Shubhendra Rao

In November 2007, he was awarded the "Youth Icon for Classical Music" by India's popular Zee Television Network. Shubhendra Rao & Saskia Rao were also honoured with the "Delhi Ratna" award by the Art and Cultural Trust of India in December 2014.

Shubhendra Rao married Saskia Rao-de Haas on 3 February 2001. They are blessed with a son, Ishaan who is learning the Piano and Sitar, showing signs of the genes he has inherited.

In 1987 Shubhendra gave his first solo concert in Bangalore, and since then has gone on to establish himself as one of the distinguished instrumentalists of his generation. Shubhendra has performed at some of the most prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and on Broadway in New York, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC, Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, Des Moines Arts Center, Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Hawaii, Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Edinburgh Festivals in Scotland, at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, WOMAD festival in Guernsey England, National Arts Festival in South Africa, Fajr International Music Festival in Tehran, Esplanade in Singapore among others. In India, Shubhendra has performed at major music festivals including Dover Lane Music Conference, the ITC Music Conference in Kolkata, Baba Harballabh Sangeet Mahasabha in Jullundhar, Shankarlal Festival and Gunidas Sammelan in New Delhi, SAPTAK Festival in Ahmedabad, and Vasantahabba Festival in Bangalore.

At the age of seven he took his first lesson from the master Ravi Shankar and continued to visit Shankar in different cities in India to pursue his musical education. The year 1984 was a milestone year in his life. At the insistence of his teacher, Shubhendra moved to Delhi to live with and learn from him in the true guru-shishya tradition. The years that followed were a period of introspective and creative metamorphosis. He tried to build in a discipline within himself, practicing from anything between ten and twelve hours every day. His teacher nurtured his talent, giving him deep insights into what it entailed to become a complete artist.

An important part of his learning was assisting his teacher in solo concerts and orchestras. As an 18-year-old in 1983, he performed on stage for the first time with his Guru in ‘Uday Utsav’ in New Delhi. In 1988, he assisted and performed in the orchestra ‘Live in Kremlin’ in Russia that has been released as a CD. In 1989 and 1990, he toured with the production ‘Ghanashyam’ in the UK and India. His first concert assisting Shankar in his solo concert was in February 1985 in New Delhi. Between 1985 and 1995, he performed with Shankar at numerous concerts all over the world, continuing to assist him in all his creative productions.

Shubhendra Rao was born on 26 November 1964 in Mysore city in the state of Karnataka in Southern India. From a very young age, he showed great talent for music. His father, N R Rama Rao (who was one of the earliest and closest disciples of Ravi Shankar), initiated him into the intricacies of the sitar. His mother, Nagaratna, is a trained Saraswati Veena player.His sister, Mrs.Sadhana Jayaram, also plays the Sitar and is now currently teaching students at Sathya Sai Loka Seva Institutions, Muddenahalli.