Strings Beyond Boundaries
Concert by Hasan Imam Hamdani & Snehesh Nag
Friday, January 31, 2025 / 8:00 pm
Admission: $35
Discover the dynamic interplay of guitar and sitar as Imam and Snehesh present a unique performance bridging musical traditions from India to West Africa.
Hasan Imam Hamdani
Hasan Imam Hamdani, a Pakistani – American composer and guitar player is the driving force behind the collaborative global music ensemble, Imam Collective. In 2022, Imam Collective released its debut E.P, “Solitude,” under the Australian label ‘Worlds Within Worlds,’ exploring the richness of West African and Indian Classical Music. Hasan Imam’s solo guitar repertoire highlights his diverse influences and innovative approach to adapting various music styles to the guitar.
Hasan Imam performs internationally with acclaimed artists, including Boston Music Award winner Ali McGuirk, Bosnian flamenco artist Mirza Redzepagic, and the Qalandar Arts Ensemble—a multicultural music project uniting artists worldwide at performance spaces in London, UK. In 2024, the U.S. Consulate of Bosnia sponsored Hasan Imam for a music tour of the Balkans, featuring performances in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. During the tour, Hasan Imam presented workshops on music collaboration, performance and education, including a TEDx talk in Sarajevo. In August 2024, Hasan Imam participated in The Silkroad – Global Musician Workshop in Boston under the guidance of music director Mike Block, collaborating with musicians from 51 countries playing nearly 45 different instruments. Hasan Imam is currently an Artist in Residence at Strathmore for 2024/25.
Hasan Imam’s musical journey took him from Pakistan to Berklee College of Music in Boston and later to Valencia, Spain, where he earned a master’s degree in production and guitar performance. Hasan Imam has been mentored by Indian Classical sarod master Alam Khan, South African guitarist Derek Gripper, and Boston blues musician Jeff Lockhart.
An ardent educator, Hasan Imam is part of the music faculty at Montgomery College, where he lectures on World Music and American Music History.
Snehesh Nag
Snehesh Nag is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator who primarily plays the sitar, exploring Hindustani classical music, and produces music incorporating other genres such as western classical and electronic music. He has performed extensively in India, the US, and Canada garnering wide acclaim, and is the recipient of multiple accolades such as the National Scholarship, Government of India and the Acharya Allauddin Khan Memorial Award. As a sitarist, he has trained with his father Pandit Sugato Nag and legend of sarod Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, and plays a unique blend of two gharanas (school of music), namely the Senia Shahjahanpore and Enayatkhani gharana . As a composer and improvisor, he collaborates with a variety of musicians where he enjoys discovering and improvising based on the common musical language shared between them. Known for his versatility, Snehesh’s collaborations range from playing with Indian classical tabla legends such as Pandit Anindo Chatterjee to The Princeton Symphony, Grammy winning and nominated musicians such as singer-songwriter Cathy Fink, Hip-hop artist Christylez Bacon, and violinist William Harvey. Snehesh holds a master’s degree in music technology and is a music producer and sound designer. He was an artist-in-residence at Strathmore, class of 2024. As an educator, Snehesh has been teaching privately for many years and frequently conducts workshops. He has worked with Baltimore Symphony’s OrchKids program and conducted workshops at places such as Strathmore and Silkroad’s Global Musicians Workshop, where he has expanded upon both Indian classical repertoire, as well as tools to converse with other musical traditions.