Steve Oda


Steve Oda is a sarod player, composer and teacher of the Hindustani classical music.
A Canadian of Japanese ancestry, Steve Oda, began his musical education at the age of seven, learning to play slide guitar and then jazz guitar. His love of creativity through musical expression led him to the classic music of North India and the sarode. His classical training started in 1971 under the guidance of Aashish Khan, and from 1973 under Aashish's father, Ali Akbar Khan.
In 1996, Steve received a Canada Council Artists Grant to pursue intensive studies at and advanced level with Ali Akbar Khan and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998. There he served for two years as Executive Director of the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California.
Among the many performances Steven has given include special invitations from the Ali Akbar College of Music, the Asian Art Museum, the Ragmala Association of Canada, the University of Toronto, and the Spirit of India Festival.
He has performed with Sharda Sahai, Bob Becker, Anubrata Chatterjee, Vineet Vyas, Ravi Naimpally, Ty Burhoe, Stephen Bacchus and Betty Moon. Steven has accompanied Ali Akbar Khan, Aashish Khan and Anindo Chatterjee.
Steve has performed at his teachers college in California as well as numerous Canadian cities from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia. The demand for his playing, continues to increase in places like Chicago, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and now in Japan.
He currently resides in San Rafael, California, actively teaching and performing music of North India.
Following Ali Akbar’s passing in 2009, Steve has continued his music studies with Rajeev Taranath, a senior student of Ali Akbar Khan.

Discography