Born in Mumbai, India, to a family of music lovers, Amol Khanapurkar grew up with a deep and abiding passion for music. It was his father, Jayant Khanapurkar, who first instilled the love of music in Amol and arranged for him to attend vocal classes. But tabla classes were being conducted in the very next room, and young Amol was instinctively drawn to the sounds of the phrases and rhythms of Tabla. The rest, as they say, is history. Happily for his many fans, Amol's love for tabla did not preclude his study of other aspects of music. Today, Amol is an in-demand tabla player, an accomplished vocalist, a synthesizer player and a published composer. Considered to be a versatile musician, his musical repertoire extends beyond Indian classical and light music to fusion as well. Amol Khanapurkar started learning tabla at the tender age of 10. He is a disciple of Pt. Sadashiv Pawar, who inherited his knowledge of tabla from the late Ustad Amir Hussein Khan, a tabla wizard and one of the top tabla players of his time. There are 4 well-known Tabla Gharanas, namely, Farokkhabad, Azrada, Delhi and Purab. Ustad Amir Hussein Khan combined all the four Gharanas to create a new style of tabla playing. Amol has benefitted from this prestigious lineage and flawlessly incorporates different stylistic elements in his performances. Amol has won numerous awards and honours throughout his career. From high school through college, recognition for his tabla skills and his vocal prowess has been abundant. He has had the honour of accompanying such luminaries as PadmaBhushan Ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Dr. Sushila Rani Patel, Smt. Arati Ankalikar, Smt. Neela Bhagwat, and Shri Zunain Khan amongst others. A few years ago, he had the rare opportunity to accompany PadmaVibhushan Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia along with his students, on the eve of Janmashthami. Amol has also been a part of several fusion music groups, expanding his musical horizons and challenging the traditional role of the tabla. He has performed Tabla solo in countries like India, UK, France, USA, Australia & New Zealand and has often conducted lecture/demonstrations. Even with a busy schedule, Amol has always enjoyed teaching, which , according to him, is an important factor towards being a good musician. Despite his many achievements in the world of music, Amol has by no means neglected his education. He has graduated with an MS degree in Statistical sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA.

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