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The Dartmouth
July 22, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Concert to feature sounds of India

Visiting professor Ken Zuckerman has achieved international fame for his work on the sarod, a stringed instrument common in classical Indian music.
Visiting professor Ken Zuckerman has achieved international fame for his work on the sarod, a stringed instrument common in classical Indian music.

Zuckerman will perform Tuesday at 8 p.m. in a free concert in Collis Common Ground. The performance, "Ragas of Northern India," will feature a sampling of traditional Indian music.

Zuckerman is teaching two classes -- Music 40, "Ethnomusicology," which this term focuses on the musical traditions of Northern India, as well as Music 2, "Beginning Music Theory." Zuckerman explained that professor Theodore Levin, chair of the music department, invited him to teach at Dartmouth because of his experience with Eastern music and, in particular, his training with the sarod, an instrument used in classical Indian songs.

The sarod, a wooden instrument about as large as a guitar, has 25 strings arranged into a main set of four strings, with several less prominent strings on the sides used for embellishing the sound. The metal fingerboard lacks frets, which adds a level of technical difficulty to the instrument and allows the player to improvise more freely by gliding from one pitch to another.

Though Zuckerman is best known for his work with the sarod, he also plays the guitar, the lute and the sitar. He took up the sarod during his years at Grinnell College in Iowa, after acclaimed sarod master Ali Akbar Khan visited to give a concert. Even as a music major, Zuckerman had never heard of the sarod before, but his immediate fascination with the instrument compelled him to travel to San Rafael, Calif., where Khan had established his first Ali Akbar College of Music.

After spending the summer studying under Khan, Zuckerman was inspired to continue his study of Eastern music, eventually becoming the director of a branch of Ali Akbar College of Music in Basel, Switzerland.

"It was the kind of music that I had been looking for," he explained. "It was music that was improvised, but still had its basis in a strong tradition. Pretty soon after I started studying, I realized that this music is what I wanted to spend my time with."

Zuckerman said he appreciates the novelty of being a Western performer of Eastern music and the various reactions he receives.

"People in India are very receptive," he said. "They are curious, of course, and some are very proud that a Westerner takes so much interest in their culture."

Zuckerman said that Western listeners have different expectations for and questions about his music.

"They are still interested and curious," he said. "However, there is sometimes a certain hesitation from potential listeners or organizers of a concert because they ask themselves, 'How can a Westerner play Eastern music?'"

Zuckerman said he sees this as a type of prejudice that he has had to deal with over the years, as many potential venues have questioned his ability to deliver an acceptable level of authenticity. Zuckerman said this doubt encouraged him to begin teaching and giving concerts. He said he hopes that by educating people about this type of music, they can approach Eastern cultures with a more open mind.

Zuckerman said he will use Tuesday's performance as an opportunity to introduce his audience to an often unfamiliar type of music.

For students taking his classes this term, the concert will be a break from the traditional classroom lecture format that dominates musical education.

"Classes focus a lot on talking about and analyzing certain types of music," Zuckerman explained. "Tuesday will be a night where we can experience all of the styles we've been learning about without talking and simply immerse ourselves in the music."

Zuckerman will demonstrate the use of several different ragas, collections of notes that form the basis for an improvised song, similar to keys in Western music. Some will feature only Zuckerman and his sarod, while most will include accompaniments.

Samir Chatterjee, with whom Zuckerman has performed regularly for over 20 years, will join Zuckerman on the tabla, a pair of hand drums used in classical as well as popular Indian music. Chatterjee will make the trip from New York City to Hanover for the performance.

Two students from Music 40 will accompany Zuckerman and Chatterjee on the tanpura, a string instrument that resembles a sitar without frets. The tanpura plays a basic note that harmonizes with the melody provided by the sarod.

"It's a great pleasure to watch students discover the rich Indian tradition," Zuckerman said.