Ritesh Das

Ritesh Das Founder and Artistic Director of Toronto Tabla Ensemble. Teacher and composer since 1987.

06/25/2026

Study tabla with the Toronto Tabla Ensemble.

Classes are offered in downtown Toronto, and online through Zoom for students across Canada and around the world.

Beginning, intermediate, and advanced students are welcome. Some students join to learn the fundamentals, while others continue their studies for many years through ensemble training, performance opportunities, and teacher development.

In-Person Classes
• Toronto

Online Classes
• Weekly Zoom classes worldwide

Please register here:
https://ow.ly/z31g50ZhkOf

For many years, the dream of a permanent Toronto Tabla Centre has been part of our conversations, our planning, and our ...
06/21/2026

For many years, the dream of a permanent Toronto Tabla Centre has been part of our conversations, our planning, and our hopes for the future. Today, that vision is beginning to take shape.

This Centre is being envisioned as a home for learning, community, culture, creativity, and future generations. In the months ahead, we will be sharing drawings, plans, stories, and updates as the project continues to develop. We will introduce the spaces, people, programs, and ideas that will help bring this vision to life.

While social media allows us to share brief updates, our newsletter is where we can share the full journey.

If you would like to follow along and stay connected as the Toronto Tabla Centre grows from vision to reality, please subscribe to our newsletter:

https://torontotabla.com/contact/

We look forward to sharing this next chapter with you.

Toronto Tabla Ensemble

06/14/2026

One of the great privileges of teaching is being able to witness growth over time.

This video begins with students taking their first steps—learning basic strokes, recitation, and timekeeping. It then follows the journey through developing and senior classes, eventually arriving on the concert stage with advanced ensemble members.

Behind every clip are years of lessons, practice, friendships, challenges, and shared experiences. Some of the students seen here first walked into the classroom nearly a decade ago. Today they are doctors, architects, professionals, parents, and accomplished musicians, while continuing their tabla studies.

When I founded the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, my hope was to create a place where students could study seriously, grow over time, and share the joy of music with others. Watching students develop from their first lesson to ensemble performance remains one of the most rewarding parts of my life's work.

— Ritesh Das
Founder, Toronto Tabla Ensemble
Teaching Tabla in Toronto Since 1987

06/08/2026

The roots of these classes reach back to Kolkata, India, where my parents founded Nritya Bharati, a music and dance school that began during British rule and became firmly established in the years following India's independence.

I was born in 1957 and grew up surrounded by teachers, students, rehearsals, performances, and the daily life of a thriving arts community. Much of what I learned about teaching, learning, and building a school came from that environment.

When I came to Canada, I carried those experiences with me. Over the years, they became part of the foundation of the Toronto Tabla Ensemble.

This video is a glimpse of one of our senior classes. Some of the students you see here have been studying for many years and are now helping to carry this work forward in their own way.

— Ritesh Das

06/07/2026

Study tabla with the Toronto Tabla Ensemble.

Classes are offered in downtown Toronto, London, Ontario, and online through Zoom for students across Canada and around the world.

Beginning, intermediate, and advanced students are welcome. Some students join to learn the fundamentals, while others continue their studies for many years through ensemble training, performance opportunities, and teacher development.

In-Person Classes
• Toronto
• London, Ontario

Online Classes
• Weekly Zoom classes worldwide

Please register here:
torontotabla.com/school

06/04/2026

What does the Toronto Tabla Ensemble actually do?

For many people, the answer begins with a concert. But behind every performance are years of training, mentorship, community connections, cultural exchange, outreach programs, recordings, collaborations, and the ongoing work of preserving and sharing a living tradition.

For nearly four decades, the Toronto Tabla Ensemble has worked to bring the North Indian classical rhythmic tradition to audiences of all ages while creating opportunities for learning, artistic growth, leadership, and meaningful community engagement.

This overview offers a glimpse into the many activities that help shape and sustain the work of the Ensemble.

If you would like to help support this ongoing work, please consider making a contribution and becoming part of the journey.

06/02/2026

When a young child first becomes involved with music, nobody knows where that path will lead.

Years later, that same child may be preparing for university, performing on stage, contributing to recordings and productions, and helping younger students find their own footing.

Jishnu Parekh is one example of what can grow through years of dedication, guidance, practice, and participation in a living tradition.

The Toronto Tabla Ensemble has always been about more than performance. Through the study of the North Indian classical rhythmic tradition, students develop skills that remain with them throughout their lives, whether they continue in music or follow other paths.

Today, Jishnu contributes as a performer, mentor, and young leader within the Ensemble while preparing for the next chapter of his life.

As part of our ongoing fundraising campaign, we are sharing stories that reflect the people, relationships, and experiences that have shaped the Toronto Tabla Ensemble over the years.

If this work speaks to you, please consider making a contribution and helping keep this work alive.

A living art form does not continue by itself.It continues through teaching and learning, through rehearsal and performa...
05/31/2026

A living art form does not continue by itself.

It continues through teaching and learning, through rehearsal and performance, through community, collaboration, and the support of people who believe it has value.

The Toronto Tabla Ensemble's 2026 fundraising campaign is now underway.

This campaign is about more than raising funds. It is about helping sustain a living tradition, supporting artistic creation, educational outreach, cultural exchange, and the ongoing sharing of tabla with future generations.

If this work has touched your life, inspired you, taught you something, brought you joy, or helped build community, we invite you to help carry it forward.

Every contribution, every introduction, every shared story, and every act of support helps this work continue.

Donation link:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-tabla-ensemble-world-music-organization-inc/campaign/tte-fundraiser-2026/

05/30/2026

One of the gifts of living in Canada is the opportunity to meet, listen to, and learn from many cultures.

For many years, the collaboration between Toronto Tabla Ensemble and Kiyoshi Nagata has grown through this spirit. Tabla and taiko come from different traditions, yet through listening, discipline, and respect, they are able to meet in music.

This is the kind of work our fundraising campaign helps sustain — not only performances, but the deeper work of teaching, creating, collaborating, and building understanding between communities.

When people support this work, they help keep open a space where culture, learning, and respect can continue to grow.

With gratitude to the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts for helping make this work possible.

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London
South London, ON

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