About Shawn Mativetsky

Dynamic performer Shawn Mativetsky is considered one of Canada’s leading ambassadors of the tabla and is a pioneer in bridging the worlds of Western and Indian classical music. Acclaimed as an exceptional soloist and a leading disciple of the renowned Pandit Sharda Sahai, Shawn Mativetsky is highly sought-after as both performer and educator, and is active in the promotion of the tabla and North Indian classical music through lectures, workshops, and performances across Canada and internationally. Based in Montreal, Shawn teaches tabla and percussion at McGill University. His most recent solo tabla album, Rivers, is rooted in the rich traditions of the Benares style of tabla playing. Shawn’s book, RUDIMENTAAL, features compositions for snare drum, inspired by the tabla drumming of North India.

As a practitioner of North Indian classical music, Shawn regularly gives solo tabla performances, as well as accompanying kathak dance and instrumental artists. He has performed recitals around the world and has been featured in numerous international festivals. Shawn Mativetsky is regularly in demand as a guest soloist, performing tabla concertos with orchestras, wind ensembles, and percussion ensembles. As an ensemble musician, Shawn performs with trio Mativetsky, Amiri & Pagé, violinist Parmela Attariwala’s cross-cultural Attar Project, Indo-fusion group Ragleela, very long cat, a tabla / electronic music duo with live coder David Ogborn, the improv trio Of Sound, Mind and Body, with Tim Brady and Helmut Lipsky, and percussion group Ensemble Duniya. His most recent work involves explorations with tabla, effects pedals, and synthesizers, along with the use of magnetic tape recording and manipulation.