The Indian sitar has been around for hundreds of years, but for American audiences it will forever be associated with the Beatles and their sitar teacher, Ravi Shankar. The mysterious, mystical sound found its way onto Beatles recordings, thanks to Shankar’s disciple, George Harrison, and into the American consciousness.

Now, a master of the sitar come to Bremerton Sept. 15 in the opening performance of the Collective Visions Concert Series. No, not Ravi Shankar, but someone who is just as big a star in his own right.

Debi Prasad Chatterjee has given concerts, lectures and workshops around the world, including the Intercultural School of Music in Venice, Italy, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington. He lives in Seattle during the summer and New Delhi, India the rest of the year, when he’s not touring.

He will be accompanied by Vishal Nagar on tabla (Indian drums) and Jerry Fowler of Bremerton on tanpura (a lute-like instrument with strings, no frets, a round body and hollow neck).

The sitar is known for its ability to instill a peaceful, meditative state of mind, but it can also be pretty darned feisty. Chatterjee and his music mates don’t just play their instruments, they play with each other. With the hypnotic pounding of the tablas and the rhythmic droning of the tanpura, the sitar master’s fingers fly over the multi-stringed instrument. The audience is drawn in, taken to a place far beyond the walls of the concert hall, or in this case, the Bremerton art gallery.

An Evening of Classical Indian Sitar Music takes place at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at Collective Visions Gallery, 331 Pacific Ave., Bremerton.

Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets for this concert, and the entire season, are available by phoning the gallery at (360) 377-8327. Ticket prices for other concerts vary.

The season ahead promises a variety of music, from jazz and recorder music to opera and “a box of chocolate for your ears.”

Oct. 20 it’s The Galileo Quartet featuring contemporary and traditional jazz from a group of musicians who met in 2004 while in college.

The Bub Pratt Circus Sideshow, Nov. 17, is …. hard to describe. It is a combination of three groups headlined by Bub Pratt, and features drums, piano, guitar, vocals and typewriter. And it’s been called “a box of chocolate for your ears.”

Dec. 15 the gallery offers an early Christmas present, with a concert by New Age pianist Scott Cossu. He’s become a regular performer at the Bremerton Blackberry Festival, but this is a good chance to see him in a serene concert setting.

The Jan. 21 concert promises to be anything but serene, as gypsy jazz aficionados Pearl Django get the joint jumpin’. Drawing on the music of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli, the group is one of the premier performers of this swinging style of jazz.

Feb. 16 it’s back to serene, with Nine Centuries of Recorder Music, featuring an evening of recorder solos and duets, spanning from the Middle Ages to modern day.

Collective Visions favorites Peggy Johnson and the Berry Overton Trio return March 16, with smooth classical jazz vocals and the “keyboard magic” of Overton.

April 20 it’s a night at the opera with tenor Stephen Wall, baritone Misha Myznikov and pianist Karin Kajita, performing a selection of favorite opera songs. This will be the first appearance at Collective Visions for the singers and the third for Kajita.

“Special Delivery” comes all the way from Union May 19 for an evening of Dixieland jazz and swing, accompanied by Lucy Mitchell. The band has been a favorite of audiences in Kitsap and Mason counties for years, and Mitchell has more than 50 years of performing experience under her belt.

The series ends June 15 with a performance that can safely be called “unique” — tap dancer and saxophonist Michael “Shoehorn” Conley. The performer has patented a style he calls Tappercussion (TM), using an electronic tap instrument to create his own dance accompaniment. He also incorporates harmonica, percussion, clarinet, xylophone and vocals.

Advance tickets for all concerts are on sale at the gallery, and concert series information will be posted online at www.collectivevisions.com.