Pandit Jasraj and Vancouver, Lower Mainland:

Starting in 1980, Panditji came to Vancouver for several concerts. During one of these visits in 1989, some music enthusiasts requested him to offer vocal music workshops. He offered his first set of workshops in 1990.  With the dedication and commitment shown by the students, Panditji agreed to make this an annual event and started visiting Vancouver every year since then.

During other months of the year, Panditji’s senior students also came here to continue the music workshops.

These annual classical music workshops became the foundation of the school. Pandit Jasraj School of Music Foundation was incorporated in 1994 as a Society in the Province of British Columbia.

In the following year, 1995, we hosted our inaugural concert featuring Pandit Jasrajji, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Kala Ramnath and Shweta Jhaveri.  In 1996 we hosted the first American concert featuring  the three maestros Pandit Jasrajji, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasiaji and Ustad Zakir Hussain. We also produced a set of 2 cds of this concert which were marketed by Music India worldwide.

Since  then the school has hosted over 60 concerts featuring prominent vocalists, instrumentalists, percussionists and dancers. Click here for details.

PJSOM at Present

For the past 25 years, we have been providing vocal workshops on a weekly basis. Currently, we are providing workshops in two levels, beginner and intermediate. We continue to host three concerts every year, featuring some of the finest musicians.

Members of the Board:

President: Acharya Asha Lohia

Acharya Asha Lohia, is the founding member and current President of PJSOM.  Asha hails from Kolkata, India.  She is a direct disciple of Guruji, Pandit Jasrajji, who accepted her as a disciple in 1995.  Vocal music is her passion.  However, Asha is a notary public and has practiced for the last 27 years on Broadway in Vancouver.

In July 2011, Asha Lohia was recognized for her pioneering work in establishing the Mewati Gurukul in North America in 1990, she was given the title Acharya by the Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music New York.

Board of Directors:

Viloo Shaikh

Villoo Shaikh migrated to Canada from Bombay in June 1967, and at the time of her retirement from Canada Safeway she was a Computer Security Administrator.

Villoo was invited to join the Board of the Pandit Jasraj School of Music 5 years ago. She is currently appointed to the position of the Vice-President of the School. Her interest in classical music goes back to her school days, when she was a student of western classical music, and completed the Higher Local level under the Trinity School of Music, UK

Teresa Rehman

Teresa Rehman is the Community Services Librarian for the Coquitlam Public Library. She comes from Suva, Fiji Islands and has spent the better part of her life in doing volunteer work for her Fiji community.

Teresa is a music student at PJSOM and also serves on the Board as Publicist and Recording Secretary. She likes to cook and bake and enjoys singing classic bollywood oldies. Her fully catalogued cooking DVD entitled Curry My Way can be found in many libraries in BC and across Canada.

Krishna Teja

Originally from India, Krishna is a trained  classical singer, and a passionate student of Indian classical music. Krishna started his professional vocal training at a very early age in both carnatic and hindustani classical music.  As there is no end of learning in music or anything, Krishna is currently being trained in Hindustani vocal music under Pandit Pritam Bhattacharjee and Acharya Smt.Asha Lohia. He is a doctoral student, studying Industrial Engineering at the University of British Columbia. He joined the Board of Directors of PJSOM in May 2015.

Dr. Rohan J. Khadilkar

Originally from Nasik, India; Rohan was smitten by the world of Hindustani Classical music in his early childhood days when he often heard audio recordings of classical music, Sant composed Abhangas and Raga based Marathi Natyasangeet played by his father. Being so fond of it and having developed an ear for Classical music, he attended a number of classical music concerts in India and is currently training under Acharya Asha Lohia. Rohan is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia where he studies how stem cells respond to infections. He joined the Board of Directors in Feb, 2017.

Vijay Akhade

 

Kamala Cherukupalli

Kamala hails from India and has been a connoisseur of Indian Classical music , both Hindustani and Carnatic style from Early age. She had training in Hindustani classical singing in early school years and after a long gap has started learning from Acharya Asha Lohia from 2017. She has a PhD degree from the University of British Columbia and worked several years in UBC, Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, and as a Regional Manager for a Financial Serviced Company. Since her retirement in 2017, she spends her time in voluntary services and spiritual activities. She joined the Board of Directors from 2018.