1983 I was born at an ashram and named after the poet and scholar, Shankaracharya.


1987 I was gifted a mridang and trained in the Hindustani aural tradition.


1988 I began accompanying chants and ceremonies, and was told that my role was as a rhythmic leader, helping communities to connect.


1990 Bullied at school for having an unusual name, I began going by my middle name, Brian.


1993 My mother and I left the ashram and moved to Massachusetts. I bounced from school to school and had a challenging time adjusting.


1994 I began playing the drum set, which offered solace. It felt like a spaceship that was able to transport me anywhere.


1997 We relocated to New York. I auditioned for my high school jazz band and did not get in.


1998 To fund my music lessons, I found employment at a local copy store. Established jazz musicians frequented the shop and invited me to play sessions. I auditioned again for my high school jazz band, and this time I was accepted.


1999 I went to weekly jam sessions in New York City and the surrounding area, searching for collaborators.


2000 I studied with Billy Higgins at the Stanford Jazz Residency. He taught me how the drums could express stories through rhythm.


2001 I left home to study improvisation and composition on scholarship at New England Conservatory in Boston.


2002 I wrote my first composition, Living within the Ocean.


2004 I began a collaboration with vocalist, Sunny Kim. We released several albums and toured the Northeast and Europe.


2005 I moved to New York City to pursue music. I said yes to virtually every gig that was offered to me.


2006 One of these gigs was teaching percussion to foster kids and children with special needs. I workshopped musical ideas which would later become A World of Percussion


2008 I found and connected with my father for the first time in Argentina. I traveled to Buenos Aires and presented my music throughout the country with pickup bands that I met on Myspace.


2010 I met my life partner, who opened my eyes to the beauty of movement.


2011 A colleague introduced me to Bash the Trash and I began performing environmental activism through music.


2012 I realized that many of the gigs I was saying yes to were not well-aligned with the direction of my art.


2013 I started studying composition with Guillermo Klein and found myself getting clearer about my values. I started using my birth name, Shankar once again. I put a new group together and recorded Fourth Dimension.


2014 I began a collaboration with composer, Kamala Sankaram, which has taken many forms including Bombay Rickey, Crescent and multiple operas.


2015 I began working with composer, Liz Swados on her final projects before her passing.


2016 My art yearned for a different perspective, calling me to step out in front of the ensemble to shape the music through conducted forms. I created Human Time Machine.


2017 Inspired by the birth of my son, I composed Young Blood, a lullaby built around his heartbeats. The piece is part of my solo percussion album, For a Gallery on the Moon.


2020 Covid hit and freelance work dried up. My wife, son and I moved to Maine. I began teaching rhythm at Bates College and soon after joined the faculty at Bowdoin College.


2021 I began a collaboration with Mike Effenberger called Air Space. We recorded Cricket Cipher and performed with Jane Ira Bloom.


2022 I began touring with Ballet Hispanico.


2023 I began accepting commissions, writing pieces for Bates College Gamelan OrchestraPalaver StringsRasa String Quartet and other ensembles.


2024 I enrolled in Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA Composition Program.