Ra-Ve Master Concert Series

​The Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation (Ra-Ve) is well-known across Northwest Arkansas for providing classes, training, and musical events for all who are interested in the music and dance tradition of classical India. Since our founding in 2018, we have brought hundreds of students and audience members to a greater appreciation of these ancient and beautiful traditions.
The Master Concert Series is the ultimate expression of that vision, bringing the finest practitioners of Indian music and dance to NWA in live performance. Scheduled twice per year and featuring music, dance, and folk traditions, the performances celebrate the skills and achievements of India’s most accomplished professionals. These concerts have proven to be highly popular for Indian and non-Indian audiences alike; as well, they serve double-duty as our major annual Fund-Raising event. It is only through your continuing support that we can showcase these outstanding artists for you—not in India, not on TV, not in the movies, but right here, on stage, to you, here in Northwest Arkansas.

​Offering an unmatched opportunity to connect with Indian culture and heritage, the Ra-Ve Master Concerts feature top-tier Indian artists, promising to give you unmatched musical experiences. These masters create and present a 90-minute thematic presentation of their art form, which includes expert music and dance accompanists to express the fullest embodiment of the work.
And to make it even better, delicious Indian food is provided to all who attend! Come and enjoy the music, savor the food, and connect with the delights of Indian music, dance, and food.

Unusually among arts organizations, Ra-Ve provides competitive artist fees and underwrites all the costs of travel, meals, and lodging. We are proud of our commitment to the arts and the artists, and from the first we have ensured that the dancers and musicians are fairly compensated for the many years of skill they bring to the Master Concerts.
Equally important is our continuing collaboration with other prominent arts organizations in NWA. These partnerships benefit all concerned, and include the Walton Arts Center, Dhirana Academy of Classical Dance, Trike Theater, the University of Arkansas, Downtown Bentonville Incorporated, Crystal Bridges Museum of Contemporary Art, and many others.
Over the past five years, the Master Concerts have presented a highly diverse schedule of
performances and workshops:

• 2018 – Violin Viola duet by Vittal Ramamoorthy (violin) and VVS Murari (viola)accompanied by Srimushnam Raja Rao (mridangam) and KV Gopalakrishnan (kanjira).
• 2019 – Rukmini Vijaykumar presented a Bharatanatyam solo “Thalattu”; Nirmala Rajasekhar (veena) and Tarun Bhattacharya (santoor) presented a Carnatic and Hindustani jugalbandi accompanied by Thanjavur Murugabhoopathi (mridangam) and Hindole Majumdar (tabla) which we named “Prayag”.
• 2020 – (ONLINE) Black & White was a unique Carnatic cutcheri created and presented by Vijayashri Vittal (vocals) accompanied by Sumesh Narayanan (rhythm), Ravi Shankar (keys), and Sayee Rakshith (violin); A Dancing Love Story: The Kathak Edition brought the very dynamic Kumar Sharma and his team The Kathak Rockers to our screen in Bentonville.
• 2021 – (ONLINE) Samay was a timeless classic of Hindustani flute presented by The Flute Sisters (Suchismita and Debopriya Chatterjee) accompanied by Satyajeet Talwalkar (tabla) and Mrinal Upadhyay (pakhawaj); Narakasura was an exciting, rare opportunity to film and present the grand tradition of Yakshagana from the heartland of Karnataka in India.
• 2022 – Roopa Mahadevan brought her unique show Roopa in Flux to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art accompanied by Shruthi Sarathy, Rohan Krishnamurthy and Chris McCarthy; Himachal – A song from the Himalayas showcased traditional folk dances and music from the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh in India. This was recorded as a video and screened in person at KIFA.
• 2023 – Divine Trio featuring Mita Nag (sitar), Hassan Haider (shehnai) and Shubhen Chatterjee (tabla). This is the very first time that a sitar concert is being performed here in Bentonville.

Ra-Ve Cultural Foundation and the Master Concert Series bring to you the very finest examples of some of the most beautiful music and dance traditions in the world. Join us as we celebrate these ancient, lustrous—and highly entertaining—arts!