Rishi Banerjee, born and raised in Manchester UK, has been singing since the tender age of 3. His enthusiasm was enriched by his two Gurus- his mother Ballari Banerjee and family friend Hitendranath Misra. Both have taught him extensively and have given him a firm foundation in Rabindrasangeet and Bengali music. At the age of 14, Rishi was taken under the wing of Shantiniketan exponent PRAMITA MALLICK who has guided him throughout. Rishi has recently moved to London and has had the opportunity to learn Hindustani Classical Music from one of Ajay Chakraborty’s SRUTINANDAN teachers- CHIRANJIB CHAKRABORTY.

In 2006, Rishi began his own arts group called MOKSHA which is a UK based organisation promoting Bengali Music, Indian Classical Music and Dance. This group is supported by many other performing groups and in July 2006, MOKSHA performed its highly appreciated inaugural project- BARSHA MANGAL at the Manchester Metropolitan University’s Tagore Evening, which was directed by Rishi. Rishi also teamed up with Chaturangan and Bisakha Sarker to bring an adaptation of Tagore’s Chandalika. MOKSHA also performed an innovative project for London’s Durga Puja 2007, ‘Tagore Travels: A Journey of Folk Music’ where songs from Western Folk Melodies and Bengali Folk Melodies were explored. Rishi also directed his first dance drama, scripted by his mother Ballari Banerjee- AMAR PREM which was a huge success in and around UK. The dance/music ensemble ‘Six Seasons of Tagore’ directed by Rishi was also greatly appreciated when Moksha organised a show for UK charity- Teenage Cancer Trust in March 2008. Rishi and his team have been invited to Turin, Italy to perform Tagore’s dance drama Shapmochon in October 2008. This is his inaugural performance with his Guru- Pramita Mallick. Rishi has also been invited to Kolkata to perform solo in Dakshinee’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. He was selected by Principal Sri Sudeb Guhathakurta. Rishi has also masterminded a national project- TAGORE FESTIVAL celebrating the works of Rabindranath Tagore across the UK in Manchester, London & Birmingham. In December 2008, Rishi also performed Shapmochon with Pramita Mallick at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan.

Rishi has performed in numerous cities and venues across in UK including at the Manchester Museum, Imperial War Museum North, Harrow Arts Centre, Nehru Centre (London) and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in London. He has also been fortunate to perform in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham, Sheffield, Barnsley, Harrow and Wolverhampton. Rishi has worked closely alongside some prestigious names including London playwright Amit Biswas, film maker Sangeeta Datta, manipuri dancer Purbita Mukherjee, Odissi dance sensation Mitali Dev, Kathak dancer Sandip Mallick and contemporary dancer Bisakha Sarker. He has also given performances on the London Bangladeshi channel- ‘Channel S’. He also records for Kolkata’s Tara Muzik on a regular basis.

Rishi hopes to spread the inspiration he has gained from the diverse compositions of Rabindranath Tagore and many other composers from Bengal and India.