Oak Park sitar musician at inspirational concert

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Clar Monaco | Photo by Jason Han~Sun-Times Media

Updated: January 23, 2012 2:49AM

Only those living without TV, radio, and Internet are likely unaware that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), the spiritual head of the world’s Tibetan Buddhists, is visiting Chicago this weekend. The excitement surrounding his fifth visit to the city has inspired special gatherings and events.

And one such event involves Oak Park businessman Clar Monaco, who is also an accomplished musician.

“We’re playing for a big national gathering,“ said Monaco, sitar player and founder of the Sandalwood Sitar Music Ensemble, and also the co-owner of the Wonderwall Music Emporium on Harrison Street. “We were already scheduled, but were asked to change our date to coincide with the Dalai Lama’s visit.”

Monaco’s group performs July 16 for the Theosophical Society in America at its Wheaton headquarters.

“The Theosophical Society in America is the national headquarters for the international Theosophical Society which is based in India,” said Paula Chernyshev Finnegan, the program coordinator. “We are the sponsors of the Dalai Lama’s visit, which has been a year in the making.”

The Dalai Lama will not visit the Wheaton facility, but members attending the society’s annual summer gathering there will be bused to Chicago to see him.

Man of peace

“This is not to be missed,” said Chernyshev Finnegan. “I saw him in 2007. He has such a wonderful calmness and peacefulness about him.”

Monaco looks forward to performing during the special events surrounding the Dalai Lama’s visit.

“Since we’re playing during his visit, the plan is to do some semi-classical material, including our own arrangement of a folksy, upbeat piece, ‘Raag Khamaj,’ ” he said, “my original, ‘Sandalwood Breeze,’ about change, the coming and going of the seasons, and the circular nature of life; and also classical Indian music, a main raga piece, which will be about 20 minutes long. For this type of piece, even 20 minutes is short, as a straightforward classical presentation of a raga can be 45 minutes or an hour long. But 20 minutes is more palatable to an American audience.”

For this performance the Sandalwood Ensemble’s line-up will include: Monaco on sitar; Monika Sharma on tambouri and miscellaneous percussion; and Payal Sud, on the swarsangam, which Monaco described as a “kind of combination of a harp and a bass drone instrument, a newer instrument within the last 20 years in India.”

Like many people, Monaco has great respect for the Dalai Lama.

Learning from music

“I’m impressed with him, he’s strong in thought. But I’m not a Buddhist,” he said. “I’m deep into the music, the ragas, so I have learned a lot. To know the music in a deep and authentic way, you have to delve into it. All the ragas tell a story or have a (religious) association.”

Monaco also teaches students at his studio in Oak Park and has been associated for about seven years with the Indian School of Music in Orland Park, which is affiliated with a college in India.

“My students take exams via webcam, performing for a committee in India,” said Monaco.

Asked about his start on sitar, Monaco laughed as he explained.

“I grew up in Spokane, Wash.,” he said. “I could never find a sitar or music on it, other than Ravi Shankar, until George Harrison got into it and did his Wonderwall album (for which Monaco named his Oak Park store), which has all the Indian musicians on it and the instruments. That’s when I knew I had to play sitar.”