Sitar Niketan music school

Alif Laila , a renowned Sitar performer and composer, established Sitar Niketan in 2015. Laila has been teaching sitar in the Wash DC area for over twenty five years. The philosophy of Sitar Niketan is to create an oasis of South Asian culture through sitar music. The teaching methods retain the old traditions of Indian classical raga music adding new ideas to enrich it more. Compositions are transposed to Western sheet music as well .Sitar Niketan student sitar ensemble performances is held twice a year. Laila composes the sitar music for the ensemble in a way that all students can participate at their individual levels. Sitar Niketan has performed at prestigious places, such as Gandhi Memorial Center (2016) Kennedy Center ( 2017).