Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, the brilliant master of North India’s drum, the tabla, credits his family for the encouragement and early training that have earned him a place among the greatest classical musicians of India. His parents initiated him into the study of tabla when he was five and greatly inspired him to excel. The poetic style, clarity and elegance of his music, both as a soloist and accompanist, have earned him great respect and appreciation from fellow musicians as well as audiences around the world. His virtuosity and ingenuity have ushered in a new style of tabla playing.

Pandit Chaudhuri’s remarkable style is based on the long training he received from his Guru, Santosh Krishna Biswas of Calcutta - the eminent exponent of the Lucknow Gharana. Swapan holds a Master’s degree in Music, as well as a degree in Economics from Jadavpur University in Calcutta. The Government of India and a number of musical institutions have conferred high honors on him for his distinguished contributions in the art and literature of tabla.

Swapanji has performed throughout Europe, North America and Asia as a soloist and as an accompanist with such masters as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Dr. Balmurali Krishna as well as the late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and the late Amir Khan. In 1981, Maestro Ali Akbar Khan invited Swapanji to the United States to teach at the Ali Akbar College of Music. Pandit Chaudhuri is Director of Percussion at the College in San Rafael, California where students from all over the world receive intensive training in tabla. In addition Pandit Chaudhuri maintains a rigorous year round touring and recording schedule.