Bio - Glen Kniebeiss

Current Projects

Glen is currently active as a tabla player and tabla teacher in Melbourne.

He plays at festivals and concerts around Australia, and internationally.

He performs regularly with many artists in Melbourne including Sabyasachi Bhattacharya and Vinod Prasanna, as well as high level artists on tour from India such as Pandit Debiprasad Chatterjee, Raka Mukherjee, Sri Paritosh Pohankar and Sri Sangeet Mishra. Glen is also performing with aboriginal band Yilila from Numbulwar, Arhnem land. Glen is a committee member of the Nataraj cultural centre, which organizes the annual Spirit of India concerts, featuring the very best Indian artists.

Academic studies - Artistic development

Glen began formal music lessons in 1982 at the age of nine, playing clarinet for several years, and then the guitar. His interest in Indian Classical music began in 1994, when he commenced vocal studies with Narmatha Ravichandhira through the Academy of Indian Music Australia.

In 1995 Glen completed the Advanced Certificate of Music Performance at NMIT, and he went on to gain a Bachelor of Music performance degree majoring in Improvisation at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1998.

Glen would like to acknowledge the lessons and support he received from fellow Australian tabla players Jeremy Tibb, Kate Tempany and Rodney Wright during 1998-99. In 2000 Glen travelled to India for intensive tabla studies with Sri Umakanta Dash of Puri, and went on to study Delhi gharana tabla with the late Ustad Anthony Dass, who was a disciple of Delhi gharana khalifas Ustad Gameh Khan, Ustad Munnu Khan, and Ustad Inam Ali Khan.

Glen has also studied Lucknow and Benaras tabla with Sri Pankaj Kumar of Rishikesh, who is a disciple of Pandit Lacchu Maharaj and Pandit Kishen Maharaj. Other artists Glen has studied tabla with include Sri Akhilesh Gundecha, Sri Vibhash Maharaj, and Sri Kishore Pande.

In 2000/2001 Glen continued vocal studies in Chennai with Smt. Prity Chakraborty Ghose. Since that time Glen has also studied raga and vocal with famous dhrupad singers, the Gundecha Brothers.

In 2003/2004 Glen was awarded funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Ian Potter Cultural trust to undertake further tabla studies in India with Ustad Anthony Dass. During 2004 and 2005 Glen lived as an artist in residence at "Dunmoochin", an artists community in Melbourne's outer suburbs, which was set up by well known Australian painter Clifton Pugh in the early 1950's. During his time at Dunmoochin, Glen devoted himself to intensive tabla riyaz.

More recently, Glen has studied tabla with Pandit Lacchu Maharaj, and Pandit Ishwar Lal Mishra of Benares.

Performances

Glen has performed tabla extensively in Melbourne and throughout Australia.

His playing experience encompasses a vast range of genres including 'world music', Indian classical music, jazz, Hip- hop, rock, electronic, funk, and folk music of many styles. Bands that Glen has worked with include Disasterware, Naad, Chakradah, JuJu, Yilila, Dr Chrome, b'Borfic, Morph, Nandi, to name a few. Since 1997 Glen performed regularly with the world music group AKIN, at many festivals around Australia including:

Port Fairy Folk Festival (VIC)
Apollo Bay Music Festival (VIC)
Maldon Folk Festival (VIC)
Bellingen Global Carnival (NSW)
Victor Harbour Folk Festival (SA)
Jamberoo festival (NSW)
Melbourne International Festival (VIC)

Concerts with international artists

Glen has performed tabla accompaniment in several concerts with high level touring artists from India, such as Pandit DebiPrasad Chatterjee (Sitar), Sri Paritosh Pohankar (vocal), Sri Sangit Mishra (sarangi), and Raka Mukherjee (vocal). Glen organized the Melbourne leg of Raka Mukherjee's tour including concerts and workshops.

Other notable performances

BMW Edge with Vinod Prasanna 2009
WOMEX Showcase concert with Yilila, Copenhagen 2009
Concerts at Mundial Festival, Holland 2008
Concerts in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan 2008
Concert at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 2008
Solo tabla lehera Delhi, India 2003
ABC Iwaki Auditorium - with Ria Soemardjo
Footscray Community Arts Centre -" Interplay" concert
Melbourne museum - with Chris Sprague "Global sounds at Sunset"
Federation Square - "Global dance for peace"
Nexus multicultural Arts centre Adelaide - with Ustad Khalil Gudaz
Boite World Music Cafe
World Harmonies
BMW Edge with Ria Soemardjo "Second home" concert
BMW Edge with Chris Sprague and Ria Soemardjo

(Support act for the Gundecha Brothers concert)

Radio / TV

Glen has performed live radio broadcasts for ABC Radio National,

3PBS, 3RRR, 3MBS, 3ZZZ, and 3CR.

His music with Chris Sprague is featured on several television documentaries:

"Beyond the backyard" (ABC TV 2006)

"Islam Explained" (2004)

"Hazaribag" (2002)

Glen has recently recorded tabla on the soundtrack for "Taj" an upcoming Australian feature film. (2009)

Recordings

Glen has recorded two albums in an innovative duet with Chris Sprague:

"Resonance" (2003) and "Raga Malkauns" (2006), Both of which have received regular radio airplay. The "Resonance" album received a rave

review in fRoots magazine (UK) and is rated '4 stars... highly recommended'

by indie cds.com. For more information about this duet, please visit their website; www.melbournemusic.info

In February 2007 Glen recorded tabla on a track by Australian artist Michael Fein, and had the privelege of working with legendary guitarist and producer Lobby Loyde. Glen has participated in many other recording projects, please see the music page for further details.

Awards

2010	Australia Council for the Arts Skills and Arts development Grant for tabla studies with Pandit Ishwar Lal Mishra in India
2003 – 2004	Australia Council for the Arts Skills and Arts development Grant for tabla studies with Ustad Anthony Dass in India
2003 – 2004	Ian Potter Cultural Trust Arts development Grant for tabla studies with Ustad Anthony Dass in India
1996 – 1997	Athenaeum Award – VCA First Year small ensemble winner 1996 Second year small ensemble second prize 1997