Sh. Saurabh Banaudha is an Indian composer and one of the most revered young flutists of India. He is a soloist as well as a flute accompanist belonging to the eminent Varanasi Gharana. He started learning flute at the tender age of eleven from the Guru and his father Late Pandit Niranjan Prasad, who was an internationally acclaimed flutist. Before switching over to flute, he also learnt Mandolin and Tabla for a period of around three years also from his father. He was also fortunate to receive lessons from his grandfather and Dada-Guru Late Pandit Bholanath Prasanna, who was one of the expert flute and shehnai maestro from the Varanasi Gharana.
His education into the domain of music has been carried with pure dedication in the form of Guru-Shishya Parampara. At the age of just 15 years, he gave his first solo performance on Doordarshan and has been a part of the regular performances on Doordarshan and All India Radio since then. In the due course of time, he won several awards & competitions ranging from U.P. Sangeet Natak Akademy (Kishore, Yuva groups) to that becoming the All India Flute Champion in the year 2000.
His capacity and capability in the art have made his presence noticed among the domain fraternity. Besides performing at major festivals and state level mahotsav’s etc., he has been featuring regularly in other such music concerts as both a solo performer as well as an accompanist. His participation in the World Cultural Festival in Delhi in 2016 also involved him as a group trainer training more than 300 all instrument artists of NCR and around.
He has also been associated and composed for some key organizations/ noted bodies like Art of Living, ISKCON, Sangeet Natak Akademy, NSD, ICAR, AYUSH, YMCA, FICCI, NTPC & IFCI etc. and has been widely appreciated for the same. He has been associated with several eminent artists like Padma Vibhushan Dr. Yamini Krishnamurthy, Padmashri Dr. Kiran Segal, Padmashri Gita Mahalik, Padmashri Shovana Narayan, Padmashri Ustad F Wasifuddin Dagar, Padmashri Ranjana Gauhar, Padma Shri Geeta Chandran, U.P. Sangeet Natak academy awardee Ustaad Yugantar Sindoor, U.P. Sangeet Natak academy awardee Sh. Rajeev Shukla and Sh Amjad Khan etc. and is equally appreciated by them for his skillful and in-depth blowing of the instrument. He is empaneled with the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India for festivals of India abroad.
He has also experimented and worked on diverse musical synergies in the form of Jugalbandi, duets and instrumental chorus covering instruments like Piano, Clairnet, Spanish Guitar, Congo & Drum etc.
As a trainer himself, he not only imparts the lessons of flute playing but also how to build up the character and devotion towards the sacred art of music following the tradition of Guru Shishya Parampara. He also runs an NGO by the name Niranjan Dhara (Erstwhile Dr. Ambedkar Sangeet Akademy) extending arms not only for the domain of music but also for social service at large.
Sh. Saurabh Banaudha is an ardent and devoted flute player, committed to spread this art in all corners of the world displaying the exquisite combinations of command and techniques therein. He possesses the right balance of strength and serenity, very critical factors for an exceptional flautist with a continuous zeal for innovative techniques and compositions. His presentation includes engaging presentation of both laykari and tantrakari styles of music. His learning, control and knowledge of three different styles (wind, string & percussion instrument) makes him an artist of rare blend.
He has been honoured with several noted awards including Venu Ratna Sammaan, Kala Sammaan & Yuva Alankaar etc. and nominated for several prestigious awards like Akademy Puraskaar (UPSNA) and Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskaar (SNA).
Other than this, he has also acquired B.E. degree in the field of computer science. His other area of interest includes public speaking, handwriting analysis and theme based sketching etc.