon which defines our world. Students will present works that incorporate konnakol concepts into creative projects ranging from music to poetry, prose, dance, and beyond for the final event at Arts + Literature Laboratory:
Celebration of Arun Luthra’s residency and students projects: Tala Mela
Tala is an Indian music word for rhythm. Mela means a celebration fair in Punjabi, Sanskrit, and Hindi (mele).
मेले (Hindi: mele), ਮੇਲਾ (Punjabi: mēlā), मेला (Sanskrit: melā)
Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 7:30pm (Free)
This event will include performances by Arun Luthra with the UW–Madison Contemporary Jazz Ensemble (Mead Witter School of Music), final student projects from the residency class, and guest artist Rohan Krishnamurthy (percussion).
Watch this short video for more information about the course and residency along with viewing the residency website at go.wisc.edu/luthra.
The fall 2021 Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program is presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Mead Witter School of Music with Professor Johannes Wallmann as lead faculty. Wallmann is also the Director of Jazz Studies. Co-sponsors include the Center for South Asia, the Department of Anthropology and the Wisconsin Union Theater along with the Arts + Literature Laboratory and the Wisconsin Science Festival.
The UW–Madison Division of the Arts has hosted world-class artists-in-residence since 1995 and formally launched the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP) in 1999. This program brings innovative artists to UW–Madison to teach semester-long, interdisciplinary courses and to publicly present their work for campus and community audiences. The program recently changed its name to the Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching (IART) Program. IART is made possible by funding from the university’s Office of the Provost.