La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela helped bring renowned master vocalist Pandit Pran Nath to the U.S. and became his first Western disciples, studying with him for twenty-six years in the traditional gurukula manner of living with the guru.  Young and Zazeela have taught the Kirana style and performed with Pandit Pran since 1970 in hundreds of concerts in India, Iran, Europe and the United States.  In June 2002, Young was conferred the title of Khan Sahib by Khalifa Hafizullah Khan Sahib. 
 
Pandit Pran Nath, who passed away on June 13, 1996, virtually introduced the vocal tradition of North Indian classical music to the West in 1970.  His 1971 morning performance at Town Hall, New York City, was the first concert of morning ragas to be presented in the U.S.  Subsequently, he introduced and elaborated to Western audiences the concept of performing ragas at the proper time of day by scheduling entire series of concerts at special hours.  Many students and professional musicians came to him in America to learn about the vast system of raga and to improve their musicianship.  He performed frequently in New York City and in 1972, established his own school under the direction of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, the Kirana Center for Indian Classical Music, now a project of MELA Foundation.  In Fall 1993, Pran Nath inaugurated the MELA Foundation Dream House with three Raga Cycle concerts and continued to perform here annually during his lifetime. 
 
Pran Nath's majestic expositions of the slow alap sections of ragas combined with his emphasis on perfect intonation and the clear evocation of mood had a profound impact on Western contemporary composers and performers.  In addition to Young and Zazeela, minimalist music composer Terry Riley became one of his first American disciples.  Fourth-world trumpeter Jon Hassell, jazz all‑stars Don Cherry and Lee Konitz, composers Jon Gibson, Yoshimasa Wada, Rhys Chatham, Michael Harrison and Allaudin Mathieu, Sufi Pir Shabda Kahn, mathematician and composer Christer Hennix, concept artist and violinist Henry Flynt, dancer Simone Forti, and many others took advantage of the opportunity to study with the master.
 
Admission is $24 / $18 MELA members; seniors; students with ID.  Limited seating.  Advance reservations recommended.  For further information email mail@melafoundation.org or visit www.melafoundation.org

MELA's programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency and generous contributions from individuals and MELA Members.  This concert is funded in part through the Meet The Composer Fund program with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Jerome Foundation.