Srijit Mukherjee
Mentor, Director & Co-Founder
Srijit Mukherjee is a classical guitarist and music educator from Kolkata, India, who has been professionally trained for several years in Germany and Austria. With a former academic background in Software / Programming, Srijit wanted to pursue his passion but saw no possibility of studying the classical guitar at University level in India. This led him to become arguably the first Indian to study the classical guitar in Germany.
After attending several concerts and masterclasses organized by the Calcutta Classical Guitar Society, as well as performing at the monthly guitar concerts at the Calcutta School of Music, Srijit self-actualized where he belonged and found his own journey in western Europe. In his mid twenties, he moved first to Vienna, Austria, where he studied directly under Prof. Jorgos Panetsos and then in 2018 he moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where he resided till 2022. Srijit has been mentored by Prof. Tillmann Reinbeck, alongside former teaching by Prof. Johannes Monno and Kathrin Klingeberg at the Stuttgart Music University (HMDK Stuttgart).
In addition to the classical guitar, Srijit also plays & teaches the electric guitar and the acoustic steel string guitar. Since 2022, Srijit has moved back to his hometown of Kolkata, India and has been active with teaching & performing on the classical guitar as well as building a community & organizing events. In December 2022, he had helped initiate & organize CGRF’s first inaugural Art Guitar Fest Calcutta, held at the Calcutta School of Music.
As a seasoned performer, he has performed at various venues such as The Victoria Memorial Hall for the Ami Arts Festival in 2024, at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations ( ICCR), as well as the Sandre Hall Auditorium for the Monsoon Concerts held by the Calcutta School of Music.
Srijit sees it as his mission as a music educator to expand his musical horizon, to share his knowledge and to nurture the talent of serious classical guitarists of India, hoping to unlock their potential and wishing to see them on the international concert stage.
Website: www.srijitmax.com
Santanu Datta
Trustee, Representative, Educator
Santanu Datta is an Indian composer of contemporary classical music and a classical guitarist based in Kolkata. A graduate of IIT Kharagpur and an alumnus of the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris (Diplôme Supérieur, 2011-2016), Santanu studied composition, writing and aesthetics, orchestration, analysis, classical guitar (DEM, FTCL and LRSM), chamber music and historical performance practices with musicians like Edith Lejet, Stéphane Delplace, Anthony Girard, Narcis Bonet, François Martin and others. Santanu has performed widely as a soloist and his compositions have been performed by musicians from all over the world.
Rajarshi Mukherjee
Trustee, Manager, Music History Teacher
Hailing from a family that equally valued music and literature alongside academia, Rajarshi Mukherjee has an eclectic taste when it comes to musical genres. His fascination with the classical guitar began in the mid 90’s- as a student of History Honours at the Scottish Church College – with a chance of hearing of Andres Segovia recording on a cassette tape!
He took classical guitar lessons under Kallol Kumar Das, a veteran multi instrumentalist of that time. He got involved in the dissemination and popularization of the classical guitar music in Calcutta and the Country by extension around the first’ decade of the millennia while maintaining a job with a renowned private University of the country. Acted as judge for the Monthly classical guitar concert that started around 2009 and is continuing ever since, providing a much sought after platform for budding guitarists. His love and appreciation for the instrument and its music is as intense, if not more, than when it begun some three decades back.
Ankit Pahuja
Trustee, Representative, Financial Advisor
Ankit Pahuja is a guitarist and banking professional from Kolkata, India. He has been working with a reputed state owned public sector Bank ( Indian Overseas Bank ) for the last 14 years. As a blues-rock aficionado, he has regularly played acoustic steel-string guitar for the last 10 years and now practises the classical guitar as his main instrument. After having a repertoire of about 30 minutes, Ankit has taken a remarkable decision of dedicating his whole life to the classical guitar. His current favorite piece is the Study in B minor Opus 35, No.22 by Fernando Sor, which for him is reminiscent of his all time favorite composer – Ludwig Van Beethoven. Ankit has travelled quite a lot across India and has been posted around Goa and Karnataka. He loves serene atmosphere and peaceful people. He wishes to inspire those who genuinely loves music and wishes to see the classical guitar community flourish.