Professor Nandini Chatterjee receives Schwarzman Centre grant for Indian Classical Music in Oxford
Professor Nandini Chatterjee has received a grant from the Schwarzman Centre Cultural Programme to support 'Indian Classical Music in Oxford', a project bringing South Asian classical music into conversation with research, teaching and collections at the University of Oxford.
The project will establish a series of concerts showcasing the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions of Indian classical music. Alongside public performances, the series will feature discussions with musicians, foregrounding the inherited and embodied knowledge of performers and creating opportunities for dialogue with students, researchers and wider audiences.
The project will also encourage research into Indian classical music and Oxford’s collections of musical instruments, music-related books and manuscripts. Concerts will be recorded to create an archive of performance heritage to support future research and teaching on the musical cultures of South Asia. In this project, the designation “Indian” is a shorthand for all the countries, diasporas and cultures of South Asia, who are equal shareholders in the history and living heritage of raga-based music.
The initiative builds on previous performances, including sitar player Pete Yelding (March 2025), Hindustani vocalist Aastha Goswami (January 2026), sarangi player Ustad Kamal Sabri (February 2026) and sarod player Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan (June 2026), with more events to come.
Professor Chatterjee, Professor of Indian History and Culture at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern studies says,
“This grant will allow me to develop the critical study, research and celebration of Indian musical traditions at Oxford, which are very dear to me, while bringing performers and their embodied knowledge into dialogue with students, researchers and wider audiences.”
The Faculty congratulates Professor Chatterjee on receiving this grant. To read more about her research and work, visit her profile.
