The Thai American community will hold its Thai New Year, or Songkrfan, celebration with a Thai food festival April 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wat Wimuttayaram Buddhist Temple, 1602 Stanton Road, New Orleans.
The event will feature Buddhist worshipping; honoring the monks, Thai food , and cultural presentations. In addition to celebrating the Thai New Year, the event is intended “to bring the communities of various races and cultures together as a reunion of mankind,” organizers said.
Indian classical music presentation
The Indian Arts Circle of New Orleans will present “Trilogy, a Conference of North Indian Classical Music,” April 13 at 5 p.m., at Roussel Hall, Loyola University. The concert will feature Rajeeb Chakraborty, sarod; Jesse Banister, saxophone; and Subhen Chatterjee, tabla.
Chakraborty is not only a musician , but also a composer, conductor, and scholar in Indian classical music. At 6, he began playing the sarod and began performing at the age of 9. He earned a degree in western classical music from Royal College of Music, London. In addition to serving as an instructor in many universities in India, he teaches at Harvard University, Minnesota University, North Carolina University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Manchester and other universities.
Banister is a leading Indian saxophonist in Europe and has performed throughout England. He co-founded the Indo Jazz Ensemble, Raga Nova & Samay.
Chatterjee is a world-known tabla player and plays a novel fusion music that combines Indian music with elements of contemporary jazz, Afro-Cuban, and Mediterranean music. He co-founded the fusion band, Karma.