Shiv Kumar Sharma

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma Born January 13 1938 Is An Indian Classical Musician Working In The Hindustani Classical Music Tradition. He Is A Master Of The Santoor A Folk Instrument From The Valley Of Kashmir. It Is A Type Of Hammered Dulcimer Whose Strings Are Struck With A Pair Of Light Carved Wooden Mallets. He Is Credited With Single-Handedly Making The Santoor A Popular Classical Instrument In Indian Classical Music Santoor Is A Widely Used Instrument In Persian Music To The Extent That The Santoor And Pandit Shivkumar Sharma Are Synonymous. Sharma Modified The Kashmiri Folk Instrument To Make It More Suitable For His Classical Technique Increasing The Range Of The Instrument To Three Full Octaves And Making It Capable Of A Smoother Meend The Glissando Or Gliding Between Notes Required In Hindustani Classical Music To Emulate The Human Voice . Besides He Also Created A New Technique Of Playing With Which He Could Sustain Notes And Maintain Sound Continuity. Sharma Has Performed Many Concerts With Renowned Musicians Such As The Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. He Has Also Partnered With Well-Known Flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia To Form A Group Called Shiv-Hari For Composing Hindi Film Music. Shivkumar Sharma Is The Recipient Of Many National And International Awards Including Honorary Citizenship Of The City Of Baltimore USA 1985 Sangeet Natak Academy Award 1986 Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar 1990 Honorary Doctorate From The University Of Jammu 1991 Padmashree 1991 Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award 1998 And Padma Vibhushan 2001 . Also Credited As Shivkumar Sharma And Even Shuv Kumar Sharma. read less