KUNAL GUNJAL:
After first learning tabla, the acclaimed and gifted Indian musician Kunal Gunjal then took to the ancient classical and Kashmiri folk instrument, the one hundred stringed, Santoor, which is like a hammered dulcimer, the percussive melodic instrument. Kunal is taking the instrument to new directions and new heights, all while also staying true and pure to the centuries old raga tradition he learned within. An award winning santoor artist and longtime disciple of the late great Shivkumar Sharma and has performed with his guru on stage many times over the years. Kunal has since performed at some of the premier festivals including, Chicago World Music Festival, Ragamala Festival, Big Ears Festival, Ragas Live Festival in Brooklyn, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, and he has performed at the Gunidas Sangeet Sammelan festival in India where he opened the festival for the late Zakir Hussian. Kunal has many accolades to his honor including the Vedic Heritage Fellowship which was awarded by vocal legend Pandit Jasraj. Kunal is also a recipient of the National Scholarship, awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and the Sawai Gandharva Scholarship.
Kunal has also conducted artist residencies and workshops at some of the premier universities including Boston University, Wellesley College, Johns Hopkins University, and others.
Kunal has produced an album, ‘Nature Of All Things’ which features santoor with western film score music and with an orchestra for the first time ever. It won the ‘Global Music Award’ in “World Music” in 2019. This album has also been nominated for the ‘Hollywood Music in Media Award’. Kunal has developed the world’s first electric santoor of his own original design. His latest album, “When Time Stood Still (Reprise)” released in March of 2026 with tabla player Amit Kavthekar is a tribute to their late gurus, Shivkumar Sharma and Zakir Hussain.