So Far in 2012...

I know that every time I update my blog I pretty much say the same things:  “The past few months have been insane!” or “I am so inspired by this project and the people around me” or “I’m doing new and different things that are invigorating and fulfilling!”  But when I sat down to write this post, the same sentences ran through my head.  There’s no denying it: I love my job.

In the past few months, I have done so many things that are outside my comfort zone; things that I never thought I would be doing.  But I had no other choice but to dive right in and see what happens.  It’s scary at first to do something you’ve never done but at the same time, accomplishing the task makes you feel proud and capable.  I think that’s what drove me these past few months – the sense of pride that follows an especially arduous or uncomfortable task; the feeling that no matter what situation life throws at you, you can succeed.  What a wonderful feeling!

My life in 2012 so far…

1.     Classic Incantations tour – It has been so long since I’ve performed on stage (about 4 years).  I was terrified!  Performing is something you have to do continuously; otherwise you become rusty and nervous.  The things that happen on stage that are out of your control sometimes screw up the whole performance because you can’t think of anything else!  For example, in Delhi, the stage was too small to hold a whole orchestra and the soloists.  So the crew assembled a very wobbly platform at the front of the stage and I had to walk through the orchestra pit to get there.  I was wearing 3 ½ inch heels and almost fell over more than once walking up and down that thing.  On top of that, the crew left the backstage doors open and it was extremely cold.  I was shivering the whole time and felt miserable after the performance.  But picked myself back up and felt much better in Kolkata.  These things happen and you have to be prepared for anything. 

2.     The Oprah Party – Yes.  My friends.  I met Oprah at a party at the Godrej residence in Bombay!  She was coming to India to meet ARR and wanted to hear some of the talent from KMMC.  I conducted the choir while they sang a gospel piece (taught by a fellow teacher named Roshni).  The party was incredible and glamorous and the who’s who of Bollywood were all present.  I wish I could actually talk about what happened, but let’s say it was not fun, and it was not pleasant.  It’s not fun to be treated like a performing circus monkey.  That’s all I will say.  BUT I did get to meet Oprah.  That made up for everything!

3.     Recording for the Oscars – I had the most amazing opportunity to conduct the KMMC Chamber Choir at Yash Raj studios.  They sang a very beautiful ambient version of ‘What a Wonderful World’ for the ‘In Memoriam’ part of the Oscars that shows video clips of actors who passed away that year.  I was super excited to work with sound engineer Alan Meyerson and standing there in the large orchestra recording room, wearing headphones, and waving my little pencil around was surreal and utterly thrilling.  The students were filmed singing.  What a wonderful experience!

4.     Writing film synopsis’ – ARR has been bouncing around a few film ideas and needed someone to write the synopsis which includes the basics: logline, high concept pitch, settings, locations, characters, and plot.  I was thrilled to get this project because I haven’t written anything significant in a long time.  (I was one of those crazy people in high school and college who loved writing papers).  But I was simultaneously unsure about the whole thing.  First of all, I had no idea what all of those terms were or how they should be written.  It took some time asking friends who are in the business and doing research online to understand what exactly was needed from me.  On top of that, the subject matter of the film was so bizarre and out of my realm of knowledge and experience, I had to do a lot of research to execute the project.  But I did it and the first one was approved!  He liked my writing style and although many versions and edits had to be written (by many, I mean MANY), I learned so much from the whole experience and it left me feeling confident and invigorated.  The first film was approved and is on its way to production at the moment.  Who would’ve thought?  I have now been assigned to two more films!

5.    Current project – I can’t talk about it yet, but I had to basically compose, arrange, program, hold auditions, sing and train others by myself in a genre that is completely outside my comfort zone.  As a learned Western Classical musician, this was a task that was extremely daunting but we started about a month ago and I’ve been in the recording studio non-stop for the past two weeks and day-by-day the process is getting easier.  I’ve had to stop and start over many many times because it wasn’t quite what ARR was looking for (There were almost 10 prototypes before this current one).  But it has definitely been an adventure and I’ve learned so much in the past few weeks!

I know that this is just the beginning.  More projects are going to be thrown my way and they’re most likely going to be difficult and frustrating.  But how wonderful it feels to know you’ve succeeded!  The feeling of accomplishment, the pride, the happiness: it’s really the best feeling in the world.  I sometimes forget how lucky I am. 

Knock on wood, let’s hope for an even more adventurous 2^nd half of 2012!

Yash Raj Studios

The first few days of the tour were spent in Mumbai, rehearsing and recording with the Babelsberg film orchestra and Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson at Yash Raj Film Studios.  The campus is beautiful - manicured lawns, lush greenery and flowers line the edges of the plot and those who need a moment to think can hang out in the Artist's Lounge or sit in the Atrium.  I was particularly impressed with the amount of land that had been acquired to house 3 sound stages, an audio wing, a massive film mix theater, and a recording theater that can fit an 80 piece orchestra with an attached monitor room that is twice the size of my apartment.  We took a short tour around the campus and there were quite a few moments of "Wait.  Where am I?!"  The experience was amazing and finally getting to meet Alan was wonderful.

YRF Studios, Main Building

Film Mix Theater

Foley Studio

The Recording Theater - this is where we met the orchestra for the first time and had our first rehearsal with Matt Dunkley and ARR.  This is also where we recorded 'What a Wonderful World' for the Oscars!

First rehearsal with Matt, choir, ARR and orchestra

Alan was so excited to show me the final mix of Lord of the Rings and said such nice things to me about my voice.  I was absolutely speechless and listened to him with delight and total bewilderment.  The whole time I kept thinking, "Alan Meyerson… Inception… Alan Meyerson… Pirates… Alan Meyerson… Sherlock Holmes… "  The best compliment he gave me though was, "It's a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre." I don't know if non-musicians would fully comprehend the weight of that statement.  Most musicians feel pressure to fit within a category - to define their work and their talent based on other artists and absolute definitions.  I've always felt a pressure to conform to these definitions; to try and work towards a particular sound or strive to change my voice to fit within a category.  Music teachers, especially in America are at fault here too.  "Bigger bigger bigger!  Push push push!  Darker darker darker!"  The problem with this is… my voice will always be my voice.  I can improve the support, I can get fit and increase my energy, I can work on breathing and technique… but the actual sound of my voice, the timbre will change only a little bit.  Alan helped me understand and appreciate the voice I have because it pulls from various influences yet doesn't conform to any one style or genre.  For that, I am grateful.

I enjoy singing everything from Pop, Gospel, Bollywood and Fado, to Musical Theatre and Opera.  And if I can do it, why shouldn't I? :)

Classic Incantations Backstage

Photo with Mr. Boss after the Mumbai concert!

 With Matt Dunkley!

What an incredible experience...

Matt Dunkley's blog

This was the blog entry written by Matt Dunkley after 'Classic Incantations'.

It's been an amazing couple of weeks in India with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Travelling around this country, you get a real sense of the indomitable spirit of the people, and of the huge diversity of this sub-continent. The concerts have seen great performances from the orchestra, choir and soloists, and have largely been met with enthusiasm and respect for the ambitions of this wonderful project. It took us all a while to realise that muted applause didn't mean that the audience was unhappy with our concerts, and that this is quite normal in Indian classical performance, though the response in A. R. Rahman's home city of Chennai was simply overwhelming. What a night! These concerts have been an important first step in re-introducing a western classical tradition into the Indian music landscape, and one that I know AR is passionate about.

What has been so special about the tour is watching the growing respect and friendship between the German musicians of the orchestra and our lovely choir from maestro Rahman's KM Music Conservatory. A real cross-cultural exchange that is at the heart of the 'Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities' project. For an amateur student choir, they have risen to the considerable challenge of performing with a professional orchestra and have grown in confidence concert by concert.

Last Friday was another special day, when some small groups from the orchestra visited the KM Music Conservatory to perform for the students. First, we were treated to a short concert by a string group that had only been studying for one year. The concentration on their young faces and the standard they have already attained impressed us all. The highlight of the visit was a truly spellbinding performance by the student Qawwali ensemble. Just magical.

Our last concert was performed on Sunday night to an enthusiastic audience of over 6000 people, at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. It's such a beautiful city and was a fitting end to this remarkable trip. 

We have all grown to love "Incredible India", and I for one can't wait to come back again.

_____________________________

Matt Dunkley

Conductor/arranger

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242161/

http://www.mattdunkley.com

OMG!

I just got the most amazing email from boss in the world!

Alan Meyerson, a scoring mixer and sound engineer who provides excellent services to the American film and music industries was chillin' at Mr. Rahman's house in LA with his father who said some wonderful things about me!  Alan Meyerson has done sound mixing for huge blockbuster films like Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Kung fu Panda, etc.  To hear him and his father say anything about me is just ridiculously flattering.  The fact that they even know me is unbelievable.  And to know that they felt like they should say something to me is incredible.  I have no words.

'Classic Incantations': Message from Babelsberg

A message from the conductor of the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg regarding the project with A.R. Rahman.  When we started rehearsing for this project in September, the team from Babelsberg came to visit KMMC and hear the choir.  We had the privilege of meeting Mr. Klaus Peter Beyer and he spoke to the choir members about the project and about the history and ties between Germany and India.  He was very impressed with what he heard!  This video was shown at the press conference last week.

Maaralente

A few months ago, I transcribed some choral samples for AR for a Telagu film called 'Komaram Puli' and conducted the KMMC Chamber Choir to record on the third track called 'Maaralente'. It was a great experience and I got a chance to improve my ability to take musical dictation. Man, it's tough! Check it out!

My Crazy Life

You know, just when things are starting to settle down and life begins to have some semblance of normalcy, something comes at me that is totally unexpected and exhilarating. First semester finished with a bang... I had the Delhi gig, the Venice gig, I had gone to Paris for one of my good friend's weddings, I had brought my vocal students up to a level that I was happy with, and for the first time in my life, I had found the courage to stand up in front of hundreds of people and speak at the TEDx Chennai conference.

Second semester began and I picked up where I left off - I had to get 20 new students up to par while planning and executing a staged opera/musical theatre scenes concert (with very little money, very few resources, and no performance space) which consumed my life till February 27. In between all of that, my colleague George and I flew to Delhi to see the opera which we had trained a few of our students for (The Neemrana Foundation puts on fully staged professional level operas every season and this year a few of KM's best vocalists were invited to join them. George and I trained them for 3 months before they left to rehearse with the others. The opera, "Si j'etais roi" was performed by a melange of French professionals, Indian locals, and Sri Lankans.) Then, immediately after the scenes concerts, I left for Delhi where I experienced my first Holi Festival! That experience requires a completely separate entry, it was so crazy. [from the right: Andrew, me, and Ayesha, whose family we stayed with in Delhi]

After that however, life just came to a standstill. Getting completely soaked and having to run around in wet clothes and synthetic color during Holi was fun at the time, but gave me the worst flu I think I've ever had in my life. (Those of you who know me well, know that I always.... ALWAYS get sick either right before a concert or right after a concert. My body doesn't take mental stress well...) I was out for 2 weeks. And I mean OUT. I eventually picked myself up and returned to work to continue the semester and finish off the year with a bang. But nothing... out of the ordinary... or truly exciting had happened... for about a month. And I was starting to get antsy.

Which is when I realized: Achievement is a drug..... and for the first time, I realized it's MY drug of choice. All of this... my work, teaching, recording, training, conducting, the publicity, the recognition, the praise is so addictive, that when it's not there, I feel loss, I feel cravings, I feel like something is missing. It makes me not want to sit still. It makes me go nuts and I fall into a bizarre quasi-depression where I don't know what to do with myself anymore.

Just when I had given up and thought to myself "That's it.. life is over... back to reality" (I know I'm being a tad dramatic, but it's more fun that way), I got a call to do two recordings at AM studios that ended up being really fun and challenging.

The first one was for the music director Joshua Sridhar who asked me to sing some background operatic ooos and ahhhhs in one of the songs in his upcoming Kannada film "Thunta Thunti". It was one of those experiences that just leaves you feeling bewildered, but in a good way. I went in... he played me what he wanted me to sing... he wanted lyrics so I called Viviane and came up with French lyrics on the spot....I sang it... we finished within half an hour and I left with cash in hand. Bada bing bada boom.

The second recording was the next day, and it was for the directors Bala and S. David. I had met David during the planning of the Michael Jackson Tribute concert in September. I happened to run into him at a restaurant a couple weeks ago and he asked me if I'd be interested in singing a Tamil song. My response was.. "Uh... I don't sing Tamil, I don't sing Indian music.. but if you're willing to try me out, I want to try!" Turns out that the song was in Tamil, but they wanted me to sing it in a western operatic style anyway. I went in and had a blast trying to pronounce the Tamil. It was hilarious and challenging, but I managed to do it and I walked out of there, again, with cash in hand and feeling like I had truly accomplished something.
Me? Tamil????? Ha!

So long story short, life is back to normal and full of excitement. In addition to the recordings, I have just agreed to write an article for the magazine "The Brew" which is a new mag centered around cinema, music, art and fashion. The editor of the mag is Sameer Ram who I met a while back. He approached me and asked if I'd write a piece about classical music in India. He also wants to do an interview.

Yay!

TEDIndia 2009

Tuesday, Nov. 3
I’ve only been here for a few hours and already the experience is absolutely unbelievable. The people that I’ve met are beyond inspiring and truly warriors in their fields. I flew in to Bangalore from Chennai at noon this morning and met the other TED attendees at baggage claim. Lo and Behold – I realized that three of them were on my flight! The first person I met and bonded with: Rohini Rau, a contender for the 2012 Olympics in sailing and representative for India. Yes, sailing. Like, on the water. Like, in a boat. What a woman!
We filed into the bus and traveled the 5 hours to the Infosys campus in Mysore… escorted by police vehicles on all sides. Meanwhile I’m wondering what the hell I’m doing here – I’m not exactly escort-worthy. But... anyway, we got to the campus, checked in, freshened up, and then headed to dinner where we spent the rest of the night mingling with other Fellows. I’ve already met some incredibly talented and intelligent people. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Wednesday, Nov. 4
6:45 am – wakeup.
7:30 am – All of the Fellows had to take headshots. I can’t imagine what mine must have looked like. I’m not used to taking pictures so early in the morning. We’ll see.
9 am – We filed into the small auditorium to hear our fellow Fellow’s talk about well, anything they wanted to talk about. I was so confused about what exactly this TED thing was, but once I heard these talks, I realized… it IS actually as vague as the website is. It really truly is people, from all walks of life, coming together to share ideas. When I read that on the website I was like… Uh….. hmm… ok.. but what does that mean? I heard talks on anything and everything: different kinds of inventions, architecture, social issues and programs, business ideas, inspirational stories – one Fellow even did a 3 minute talk trying to prove that “Ancient civilizations were just as crappy as we are.” What a day!
At night Infosys threw us a party at the Royal Orchid Hotel. The hotel was beautifully decorated inside and out with lights and flowers. It was the first social event where the Fellows and the Attendees got a chance to meet. There was even a poetry reading! Again, I met so many interesting, intelligent, charismatic people. The problem is trying to remember everyone!

Thursday, Nov. 5 & Friday, Nov. 6
Thursday and Friday were filled with talks. My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up with just enough time to run to the dining hall, grab a croissant and run to the auditorium where I managed to squeeze in and get a good seat. Thursday was the official beginning of the conference and probably the most memorable of all of the sessions. All of the speakers got standing ovations. Hans Rosling began with an 18 minute talk: predictions of when the East will catch up to the West in terms of income per person and life expectancy starting from the year 1800. In what people call “his best talk yet” Rosling spoke at a feverish pace much like an auctioneer while showing an animated graph of the progression of each country. To see the graph, follow the link:
http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=1911$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj2tPLxKvvnNPA;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=log;dataMin=194;dataMax=96846$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=23;dataMax=86$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=

Other notable speakers who really touched me were: Mallika Sarabhai who spoke about the importance of the arts in regards to social change – she argued that the arts are and always have been the most powerful way to effect change, whether political, social or personal. To watch her talk, follow the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/mallika_sarabhai.html

Devdutt Pattanaik compared East and West and talked about how the religious mythology behind both parts of the world can explain the way in which we function on a day to day level - how fundamental beliefs about god, death and heaven are the reason why we consistently misunderstand one another. To watch his talk, follow the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html

Then of course there’s Pranav Mistry who spoke about combining the physical tangible world with the world of data by doing a demo of his Sixth Sense device.
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

A few other notable speakers who I really enjoyed talked about social issues and in particular, women’s issues. Sunita Krishnan spoke about sex trafficking of girls in India– some as young as 5 and 6 years old - and Eve Ensler, author of the Vagina Monologues, spoke about the “girl self” and how everyone, men and women need to embrace the girl within them.


Friday, Nov. 6: Grand Party

On Friday night there was a huge party off campus with delectable food, fantastic cocktails, exquisite desserts, and a Bollywood DJ who got everyone to dance bhangra on the dance floor. I got such a kick out of watching all of these older distinguished men and women who had given such incredibly intellectual talks earlier in the day, get down and boogie to bhangra!  I got a chance to mingle more with my fellow Fellows as well as have a long discussion with Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev who in my opinion, is a pretty cool laid back guru if I've ever seen one.  I had actually met him in Venice because he was there accompanying Shekhar Kapur for the premiere of 'Passage'.  It took him a second to remember me but once he did, he said if I ever want to take time out and visit his ashram, he would love to have me.  Hmmm... perhaps, I said.  Oh and for those of you who are Bollywood fans, I had the opportunity to meet Abhay Deol who seems like a pretty down to earth guy. In the picture below is Abhay with my two new TED friends: Rohini Rau, the sailor, and Satyabrata Dam, a mountaineer who has climbed 300 of the tallest peaks in the world.

The next day I only got to go to the morning session because the bus was waiting to take us back to Bangalore.  

Going to Mysore for TEDIndia was an experience I will never forget. It was four days of meeting and networking with such talented and influential people. 

I have never been so inspired!

CIAO CIAO VENEZIA!!!

I know it's been a couple weeks, but it took that long for me to actually just... EXHALE, pinch myself, and say "Yes. That did happen." It all happened so fast, I barely had time to process what was happening. The Delhi Concert, then right after that rehearsals for the MJ Tribute, then immediately after that I had to prepare for Venice. AHHHH!

Let me tell you, the day I left was the worst day EVER. My scooty wouldn't start, so I took Viviane's scooty to work. All of the foreign faculty had been waiting for specific tax documents to be given to us from the school - we had to have these documents in order to get our employment visas registered. Of course these documents never turned up and so the week before Venice I had to scramble around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to get this paperwork from anyone and everyone in the administration - no one had it. So I thought, well, if the school doesn't have it, and I don't have it, what can I do? So I went to the hellish visa office and the lady thumbed through my paperwork disapprovingly and said "Hah! you guys always do this. You guys seem to take immigration very lightly. It's not going to work this time. I'll see you next week with the correct documents." "UM - no please please please, I CAN'T come next week, I have to go to Venice this weekend for a gig!" "I'm sorry, I can't help you." So I went back to school and talked to Faiz "FAIZ! What am I supposed to do? I need this paperwork and no one seems to have it." "Ok I'll do one thing. Let me call Hari, he's the accountant but he's on holiday."

Long story short - we didn't have the paperwork because guess what? The taxes were never filed. We had to go to the auditor and file the taxes and take our chances at the visa office by showing them a receipt - proof that the taxes were filed. Faiz, the lifesaver, managed to talk his way back into the visa office even though it was closed, and the lady finally, FINALLY granted me the registration.

Then there's the dress: I had asked the designer Chaitanya Rao to make a dress for me for the Venice gig. I explained exactly what I wanted, showed him a picture of the neckline... everything. After the visa madness I found out that my flight for Venice was actually in a few HOURS - the itinerary was sent to me while I was at the visa office. So I frantically called Chetan and said "My flight is at 4 am! Can you finish it by this evening?" "Uh oh really???" ..... he hadn't even started. When I finally went to pick up what I thought was going to be a beautiful gown, it was exactly... EXACTLY what I didn't want. The shape was wrong, it was ill-fitting, I had asked him to make it in a way that would reduce my bust and instead of trying to draw your attention somewhere else, he decided to create a giant gold-sequined horizontal stripe across my chest. Even I know that horizontal stripes are a big NO NO when you're trying to slim someone down. Not only that, the neckline wasn't like the one in the picture. He insisted it was and told me to not expect it to look exactly the same as the picture because "your body doesn't look like that." I had had such a horrible day that I just started crying. Instead of being sympathetic and trying to fix as much as possible before the flight, his assistant Tina rolled her eyes and said "WHAT? There's nothing we can do now, so I don't know what to tell you." "Um... it's ALL WRONG. It's not what I asked for AT ALL." "Well we can't do anything - can I leave? Because I left a dinner party for this, and there's nothing we can do." At which point I was so fed up that I just lost it. "Um - ARE YOU A BITCH TO ALL YOUR CLIENTS, OR JUST ME? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF GETTING A DESIGNER TO MAKE MY DRESS IF IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT? I CAN WALK INTO ANY H&M AND FIND A BETTER FITTING OUTFIT MADE IN A SWEATSHOP IN CHINA."

Yeah.... that was obviously not the best tactic. I took the dress to Venice but I didn't wear it. Chetan agreed to work on the dress after I got back from Venice. He hasn't answered any of my calls.

Goodbye 20,000 rupees. It was nice knowing you.

Viviane's scooty broke down on the way back from the designer at 11 pm. What a fantastic day.


Incredibly exhausted, angry, and still unbelievably ill from the flu, I forced my anxiety ridden self to jump in an auto and go the airport at 2 am. I apathetically plopped my bag down and slid my passport across the Emirates counter without even looking at the lady. She handed me my boarding pass and I just stared at it in disbelief. "I think you made a mistake. This says Business Class." "No, no that's right. Enjoy." I was dumbstruck, thinking to myself "Hah! This day is lookin up..." While I was waiting to board, my name was called over the intercom. When I went to the counter, the lady said. "Boarding pass, please." I handed it to her. She crossed out seat 7B and wrote 2A. I didn't think anything of it until I boarded the plane and the stewardess said "Welcome to your First Class Suite". I tried to be as nonchalant as possible as I stumbled over myself to sit in a chair that was too big for me, and accidentally turned the massage feature on full blast. When the stewardess asked if I wanted champagne, I stammered over the vibrations, "Y-y-yess, n-no, w-well, maybe... y-yes...maybe later." She stared. I stared. She walked away. I closed the door and vibrated in silence. Yeah, that was smooth.

You forget how unbelievably beautiful Venice is until you go there again and you feel like you're walking through a giant film set. The cobblestone streets, the absence of motor vehicles, the gondolas, the grandeur of the duomos and piazzas - it's incredible. The food... Oh the food...

I had a day and a half to relax and unwind before rehearsals. I roamed the city, taking it all in. On Saturday I had my first rehearsal with the 13 piece Venetian string orchestra at the hotel. The conductor, Matt Dunkley, motioned for me to come to the front of the room and announced, "ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our vocalist for tomorrow evening." Again, I tried to act as nonchalant as possible but ended up giggling nervously. The Venetians looked dubious. I noticed Shekhar come in halfway through the rehearsal. He waved. I smiled and continued singing. Afterward I ducked out as quick as possible, ran up to my room, closed the door, and leaned against it for five minutes processing what had just happened.

That night we were to all have dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant in San Marco. I was told to meet downstairs at 7 pm. The dinner consisted of the conductor, Matt and his wife, Rahman, Shekhar, David Adjaye, 3 of the big guys from Swarovski, Haley Bennett, and Ryan Eggold who stars in 90210: The Next Generation. I got such a kick out of that, I can't even tell you. A ridiculous multi-course meal featuring beef carpaccio, an assortment of fish, mussels, squid, langoustine, soft shell crab, risotto... and the list goes on and on.

The actual performance? It went really well. I was incredibly uncomfortable meeting everyone, posing for pics, and I couldn't even have wine because I had to sing. The room was lit beautifully, the stage area was beautiful, and I had a mic stand so I didn't have to worry about failing to project. I sand the two arias, then Rahman spoke a bit about the music from the film and did a small demonstration on the piano, and then as an encore I was asked to sing one of the arias again. It was perfect. Haley and David approached me and gushed over my singing. It was surreal.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxed and content. I said thank you to everyone and walked back to the hotel with a smile on my face.

Photos:
Press Photos: Courtesy of www.swarovski.com
Bauer Palladio Hotel & Spa Photos: Courtesy of www.bauerpalladio.it
Piazza San Marco

EEEE!!!!!

I will be singing two arias, written by A.R. Rahman, at the Venice Film Festival on September 6!!!!!!!!!
I just met with the fashion designer Chaitanya Rao to discuss my gown for the event. This is all so surreal.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO EXCITED.

SO MANY THINGS!

I wish I had the time right now to write write write about everything that's happening, but ALAS! No time. Long story short:

1. School started mid-July and we immediately began preparing for KM Day - a concert that would showcase the hard work of last year's foundation students. The concert included choral pieces, western classical pieces, musical theater scenes, and a performance by faculty. I also helped put the event together, so I was super busy for weeks trying to get this thing running smoothly.

Highlights: The musical theater went well. The choir sang well. And one of my students screwed up so badly on his classical piece that I started hyperventilating and had to be taken outside where I cried hysterically for 5 minutes - and then had to go back inside and sing the laughing aria from the opera Die Fledermaus. Oh the irony.

2. Because KM Day went so well, Mr. Rahman decided to include us in his upcoming concert in Delhi on Aug 11 - "A.R. Rahman: Unplugged". We were ecstatic. We flew to Delhi (30 of us) and had a short but sweet holiday. We shared the stage with Kailash Kher and his band, Sivamani, Hariharan, and Sadhana Sargam in a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Doordarshan. It was glorious.




In other news: I will be participating in and performing in not one, but TWO Michael Jackson tribute concerts here in Chennai - and both of them are huge. One of them will be in a stadium which holds like 20,000 people. This should be interesting considering I've never sung for an audience larger than say, 2000, at the KAOCA conventions. And the second one will be smaller, but still important. I can't wait.

More news to come! Stay tuned...

Getting to Know the Man

I have to say, life is pretty damn good right now. Despite the economy, recent celebrity deaths, and overall glum state of the world, my life and my friend's lives seem to be picking up. I am currently at Heathrow airport on my way back to Chennai. I just had the best week in London: I was invited to come for work, was put up in a decent hotel in a really cute part of town, I met some new friendly people, saw an old friend, and most importantly, I got to know my boss.

I'll start at the beginning. My original flight back to Chennai was supposed to be on July 8th from SF to Singapore to Chennai. I got an email from AR at the last minute asking if I would like to stop in London on my way to India for work. Sure! I said. Although I knew I was going for something work related, I really had no idea what I was going to be doing there. The whole thing was oh so Mission Impossible: a strange vague request to fly to a different continent. Picked up at the airport and dropped off at the hotel by a man who had no idea who had employed him to do so. An envelope on the night stand with money in it. Well.. the last part isn't true. But how cool would that have been? (The money was given to me in hand Ha!). You have to understand, these are many firsts for me. 1. I've always wanted to travel for work - I've never done anything important enough to be paid to go anywhere. More importantly, I love saying the phrase "I'm here on business." 2. Being chauffeured around London is delightful. 3. Having my meals paid for is wonderful, but dangerous. Note to self: be wary of senseless gluttony 4. Wearing a suit. Oh how important it makes one feel!

I got a mysterious email saying "We will pick you up at 2 pm. Please be ready." So I was. They came for me at 4. Where did we go? To AR's honorary graduation at Middlesex University! They presented AR with an honorary doctorate degree. We got there and I was shocked to see the police had been called. We walked in as a group, but immediately after we did so, someone literally shoved me out of the way and started clawing at AR. I've never seen such hysteria up close. People were crying, taking pictures, hugging him, screaming, shaking etc. etc. It was a crazy experience. He accepted his degree graciously and gave a heartfelt and moving speech. We all applauded. The next day we returned to Middlesex to talk about the possible affiliation between them and KMMC. The process will be lengthy, but I think it will be really good in the end. What's great is, middlesex was already looking into broadening their music program to include world music. How perfect. The work part was fantastic because I actually for once felt like a significant part of the KMMC team. The best part of the whole trip though, was getting to know the man. After his graduation we went back to his home and watched the Michael Jackson memorial concert. Anyone who knows me knows how much of an MJ fan I've always been - and how genuinely devastated I was when I heard of his passing. It was probably the most surreal experience of my life to be sitting on a couch in AR's house, watching the memorial, holding hands with his assistant and friend, with tears rolling down our faces,. And I know I caught the tear in his eye when Paris gave her speech about her daddy. Michael Jackson, even in death, can bring people together. There's no going back once you've bonded over MJ.

Afterward, we all went to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Quilon which the big Amitabh B. frequents. AR's lawyer, and a man named Hossam Ramzy who is apparently a very famous arabic songwriter met us there. We talked about MJ all the way there and most of AR's sentences started with "When I met him...." or "When I called him a couple weeks ago..." Um... Whaaaaaat? Unbelievable. The dinner was delightful and when they asked AR to sign the guest book, he asked me to write the message, which he then signed. Ha! (I get such a kick out of these tiny things).

I've hung out with AR on many occasions now, but this was the first time that I actually saw him for himself. He is ridiculously down to earth. He handles fame extremely well, but doesn't let it go to his head. When we went to Middlesex, he wouldn't let me carry my laptop case because it was heavy. He was carting it around the whole campus! Spirituality enters into almost every conversation with him, but not in an annoying or threatening way. It's even non-denominational. He doesn't hesitate to talk about his life - tell you stories, even ones that make him seem vulnerable and small. Considering the number of snakes that surround him at any given moment, he always makes you feel like you are trusted. In essence, he's a great, humble man, and truly, innately good.
That, I am sure of now.

Passage

Trailer for the short film 'Passage' by Shekhar Kapur
Music by A.R. Rahman
Starring: Julia Stiles, Haley Bennett, Lily Cole

I sing the aria at the end of this film - you can hear the background track on the trailer (not the tango piece) but the one after.
I've already seen the film and it's beautiful, complex, mysterious, tender, and exciting in more ways than one. The short will be an installation at the Swarovsky Kristallwelten museum in Wattens, Austria.
I am so happy and honored to be a part of it!

The trailer:

Passage trailer
by blankytwo

Not sure when the release date is, but when it releases, I will post the aria on my blog and website.