Music at Grace Farms | Derek Gripper and Alam Khan
Sunday, February 28, 2027, 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
In a rare and remarkable collaboration, GRAMMY®-nominated sarodist Alam Khan — son of the legendary Ali Akbar Khan — joins forces with one of South Africa’s most innovative guitarists, Derek Gripper. Together, Alam and Derek explore the heights of spontaneous creation, re-imagining great African songs and Indian melodies in a virtuosic meeting of plucked strings within Grace Farms’ light-filled and fully glass-enclosed performance hall within the River building.
The two first met in 2025 over a cup of tea, a meeting that led to a spontaneous trio recording with South African guitarist Guy Buttery. Alam went on to join Derek in concerts with Derek’s long-time collaborator, the great Malian kora virtuoso Ballaké Sissoko, and then in an intimate duo recording session in the hills of Berkeley, California.
Alam and Derek focus on their respective immersions in deep classical traditions: Alam brings a long apprenticeship under his father, mastering the infinite art of raga improvisation within the Indian classical tradition, Derek, originally trained in European classical and early string music, has spent years translating the complex language of the West African kora to the guitar. Through this long study of the 21-string harp, he developed a unique language of cyclical improvisation, breaking out of the bounds of composed music and using the polyrhythmic possibilities of classical guitar technique to re-imagine the beginnings of sound in string music, from harps and bows of the African continent.
Registration is now open for Grace Farms Members
General Registration opens at 10 am on Monday, May 18, 2026
Music at Grace Farms
This distinctive concert series invites audiences into the Sanctuary, a glass-enclosed amphitheater, to experience a one-of-a-kind acoustic music performance timed with the sunset. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning firm, SANAA, the Sanctuary’s glass walls offer 360-degree views of 80 acres of natural landscapes, while the room’s exceptional acoustics enhance the musical performances happening within. This unique setting provides an immersion into a singular moment where music intertwines with nature and elevates a collective sense of hope and possibility. Past performers include Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Joshua Bell, Mon Rovîa, jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, and Grace Farms Artist-in-Residence cellist Arlen Hlusko.
About Derek Gripper
Derek Gripper is one of South Africa’s leading guitarists whose love of the kora set him transcribing and recording some of its greatest works, changing the face of classical guitar.
When Gripper released “One Night on Earth,” his first album of kora translations, classical guitar legend John Williams said he thought it was “absolutely impossible until I heard Derek Gripper do it,” while kora maestro Toumani Diabaté asked for confirmation that it was indeed just one person playing. Both invited Derek to collaborate with them: Derek performed with Williams in London’s Shakespeare’s Globe and King’s Place, and with Diabaté and his Symmetric Orchestra at the Acoustik Festival Bamako, Mali. His 2016 Carnegie Hall debut paired him with Mali’s Trio da Kali, and the UK’s Songlines honoured him with best album in Africa and the Middle East for his 2016 album “Libraries on Fire.”
Since these two recordings put kora/guitar translations on the map, his recent recordings “A Year of Swimming” (2020), “Billy Goes to Durban,” (2021) and “Sleep Songs for My Daughter” (2022), have incorporated elements of his kora explorations in original compositions and improvisations, captured on tape in the field and in studio, while his Bach recordings have shown that African music has a lot to teach us about recapturing the natural simplicity of early European music.
Touring globally from his home in Cape Town, Gripper is collaborating with Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko on a new duo project, and recording for the record label Platoon.
About Alam Khan
Two-time Grammy-nominated artist Alam Khan, Khalifa of the Seni Maihar Gharana and son of the late legendary maestro of the Sarod, Swara Samrat Ali Akbar Khan, has been captivating audiences worldwide for over 20 years.
Since beginning his training at the age of seven, Alam was fortunate to learn in the traditional style of Guru and Shishya (teacher and student) under the careful guidance of his father. The influence of Ali Akbar Khan’s teachings is evident in every note Alam plays, as well as in his imaginative interpretations of ancient ragas passed down from the courts of Emperor Akbar through Mian Tansen in the 16th century.
Alam’s performance career took off when he began accompanying his father on international stages from 1996 to 2006. During this period, he performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Jodhpur Palace, the Dover Lane Music Festival in Calcutta, New York’s Lincoln Center Jazz Festival, and in highly acclaimed concerts across the United States, Canada, Europe, and India.
While accompanying his father, Alam’s solo career began to take shape in 1998, and since then he has established himself as the true heir to Ali Akbar Khan’s legacy. As one of the leading Sarod players of the Maihar Gharana, Alam has received praise from musical icons such as Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, and Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta, among many of India’s finest musicians.
Alam has had the privilege of performing alongside some of India’s greatest Tabla masters, including Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Ustad Zakir Hussain, and Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, at renowned venues around the world.
In addition to his classical work, Alam has collaborated with a diverse array of artists across various genres, including the Grammy-winning Tedeschi Trucks Band, Vijay Iyer, Blake Mills, Anoushka Shankar, Karsh Kale, Beats Antique, Bob Weir, The San Francisco Symphony, Del Sol Quartet, and Jack Perla, among others. He is also a founding member of the genre-bending group Grand Tapestry and the primary composer of The Resonance Between.
Alam served as his father’s personal assistant in his final years, helping with teaching at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California—a hub for students and lovers of Indian classical music.
Following his father’s passing in 2009, Alam became the Head of Indian Classical Instrumental Studies at the Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM). He is dedicated to preserving, performing, and sharing the rich tradition of Indian classical music with the world, while helping it flourish in the modern age.
2026-2027 season
The 2026/2027 season deepens our ongoing exploration of the programmatic theme, We all build, through a new slate of one-of-a-kind experiences rooted in our mission to foster more grace and peace locally and globally. Join us for unforgettable musical performances, stirring dialogue from today’s leading thinkers, and community moments — each held in an immersive setting where boundaries between people, architecture, and landscape dissolve. Visit us throughout the seasons to sit at this unique intersection and explore topics that aim to inspire both introspection and joy. From there, we hope you connect with our theme that encourages all to build a more graceful and peaceful world, every day.
thank you to our 2026-2027 season sponsor
