Devraj Patnaik

Devraj Patnaik (born October 28, 1975) is a Canadian-born music composer, musician, percussionist, and dance choreographer, teacher, and performer.

Biography

Early life

Devraj Patnaik was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, the son of Chitralekha Patnaik. Devraj is the second child of his parents (after his sister Ellora Patnaik, Promod and Chitralekha Patnaik, who were born in the state of Orissa, India, and emigrated to Canada in the 1960s. He made several trips to India with his family in his youth. Devraj's parents soon moved to Burlington, Ontario, where Devraj attended Tom Thompson, and the Rolling Meadows elementary schools, and M.M.Robinson High School. In 1994, he received a scholarship from the Shastri-Indo Canadian Institute at the University of Calgary to study percussion in India for one year under Badya Samrat Sri Umesh Chandra Kar (tabla) and pakhawaj under Guru Sri Banamali Maharana.

Dance Training

Devraj's first and primary dance Gurus were his mother and sister, who began training him as an Odissi dancer from a very young age. He has also received training from such notables as Guru Sri Gangadhar Pradhan, Padmabibhusan Kelucharan Mohapatra, and Padmashri Pankaj Charan Das.

Music Training

Devraj's initial training began on the tabla in 1983 under a local percussion teacher. For the next ten years, he received training from many people, most notably Guru Sri Banamali Maharana and Guru Sri Gangadhar Pradhan on the pakhawaj, and Badya Samrat Sri...
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