The Paul Dresher Ensemble

08/20/2026

Take a moment to hear internationally acclaimed sitarist Pandit Partha Bose—and then experience his artistry live this Saturday in West Oakland.

During a career spanning more than five decades, Partha Bose has brought the beauty and vitality of Hindustani classical music to audiences across five continents. For this intimate concert, he will be joined by exceptional Bay Area tabla player Sudhakar Vaidyanathan.

Saturday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Dresher Ensemble Studio, West Oakland

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear these two remarkable musicians up close. Seating is limited, so reserve your tickets today:

https://bose.eventbrite.com/

08/12/2026

A few years ago I was given a CD recording by sitarist Partha Bose, of whom I was not aware of at the time. From the first notes on the recording, I felt like I was hearing an artist very close in depth and technical prowess to my own sitar teacher Nikhil Banerjee, who tragically died in 1986 at the age of 54.

I researched Partha Bose’s background and was not at all surprised to find that he hails from the Maihar Gharana, the same teaching legacy and stylistic lineage as Nikhil Banerjee (as well as Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar et al).

So when the opportunity to present a performance by Partha Bose arose, I did not hesitate to book the date. It’s an honor to present such an esteemed musician (just check out the list of his awards and international touring accomplishments) whose lineage is so close to the one that inspired my deep and lifelong passion for Hindustani classical music. I hope you’ll join us for this rare opportunity to hear an artist of this caliber in such an intimate environment.

Dresher Ensemble Studio in West Oakland.
Saturday, August 22, 2026
7:30 p.m.
Dresher Ensemble Studio, West Oakland

Experience the 'Maihar Magic' with Pandit Partha Bose’s mesmerizing sitar ragas live with Sudhakar Vaidyanathan on tabla.

07/22/2026

We are deeply honored to host dNaga Dance Company’s 25th anniversary celebration. Claudine has been a dear friend and a regular presence at the Dresher Ensemble Studio for many years. Beyond our admiration for her remarkable artistic work, we are especially proud of her commitment to Dance for PD and the Oakland Peace Project, bringing the joy and transformative power of dance to people with Parkinson’s disease.

Where We Meet the Silver Moon features Movement Still, Whispers, Timelapse, 22 Pills, and other works; the program reflects on time, memory, transformation, and the unexpected ways we find one another across the years. Rooted in the Asian American experience and created by artists who have grown alongside the company, this anniversary performance celebrates a quarter century of artistic collaboration while looking toward the future with curiosity, imagination, and hope.

DANCERS
Lihong Chan, Moriah Costa, Raychel Hatch, Catalina Jackson-Urueña, Lucie Jerome, Eleanor Kerwin, Erin Landers, Leila Massoudi, & Gabby Wei
DANCE FOR PD, OAKLAND PEACE PROJECT
Herb Heinz, Gary Robinson, Joanne Ruby, Adam Seller, & Gary Turchin
DIRECTOR : Claudine Naganuma - CHOREOGRAPHY : Claudine Naganuma & dNaga Dance Co.
COMPOSERS : Joel Davel & Elainie Lillios - LIVE MUSICIAN : Joel Davel
VISUAL DESIGN : Dale MacDonald - ANIMATION : Elmira Bagherzadeh
PHOTO : Mitch Tobias

Where We Meet the Silver Moon marks the 25th anniversary of dNaga Dance Co. with an evening of dance, live music, and original compositions.

07/18/2026

Sunday, July 19, at 3 PM.

What a Sunday it will be! First, Morning Ragas at 11, then, at 3pm the young Maple Quartet, a brilliant ensemble formed at the Eastman School of Music.

Here is a 1-minute preview of their rehearsal at the studio:
https://youtu.be/K7ERL3JLtXk?si=_4EOYs3nvTksZADW

Following a residency at Music Academy of the West, where they worked intensively with the Takács Quartet, Isabel Chen, Magali Pelletey, John Crowley, and Gabriel Hennebury are performing a program of Haydn, Caroline Shaw, and Dvořák.

The concert is a benefit event that will help the quartet continue working together this coming year, while living in four different cities, by supporting the travel, rehearsals, coaching, and competitions needed to develop a professionally.

Each donation level includes one reserved seat. Donations begin at $40. (contact us for Pay What You Can)

Come hear and meet four enthusiastic musicians at the beginning of what promises to be a rewarding journey. One that continues in two weeks as they head north to Napa, where they are the 2026 Fellowship String Quartet at Music in the Vineyards.

Sunday, July 19 at 3 PM
Dresher Studio in West Oakland
Not too late to get more information and RSVP
givebutter.com/Maple-2026

Together, we can make the Maple Quartet's artistic work possible.

07/11/2026

A personal invitation from Paul Dresher
As many of you know, Hindustani (North Indian) classical music is one of my lifelong passions. I spent most of the 1970’s in a deep study and practice of the music and spent a good part of 1980 in India. This Sunday July 19th we are extremely excited to present sarangi master artist Ustad Kamal Sabri.

For many in our community, the July 19th 11 AM Sunday morning concert likely offers for two first-time experiences: the opportunity to experience rarely heard morning ragas and more significantly, it is likely to be the first time many will hear live the sarangi, a bowed instrument - with 35-40 strings - that is truly remarkable in the hands of Ustad Kamal Sabri (“Ustad” indicates the rarified status of a master musician).

The sarangi is perhaps the instrument closest to the human voice of any I know. In fact, for a few centuries, it was primarily used to accompany vocalists. But in the 20th Century, a few intrepid musicians, such as Pandit Ram Narayan and Ustad Sabri Khan - Kamal Sabri’s father - transformed the sarangi into a deeply expressive concert instrument with the same status as the more well-known sitar and sarod. In fact, if you are an old timer like me or a fan of the Beatles, the sarangi was prominently featured at the beginning of the gorgeous George Harrison composition “Within You and Without You” on the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album.

I hope you will join us for this very special opportunity to experience the depth, beauty, and virtuosity of Ustad Kamal Sabri, accompanied by Shri Amod Dandawate on tabla.

The concert will feature Raga Shuddh Sarang, Raga Gaud Sarang, and Raga Brindabani Sarang, and will conclude with a Thumri in Raga Bhairavi. Additional program notes are available on our website.

https://dresherensemble.org/event/ustad-kamal-sabri/

And masala chai will be served!

06/12/2026

Next Thursday, June 18, at 5 PM, Joel Davel and I will present a special program with the Dresher Davel Invented Instrument Duo at the Hosfelt Gallery.

RSVP Donation : givebutter.com/hosfelt

Using our hand-built instruments—including the Quadrachord and the Hurdy Grande—we will create a unique and immersive musical experience unlike any other.

This one-night-only event supports the Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency (DEAR), which each year provides six early-career artists with studio space, professional production resources, mentorship, and a $1,500 stipend to help bring bold new work to life.

Attendance begins with a suggested donation of $35, and guests are invited to contribute at higher levels to further support DEAR and the next generation of adventurous artists.

Experience an unforgettable performance while helping sustain a program that gives emerging artists the time, space, and support they need to create.

Hosfelt Gallery 260 Utah Street, San Francisco

The Gallery has two amazing exhibitions: Isabella Kirkland and Patricia Piccinini

Join the Dresher–Davel Invented Instrument Duo at Hosfelt Gallery for an evening of music, art, and community supporting the DEAR Residency program

06/05/2026

Tomorrow
RAGA & RAGINI
Saturday, June 6, 2026 · 7:30 PM
Dresher Ensemble Studio, West Oakland

Some musical traditions invite us to listen differently. In Hindustani classical music, a raga is more than a scale or a melody—it is a living musical personality, capable of evoking particular emotions, seasons, times of day, and states of mind. For centuries, musicians have explored these intricate musical worlds through improvisation, creating performances that are at once deeply structured and completely unique to the moment.

Join us for an enchanting evening of Hindustani classical music featuring acclaimed vocalist Sohini Mojumdar and sarod virtuoso Sougata Roy Chowdhury, accompanied by Gaurav Kale on tabla and Rajdeep Singh on harmonium.

Sougata Roy Chowdhury is a distinguished sarod player whose expressive artistry, deep grounding in the Hindustani classical tradition, and captivating performances have moved audiences throughout India, Europe, and the United States. Trained from a young age within the lineage of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan under several eminent gurus, he combines technical mastery with a sensitive and soulful musical voice that speaks equally to seasoned listeners and newcomers.

Sohini Mojumdar is a highly regarded Hindustani classical vocalist known for her deeply expressive singing and refined command of raga. Rooted in a rich musical tradition and trained under eminent gurus, she blends intellectual depth with emotional nuance. Her elegant artistry and soulful interpretations have captivated audiences across India and internationally.

Together with master accompanists Gaurav Kale (tabla) and Rajdeep Singh (harmonium), they will create an evening of musical dialogue, improvisation, and beauty—an opportunity to experience one of the world's great classical traditions in an intimate setting.

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar Street, Oakland, CA

https://raga-ragini.eventbrite.com

05/02/2026

I’d love to invite you to join us this Sunday, May 3, at ELEVEN (11) AM for something truly special—Morning Ragas at the studio.

There’s a unique magic to music in the late morning. In the tradition of North Indian classical music, certain ragas are meant to be experienced at this exact hour—when the day is just unfolding, and the mind is especially open. It’s a rare opportunity to encounter this music as it was intended: immersive, meditative, and deeply alive.

We are honored to welcome Indradeep Ghosh, an exceptional violinist whose artistry blends breathtaking virtuosity with deep sensitivity and a profound understanding of the raga tradition. His performances draw you in completely, revealing layer upon layer of nuance and expression.

He will be joined by Sudhakar Vaidyanathan (tabla), a highly regarded Bay Area artist trained under Shri Satish Tare and Padma Shri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and a regular collaborator with the Chitresh Das Institute

Together, they promise a performance that is both grounding and uplifting—a beautiful way to begin your Sunday.

I hope you’ll come share this moment with us

https://morning-ragas.eventbrite.com

04/30/2026

Tomorrow Friday, May 1, & Saturday, May 2 at 8 PM
Merlin Coleman and Amy X Neuburg will present two very different multi-channel song cycles, in which you will be surrounded by sounds and stories emanating from the studio’s Meyer Sound audio system.

In Merlin Coleman’s DISPATCHES from the CHARCOAL FOREST, a group of six singers—two of whom are members of the acclaimed vocal ensemble Kitka—move through the space, singing over a quadraphonic audio sculpture composed of found recordings, collected sounds, and interviews reflecting on the 2017 Sonoma County Tubbs Fires.

Amy X Neuburg’s “Come to My House” explores themes of house and home, comfort and discomfort, through an eclectic collection of eight songs emanating from eight audio speakers. Ranging from the meditative loops of potato chip crunches to spiraling legal jargon to downright pop, Amy’s songs are lush, complex, and emotional, always featuring her signature humor and colorful lyrics. More Information >>​​

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar Street, Oakland, CA

https://merlin-and-amy.eventbrite.com

04/24/2026

I’ve known Carl since we met at Cal Arts and I heard his electronic score for an animated film and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. While a true pioneer in live electronic music performance, Carl was also one of the first three commissions we did for the Electro-Acoustic Band in 1993, for which he composed Ruen Pair, which we premiered in Japan in the fall of 1993. A few years ago, we started improvising together in Carl’s performance format, i.e. he grabs fragments of the sound/music I’m producing on the Hurdy Grande (one of my invented musical instruments), and puts it through the remarkable transformations he does with his laptop. It’s always a pleasure to make music together and it’s always a surprise what results.

Dresher Ensemble Studio
2201 Poplar street, Oakland CA
Buy Tickets Online

tinyurl.com/carlstone2