Morning Melodies – A Diwali Celebration with Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar
Sunday, 1 Nov 2026, 8:30 AM
2075 Laurel Valley Dr., Vernon Hills, IL 60061Artists:
Smt. Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar (Vocal), Sanjay Deshpande (Tabla), Dnyaneshwar Sonawane (Harmonium)
Artist Bio:
Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar
Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar is a leading vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, trained by its doyen Pt. Madhusudan Kanetkar and later mentored by Gaanasaraswati Smt. Kishori Amonkar. Known for her open aakaar and the seamless intertwining of laya and swara that marks the Jaipur style, she has performed at the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, the ITC Sangeet Sammelan, and the Dover Lane Music Conference, and across the USA, UK, France, Australia, and New Zealand. Her honors include the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar (Sangeet Natak Akademi) and the Pandit Kumar Gandharva Award. She is an ‘A’-grade artist of All India Radio.
Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjay Deshpande is a Pune-based tabla player, first introduced to the instrument under the late Pt. Sabade at the Bharat Gayan Samaj, Pune, and later trained in the guru-shishya tradition under the renowned Pt. Suresh Talwalkar of the Delhi-Farrukhabad gharana. He has further absorbed the beauty of the Punjab gharana under the world-renowned Ustad Alla Rakha and Pt. Yogesh Samsi, and currently takes taleem from Pt. Vivek Joshi. A recipient of the coveted Ahmedjaan Thirakwa Scholarship for solo performance, he has accompanied leading artists including Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Smt. Malini Rajurkar, Dr. Prabha Atre, Pt. Dinkar Kaikini, and Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, and has performed at major conferences such as the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival (Pune), the Shankarlal Samaroha (New Delhi), the ITC Sangeet Sammelan, and the Dover Lane Music Conference (Kolkata).
Dnyaneshwar Sonawane
Dnyaneshwar Sonawane is a Mumbai-based harmonium player and accompanist, trained under Pt. Bapu Kulkarni and, currently, the internationally acclaimed Pt. Sudhir Nayak. He holds an M.A. in Music from Nanded University, has accompanied leading artists across Khayal, Thumri-Dadra, Ghazal, and folk music, and played harmonium for the film Khudbudi. A recipient of the 2019 Naad Sadhak Puraskar, he teaches harmonium at Sharda Sangeet Vidyalaya, Bandra.