Santoor – Madan Oak

Madan is a disciple of the world-renowned Santoor Maestro Padma Vibhushan Pandit Sivakumar Sharma. He has been studying Indian classical music for over 45 years. He has won several college and University level awards in Classical music competitions and is recipient of the 1986 All India Radio (AIR) Best Instrumentalist National award. He was felicitated with a “Kala-Gaurav” award in December 2012 in Pune, India and “Guru-Satkar” recognition by Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar in March 2014.
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With Guru Padmavibhushan Pandit Shivkumar Sharma

He has given many concerts in USA, UK, Switzerland, India, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and on the All India Radio Pune Station on several occasions. Apart from playing Santoor, he is also a gifted light music vocalist and is also involved in promoting Indian classical music. He has headed several Indian organizations.
Living in America for more than 21 years leading in IT Business, Madan has been featured on TV programs, various venues like IndiaFest-99, India Association of Southeast Texas, Lata Mangeshkar Foundation, Bay Area Maharashtra Mandal, Basant Bahar 2003 / 2012,San Francisco World Music Festival 2003, local public Channel KMVT-15, Brihan Maharashtra Mandal BMM Conventions of 2005 / 2007 / 2022 and many more.
Madan released his first classical music album on July 31st, 2010 at the hands of the respected Late. Smt. Veena Sahastrabuddhe, a highly regarded Indian classical music vocalist. The name of the album is “Moonlit Strings”, the album contents classical raga Rageshri presented by Madan on Santoor accompanied by Abhiman Kaushal on Tabla. This album is available for purchase on iTunes for download or from Madan’s website for his academy www.shatatantri.com. The album was blessed and endorsed by his Guru Pt. Shivkumar Sharma.
To give exposure of Indian classical Music and Dance to local bay area California children, Madan started an academy of Indian classical music and dance by the name of Shatatantri Media in 2006, where students get an opportunity to learn Indian music and dances from well-known musicians and teachers. The academy is affiliated with Gandharva Mahavidyalaya of India and conducts Indian classical music certification examinations.
In September 2014, Madan and his team launched an iconic annual two day festival of Indian Classical music by the name of “TIHAI” featuring India’s greatest classical musicians and hallmarks that came together to perform for the first time ever here in USA on such a large scale that included artists such as Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Partho Sarathi, Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri, Pt. Vijay Ghate, Pt. Nishikant Barodekar, Kaushiki Chakraborty.

Madan has been featured on many online-live concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been very well received all over the world.

Madan has pioneered into making modifications to the tone of the Santoor, the overall range of notes of the instrument and has successfully created world’s first 35 Bridge Santoor.

In August-September 2022, Madan ji along with a senior disciple of Padmavibhushan Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, a brilliant Bansuri player Vivek Sonar, performed together more than 12 concerts all across USA and Canada, bringing the “Shiv-Hari” tradition of Santoor-Bansuri Jugalbandi that was highly praised and received as The Legacy concert series .