Name; Pandit Yashpaul
Date of Birth; 22nd March 1937
Born; Gujranwala, Pakistan
Nationality; Indian
Pandit Yashpaul was born in Gujranwala in March of 1937. After the partition of Pakistan, his family moved to India and settled in the region of Jalandhar, where he was initiated into and introduced to music under the fantastic training of Guru Pt. Kasturilal ji ‘Jassra’, who was the disciple and star pupil of Late Ustad Chhotte Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb of Lahore.
Pandit Yashpaul is a performing artiste of the Agra gharana of Hindustani Classical Music and generally considered to be a world authority on the matter. He has made many significant contributions towards the conservation and maintenance of the heritage of the classical vocal music of India. Yashpaul received his musical training under the gurus Pt. Kasturi Lal Ji Jasara, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan Saheb and Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan Saheb, the virtuosos of the well-known Indian Agra gharana of Nohar Bani. He also bears the influence of the inspirations of the Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Saheb and Pt. Malikarjun Mansoor Ji.
Yashpaul is a well known and highly respected composer, educationist and musicologist who has demonstrated his talents across the world on any occasions. He has composed a great number of compositions in both common and rare ragas under his alternative name, or ‘pen name’; Sagun Piya. Over the years Yashpaul has received many awards including the esteemed Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2011.
In the 1980s the Asian School of Music had the absolute pleasure of hosting Pandit Yashpaul for a time at the Manchester base of the school. While at the school, Yashpaul performed in a number of concerts for the students of the school and also hosted masterclasses where the students of the school were able to learn from one of the greatest teachers of the subject in the world.
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