Tala Mela: A Celebration of the Universal Language of Rhythm

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Alex Troesch

The fall 2021 UW-Madison Division of the Arts Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program presenter is composer and saxophonist Arun Luthra.

Melding jazz and South Indian classical music forms may seem like a tall order, but it's just one of the specialties of composer and saxophonist Arun Luthra, who has led the Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program at the UW Division of the Arts this semester. At this final event of the residency, Luthra, guest percussionist Rohan Krishnamurthy, the Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, and students from Luthra's class will perform varied musical selections, including konnakol works. Admission is free.

media release: This final residency celebration event features performances by Arun Luthra, including konnakol, with the UW–Madison Contemporary Jazz Ensemble (Mead Witter School of Music), students in the class, and guest artist Rohan Krishnamurthy(percussion).Tala is an Indian music word for rhythm and mela means a celebration fair in Punjabi and Sanskrit and in Hindi -mele. The event takes place at residency sponsor, Arts+ Literature Laboratory (by The Sylvee). Attendees can also see the Jason Yi exhibition. There is a parking garage right next to the building. Arun Luthra is UW-Madison’s fall 2021 interdisciplinary artist-in-residence with Johannes Wallmann as lead faculty. Arun Luthra’s residency is presented by the Division of the Arts and hosted by the Mead Witter School of Music. Residency co-sponsors include the Center for South Asia, the Department of Anthropology, and the Wisconsin Union Theater along with the Arts + Literature Laboratory and the Wisconsin Science Festival. 

Saxophonist, composer, and konnakol artist Arun Luthra is an American musician of Indian heritage who fuses modern post-bop Black American Music with elements of Indian classical music – especially konnakol (South Indian classical music vocal percussion). He connects a wide range of modern and classic musical influences to create a vibrant new sound and style. Arun Luthra is the fall 2021 interdisciplinary artist-in-residence. His residency is presented by the Division of the Arts and is hosted by Mead Witter School of Music with Johannes Wallmann as lead faculty. For a list of other events and residency details including, co-sponsors, visit https://go.wisc.edu/luthra

The fall 2021 Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program is presented by the UW–Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Mead Witter School of Music with Professor Johannes Wallmann as lead faculty. Wallmann is also the Director of Jazz Studies. Co-sponsors include the Center for South Asia, the Department of Anthropology and the Wisconsin Union Theater along with the Arts + Literature Laboratory and the Wisconsin Science Festival. 

The UW–Madison Division of the Arts has hosted world-class artists-in-residence since 1995 and formally launched the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program (IARP) in 1999. This program brings innovative artists to UW–Madison to teach semester-long, interdisciplinary courses and to publicly present their work for campus and community audiences. The program recently changed its name to the Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Teaching (IART) Program. IART is made possible by funding from the university’s Office of the Provost.