Rudresh Mahanthappa is a saxophonist and composer who hybridizes progressive jazz and South Indian classical music. His latest album Bird Calls (2015) was named "Album of the Year" by both Downbeat Magazine and NPR Music's Jazz Critics Poll. Previous albums include Gamak (2013), Samdhi (2010), and Kinsmen (2008). Mahanthappa has been named "Alto Saxophonist of the Year" in four of the past five years by Downbeat Magazine's International Critics Polls, and for the past five years by the Jazz Journalists' Association. Mahanthappa is a Guggenheim Fellow and the recipient of a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, two fellowships from New York Foundation for the Arts, and numerous commissions. In 2015, he was named a United States Artists Fellow. Mahanthappa served as a 2012 LOI panelist in music and a panelist in Performance in 2016.