HONORING OUR MASTER ARTIST and CULTURAL TREASURE
Ramnarine Sasenarine October 13, 1967 ~ February 21, 2012
Master Artist/ Eminent Scholar of Indo-Caribbean Music and Culture
|
CHOWTAL RANG BAHAR: Compiled by Rudy Sasenarine, Edited by Dr Peter Manuel
|
THE PREM SANGEET ORCHESTRA (Left - Right) Guru Bharat Das, Ustads Dhanram, Kaloush Budhu, Rudy Ramnarine
|
Ramnarine "Rudy" Sasenarine is a master drummer and eminent community scholar of Indo-Caribbean music and culture. He was born in Miss Phoebe Village in the Port Mourant district of Berbice, Guyana in South America. At age 7, Rudy began playing dholak for his grandmothers and mother who were active in a ladies singing group. His formal training in all styles of music and drumming began with Ustad Deowa, son of the legendary drummer, Ustad Mohana. He continued studying tan sangeet tala, raga and ragini with Ustad Balgobin Singh, renowned singer, and Guru Ramdhani, the dholak virtuoso. Rudy went on to learn the Trinidad style of tan music with Ustad Krishna Persaud. He is unique in his mastery of both Bhojpuri (North Indian) and Madrasi (South Indian) drum traditions. Ramnarine Sasenarine’s vast repertory includes Biraha, Tassa, Tadjah, Chowtal, Thappu, Tan, Ramayan, Women and Men Folk Songs for life-cycle ceremonies, and popular film and chutney music. In 1979, Rudy moved to New York where he continued his studies of Chowtal and Ramayan with the master custodian and composer, Guru Tej Singh. In the early 1980s, he became a founder member of the performing gols, (circles) Prem Sangeet in Tan Singing, and captained his own Chowtal Gol at the Mahatma Gandhi Satsangh in Queens, NY. In Rudy later founded the New York Youth Chowtal Gol in the which was thriving at the time of his passing.
As Music Director at RCC, Rudy worked with Artistic Director Sasha Parmasad to developed the syllabus and curriculum for GOLS ~ Community Arts Circles, an inter-generational program led by master artists and tradition-bearers of Indian seasonal and life-cycle song and music traditions, passed down orally through generations for hundreds of years. Preserved in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and brought to the U.S. during the 1960-70s. Rudy believed that it was critical to pass our heritage arts onto new generations and the community at large. Through exploration of lyrics, participants would learn about the dynamic history of Indo-Caribbean people - their laughter and pain, courage and playfulness, joys and discoveries. These inter-generational workshops would give men and women, boys and girls a chance to learn and practice Chowtal (Phagwa, Spring, Planting), Ramayana (Diwali, Fall, Harvest), and, Matikor, Kanyadaan, Vivaha (Wedding); Sohar, Mouran (Lullabyes, Birthing). And most importantly, these workshops would provide a space for family sharing and reconnecting to community.
A skilled craftsman, Rudy makes the dholak drum. Rudy performed at many institutions throughout the United States. He performed regularly at Indo-Caribbean, Gujrati, and Punjabi community events. Rudy was Music Director, Consultant, Performer and Teaching Artist for the Rajkumari Center since 1997. In 2011, he became Member of our Board of Directors as Chair of our Heritage and Preservation Program.
Read more on Chowtal by Dr Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist
As Music Director at RCC, Rudy worked with Artistic Director Sasha Parmasad to developed the syllabus and curriculum for GOLS ~ Community Arts Circles, an inter-generational program led by master artists and tradition-bearers of Indian seasonal and life-cycle song and music traditions, passed down orally through generations for hundreds of years. Preserved in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and brought to the U.S. during the 1960-70s. Rudy believed that it was critical to pass our heritage arts onto new generations and the community at large. Through exploration of lyrics, participants would learn about the dynamic history of Indo-Caribbean people - their laughter and pain, courage and playfulness, joys and discoveries. These inter-generational workshops would give men and women, boys and girls a chance to learn and practice Chowtal (Phagwa, Spring, Planting), Ramayana (Diwali, Fall, Harvest), and, Matikor, Kanyadaan, Vivaha (Wedding); Sohar, Mouran (Lullabyes, Birthing). And most importantly, these workshops would provide a space for family sharing and reconnecting to community.
A skilled craftsman, Rudy makes the dholak drum. Rudy performed at many institutions throughout the United States. He performed regularly at Indo-Caribbean, Gujrati, and Punjabi community events. Rudy was Music Director, Consultant, Performer and Teaching Artist for the Rajkumari Center since 1997. In 2011, he became Member of our Board of Directors as Chair of our Heritage and Preservation Program.
Read more on Chowtal by Dr Peter Manuel, Ethnomusicologist
