Baldev Singh Bali


Prof. Baldev Singh Bali is an Indian classical musician and Professor emeritus at the Institute of Music and Fine Arts Jammu where he also served as the Dean of the college and Head of the Music Faculty.

Family

Baldev Singh Bali was born to Surinder Singh Bali and Shanta Bali. His grandfather Kartar Singh Bali has served the Dogra rulers of his time as the military secretary as well as foreign affairs aid.

Musical training

His first music teacher was Ram Prashad Razdan and Pt. Dilip Chandra Vedi from whom he learned classical music for 10 years from 1957. In 1958, he learned Kirana gharana gayaki from Bhimsen Joshi when he came to Jammu for a Radio engagement. He has been a part of several music conferences and performances with Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. He was also trained in Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, Thumri, Tappa, and Bhajans.

Education

Baldev Singh Bali did his B.A. from the University of Jammu and Kashmir and Prabhakar from the University of Punjab. He completed his master's degree in music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal in Pune, Maharashtra.

Career

He joined the Institute of Music and Fine Arts Jammu as an instructor for vocal Indian classical music. In 1972 he was promoted as a Senior Instructor and later to the position of Principal in 1993. He retired in 1998 as ex-Dean of the college and Head of the Music Faculty at University of Jammu. He has been an ex-member on Advisory Panel of All India Radio and an expert member on the interview Board of the Institute of Music and Fine Arts constituted by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. He also served on the panel of experts in the subject of education at Kurukshetra University where he was one of the panel advisor to Northern Command for recruitment of music faculty.
In 1994, he was entrusted by the Shree Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board to produce a music cassette, which was sung by Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. The music cassette was released by His Master's Voice.

Accolades