Shankar Tucker
| Shankar Tucker | |
|---|---|
Shankar Tucker at NH7 Weekender 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ambrose Avril Tucker |
| Born |
July 31, 1987 Massachusetts |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Hindustani Classical, Indian Fusion, Alternative, Jazz, World |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Clarinetist |
| Instruments | Clarinet, Piano, Tabla, Kanjira, Guitar |
| Years active | 2011-present |
| Associated acts |
Vidya Iyer & Vandana Iyer Rohan Kymal Maati Baani |
| Website | shankartucker |
Shankar Tucker is an American clarinetist and music composer. He rose to fame with the popularity of his YouTube music channel "The ShrutiBox". He is now debuting as the music composer for a bilingual Indian feature film, 'Orey Nyabagam' (Tamil) / 'Nee Vaipe' (Telugu), written and directed by Vignarajan, an associate of renowned Tamil film director Radhamohan.
He was born as Ambrose Tucker to sculptor William G. Tucker, and his artist wife, Pamela "Kamini" Avril. He grew up in Ashfield, Massachusetts. He has a younger sister, Akshaya Avril Tucker (born 1992), a cellist and a trained Indian Classical dancer, who has collaborated with him on his compositions. Shankar was the name given to him as a young child by “Amma” – the spiritual leader and renowned humanitarian Mata Amritanandamayi (his family are devotees) on her US tour, and he has gone by it ever since.
When he was young, he wanted to play the saxophone, but since his grandfather could teach him, his parents pushed him toward clarinet. He started to learn classical clarinet at age 10. He attended the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School. At 15, he discovered his fascination for Indian classical music when he first heard Remember Shakti (album), by John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
He earned a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music in 2006 from an appearance on From the Top, the nationally syndicated youth radio show. He became deeply interested in improvisation, both in jazz and classical Indian music, while he continued to study and perform Western classical music at such venues as Symphony Hall, Boston and Jordan Hall. At the Conservatory he studied with Tom Martin of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, while the sitar player Peter Row taught him the fundamentals of Indian classical performance. On graduating from the Conservatory in 2010 as a Bachelor of Clarinet Classical Performance, Classical Music, he was awarded a grant by the Frank Huntingdon Beebe Fund to pursue his ambition to adapt the clarinet to Indian classical performance. He was accepted as a student by the world famous Hindustani flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia at his Vrindaban Gurukul in Mumbai in the summer of 2010.
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