Krishna has been an Office Assistant at NMC for the last four months. His responsibilities include collecting data on students, taking care of applications, recording teacher attendance and coordinating schedules, among others. Krishna has also been taking voice lessons at NSV in the Eastern and Western classical idioms for the last four years, as well as jazz guitar classes for the past two and a half years. His favorite raag is Yaman, and some of his favorite popular songs are by Bryan Adams and Eric Clapton. Krishna performs regularly at NMC functions, sometimes doubling as the M.C. Recently, he finished his B.A. from Tribhuvan University in English and Sociology, and has begun work on a solo album of classical and popular songs.

Gehendra Purush Dhakal

Min Bahadur Deula

Min has been the Custodian of NMC for the past three years. It is thanks to him that NMC is kept in tip-top shape, as his responsibilities include keeping the entire compound, which is by no means small, in order. Before joining NMC, Min worked in the office of a trade union for several years as a custodian. He is a self-taught madal player, and studied Dhime for several months, performing on both of these during bhoj and jatra with friends. Min also enjoys singing Nepali and Newari songs, especially "Raju Mati". He is also particularly fond of the sounds of Newari instruments, having frown up with this as a part of the soundscape of Bhaktapur.

Mina Dhamala

Mina has been cooking at NMC for the past year. Prior to this, she was living and working in her home village in Panauti, Kavrepalanchowk. Like Mukunda, Mina taught herself to cook somewhere in the not too distant past, and she now takes care of everyone at NMC, preparing delicious items for the team. Mina thoroughly enjoys listening to lok geet and pop songs. Although she likes Hindi numbers, she prefers Nepali songs as she understands their lyrics better. She would like to learn the tabla and take some singing classes at some point in her life. Mina also looks forward to NMC programs, which she enjoys taking in when she gets the chance.

Bimala Ghimire

Bimala is the Store Incharge of the administrative department of NMC. On an average day, she maintains an inventory of all incoming items from stationary to instruments, makes student I.D. cards, collects student fees, and answers any questions students or visitors may have, among other responsibilities. Before joining NMC, Bimala would occasionally listen to the sounds coming from the building as she lived nearby. Initially partial towards Eastern classical music, her three years at NMC have since given her a greater appreciation of Western classical music as well. Her eleven year-old son, Amulya, is an enthusiastic madal student at NMC, coming out daily to work at his instrument.

Sunit Kansakar

Sunit Kansakar began his musical career as a guitarist. After picking up the instrument at the age of twelve, Sunit performed regularly as part of Robin and Looza some years later. At age eighteen, he took up sitar at the suggestion of his uncle, the renowned sitarist Tara Bir Singh Tuladhar. Prior to joining NSV as a sitar teacher, Sunit took two years of private sound engineering classes from experts from Singapore and Australia, and eventually founded a recording studio, Rec Records, in Nardevi. These days, he is playing guitar with Lochan Rijal, principal of NSV. As a sitar teacher, Sunit believes in focusing on material that his students can relate to; as most of his students are also guitar players, he teaches elements of Western theory that can also be applied to the guitar. He most admires Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Nikhil Banerjee.

Durga Prasad Khatiwada

Durga first blew through a bansuri at the age of seven. After three years of teaching himself to play, he began making his own flutes. After taking a BA in English at Agra University, Durga comlpeted his I.Mus and B. Mus from Bantkande Sangeet University, Lucknow, and his M.Mus from Banaras Hindu University. During his time in India, Durga finished as the first runner up in both the All India Radio Music Competition in 2000, and the All India Youth Music Competition in 2002. Since then, Durga has performed in France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany, as well as across the Subcontinent. He has been teaching bansuri for the past four years at NMC, doubling as an education coordinator and the head of the Eastern music faculty. Durga’s favorite artists include Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Bismillah Khan, Panna Lal Ghosh, Rashid Khan and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Prem Sagar Khatiwada

Prem has been the tabla accompanist for vocal, flute, Sarangi and guitar classes at NSV for the last four years. Although he did not start playing tabla until the age of twenty, Prem made up for his relatively late start with excellent training and devotion. After taking a B.A. in Sanskrit Literature from Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University in Banaras, he completed his C.L. in tabla from Mary’s College Lucknow, followed by his B.Mus and M.Mus at Banaras Hindu University under Dr. Pravin Udhav and Pandit Chote Lal Mishra. These days, Prem is playing with Triveni Sangeet Samua, which includes NSV staff Jiwan Rai and Durga Prasad Khatiwada, Prem’s older brother. He also teaches tabla at Tribhuvan University’s R.R. Campus. Prem’s favorite artists include Zakir Hussain, Dr. Pravin Udhav, and the ghazal singer Hariharan.

Hari Maharjan

Hari Maharjan has been a guitar teacher at NMC for three years. He began playing guitar in high school, performing regularly at school concerts with friends. It was during the six month gap between school and college that Hari began to concentrate on his playing and soon, he was performing covers around the Valley. Since then, Hari has played with many bands, including Nepathya and Karma, and has grown interested in “Gypsy Jazz”. Although he studied this form with Daniel Givone, his goal is not to learn to replicate this style note for note; instead, Hari wants to mix elements of Gypsy Jazz with Nepali and Newari songs to create a hybrid of sorts. This spirit is reflected in his latest album, a nine-track solo project called “The Hari Maharjan project”. His favorite musicians include Naryan Gopal, Gopan Yonjon, John McLaughlin, Django Reinhardt, Birelli Lagrene and V.M. Bhatt. Hari also teaches guitar at Kathmandu University, and continues to perform around the city.

Shyam Nepali

Shyam was the first teacher to be hired at NMC. He is a fourth-generation Sarangi player, and has been playing since the age of eight. Shyam credits the atmosphere in his family home for his musicianship, with his grandfather, father and uncle often playing sarangi and singing around the house. After a stint as the singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Young Generation, Shyam had an awakening experience on a trip to Europe in 1990. At a chamber group performance, Shyam was amazed at both the beauty of the violin, and its similarity to Sarangi; it was then that he decided to concentrate on the latter.These days, Shyam is involved in the NMC exchange program between Norwegian, Nepali and Chinese music students. He is also an advocate for Sarangi, playing in techno and rock groups with the intention of selling the instrument to younger audiences to ensure its legacy. He may be the only Sarangi player to attach a wah-wah pedal to his instrument!

Goma Neupane

Sudarshan Pokharel

Sudarshan was one of NMC’s first employees when it opened four years ago. As an Office Assistant, his responsibilities vary greatly; sometimes he helps with accounts and inventory, other times he acts as a receptionist for visitors and students. He is also the liaison between students and administrators, relaying any concerns and complaints the former may have. Outside of the office, Sudarshan is the warden of the NMC residential hostel, caring for the students who live there. In his youth, he used to make his own bansuri, and still enjoys playing. Sudarshan is also taking vocal lessons at NSV with an emphasis on eastern classical music. Although he has always enjoyed singing, he credits NSV with reinvigorating his desire to learn music formally.

Jiwan Rai

Jiwan has been playing tabla since he was six years old. After thirteen years of guru-shishya parampara with Pratab Singh Mohar, Fatkira Ram, and his brother Santa Kumar Rai, Jiwan took his B.Mus at Gitigunja Music Mahavidhyalaya (1st Division) in Darjeeling, followed by his M.Mus at Rabindra Bharati University (1st Division with gold medal) in Calcutta. Jiwan has played with many groups in Kathmandu, including Triveni, Aatmya, Mokcha, and 1974 A.D. He also serves as the accompanist at Gopalaya Studios, playing tabla alongside light music singers like Fateh Man, Ambar Gurung, and Gopal Yanjan. Jiwan performs regularly at the montly Palaita Srinkala as well. His favorite tabla players include Zakir Hussain, Kumar Bose, Nayan Ghosh, and Swapan Chaudhuri. He is currently in his fourth year as a tabla teacher at NSV.

Sarita Rajchal

For the past year, Sarita has been the Western Dance teacher at NSV. She began her training at Padatak while attending the I.E.C. fashion design institute in Calcutta, focusing on salsa, hip-hop and jazz dance. When her design course ended, Sarita returned to Kathmandu and began teaching at NSV. She feels most comfortable dancing jazz and salsa, but is equally proficient in hip-hop. Sarita notes that hip-hop and salsa are the most popular forms among her students, as there is not as much jazz dance in mainstream media as these two, and suggests that promotional activities like concerts and workshops be held to promote this form. Sarita has also designed clothes for five fashion shows since her return, and is contemplating further work in the fashion world in the future. She cites the designers Manish Malhotra and Vanetino and the dancer Raymond DeSouza as inspirational figures in her life.

Uttam Kumar Rijal

Uttam has been the Account Officer at NMC for the past three years. As the only employee in this department, he is in charge of all things related to finance, including making payments on behalf of NMC, dealing with students’ tuition, making cash flow reports, among other responsibilities. Uttam then took a Master’s degree in finance from Tribhuvan University. He enjoys listening and singing along to sentimental songs and Hindi numbers by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, as well as the sounds of the saxophone and the violin.

Iman Bikram Shah

Iman is the Principal of NSV, as well as an education officer, supervisor of the International Exchange Program, event coordinator and rock guitar teacher at NMC. Though a member of several school bands since the age of fourteen, it was during his MBA that Iman began to devote considerable time and energy to music. After the sound quality of a studio session in the U.S. left Iman disappointed, he enrolled in recording courses, and went on to start Sacred Sounz Studios in Kathmandu (later renamed BMI), with the intention of providing a studio tailored to rock recordings. After recording over three thousand songs and winning several national awards, Iman is now focusing on activities at NMC. His instructional manual, “Scales, Chords and Arpeggios”, is scheduled for release in the near future. Iman cites Jeff Beck and Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) as two of his favorite artists, and “Smoke on the Water” is among his favorite songs.

Suman Kumar Sachin

Suman has been the Eastern vocal teacher at NSV for the last six months. He began singing at the age of fifteen, under the tutelage of Sangeet Prabin Nararaj Dhakal. In 1994, Suman won a classical singing competition organized by Radio Nepal, an accomplishment he attributes to his teacher's guidance. He then completed his M.Mus in classical vocals from Prayog Sangeet Samiti in Ilahabad, India. Upon returning to Kathmandu, Suman began teaching classical vocals at S.O.S. Balaram, before joining Nepal Music Center in October 2010. In addition to teaching here, Suman performs solo programs at venues around the Valley. He also works as a recording artist for Radio Nepal. Suman's favorite musician is his teacher, whom he identifies as the singer he listens to the most closely and frequently.

Bhuvan Das Shrestha

Bhuvan Das Shrestha began his training in Kathak and Nepali dance at the Himalayan Cultural Association in 1988. Since then, he has been prolific as a choreographer for Nepali, Bhojpuri, and Newari feature films (including Paila, Sunder Mero Nam, and Kishan) and high profile events (such as the Tuborg Image Awards, the CRITY Awards, and Miss Nepal). Bhuvan is also a dance instructor (at Anmol Kala Kendra, the National School of Performing Arts, College of Film Studies, and of course, NSV), and regular performer, with over one thousand programs to his name at both the national and international levels (e.g. Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Australia). He has been a part of the NMC team since March of 2009, when the dance faculty was founded. Bhuvan is also the founder and director of Kamana Kala Kendra, a dance and music school in Putalisadak. He is an admirer of Nir Shah, Amitabh Bachchan and Jean-Claude van Damme.

Upendra Lal Singh

Upendra has been teaching keyboard at NMC for the last two years. After studying piano at the Supargarn School of Music in Thailand for five years, he returned to Nepal to teach privately before joining NMC, where he teaches popular music with classical foundations. An avid jazz fan, Upendra’s heroes are Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Joe Sample and Oscar Peterson. He has two albums of experimental music, Murchhanna and Musical Pilgrimage, which features a fusion of bass guitar, table, flute and Newari drums by Upendra and Friends. Since 2005, he has performed at the annual Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, often the only musician from Asia in a lineup that includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ben Harper and Oasis. He also runs Let’s Play Nepal, a project based in Sindhuli village for which he collects his students’ old toys and gives them to children in villages, in order to provide for them a fun, carefree pastime. The project, run with Shiva Sunwar of The Axe Band, will be adding sites around the country in the near future.

Shubha Bahadur Sunam

One would be hard pressed to find another music school whose chief administrator is equally proficient in five instruments! At the age of five, Shubha began learning clarinet from his father, the captain bandmaster of the Nepali army. It was during these years that Shubha’s strong foundations in Eastern and Western classical music were laid, with his father insisting on devoting equal attention to both. After joining the army at the age of fourteen, Shubha took up the concert flute, followed by the violin and alto and soprano saxophones. After two successful stints at the Indian Army Music College in Panchawat, Madhya Pradesh, Shubha began composing in addition to fulfilling his army duties. Since then, he has composed over seven hundred songs, and served as the musical director for nine Nepali films. After forty three years in the army, the last two of which he served as Brigadier General, Shubha joined NMC as Chief Administrator, and the saxophone and violin teacher.

Roshani Neupane Timilsina

Roshani is the newest member of the NMC family, joining just over three weeks ago. She partners Bhugol as an Events Officer, which entails looking after all the details and logistics of the many programs the Center puts on. Prior to joining NMC, Rohsani completed her M.B.S. from Nepal Commerce Campus. Coming out of school, she did not foresee being involved with a music center, but her background in business studies is serving her well. Roshani enjoys listening to Hindi and English love songs, particularly those of Sonu Nigam, Enrique Iglesias and Bryan Adams. She also likes dancing, and can groove to many styles.

Nikhil Tuladhar

Nikhil has been the drum and djembe teacher at NSV for the last three years. Like many of our teachers, Nikhil has been involved in music since an early age. At just five, his father, Sete Kaji Tuladhar, began teaching him tabla. Nikhil recalls listening to his father practice at all hours, allowing him to be constantly immersed in rhythm. In school, Nikhil began playing the drums with his friends, and even fashioned his own kits out of whatever he could find. During a visit to the U.K. in 1998, Nikhil took in many concerts and was enthralled by the many sounds the little djembe could produce; he decided to bring one back to learn on his own an use in his many concerts around town. He has been named the All Nepal Best Drummer on three occasions. Currently, Nikhil plays with Nepathya, Trikaal (fusion) Rock Sitar (fusion), and Connection (rock, covers) around the valley. His idols include John Bonham (drummer for Led Zeppelin), his father, and Lochan Rijal.

Riju Tuladhar

Riju has been the bass guitar teacher at NSV for the last three years. Like a few other staff members, Riju is entirely self-taught. When he began playing the bass, there was no internet access here, so he had to depend on cassettes and books that friends would bring back from aboard for instructional material. When he began playing in pubs around the Valley in 1996, Riju would often jam with musicians passing through Kathmandu, and this served as another important way of advancing his study of the bass. Riju is one of the original founders of Looza, having played with the group through its many incarnations. He also plays with the fusion group Trikaal, and is currently working on an album with the Hari Maharjan Project. Riju’s favorite musicians include Stevie Wonder, Rocco Prestia, Tower of Power, Tom Kennedy, Jaco Pastorius and Prince.

Merethe Vadstein Welle

Merethe has been teaching Western vocals at NMC for the past five months as part of our Intenrational Exchange program. She sang her first solo in between numbers at a neighborhood Christmas celebration at the age of two, then began taking formal classes when she turned fifteen. After her B.Mus, she took a Master's in Music Therapy, and has since worked as a piano and voice teacher, a music therapist, and with baby singing, which uses musical games to facilitate communication between parents and their young. Recently, in additio to teaching, Merethe has been taking Eastern vocal classes at NMC; she is currently learning Rag Yaman. Her favorite artists include Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Bill Evans and Peter Gabriel. She has had such a positive experience here that she is looking to extend her stay beyoned the six months that remain.