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...

Classic Incantations Photos

Some photos from the event!

Press photo
Thank you Varun Nair, and PADeepak for the photos :)

KMMC Chamber Choir.  My babies!

Passage 

Passage

Spot ARR!  Photo taken after Bombay concert

Lord of the Rings with Arun Kamath

Elizabeth: Golden Age

Kiss from Matt Dunkley

Mausam & Escape

Passage 

DNA E-Paper

Review of 'Classic Incantations' on DNA E-Paper:

Classic Incantations Review

I found an amazing review of the concert tour 'Classic Incantations' by one of ARR's biggest fans.  He came to the Chennai concert and not only loved it, but wrote an amazing review that included audio clips!

Click on the link for the full review: http://www.backgroundscore.com/2012/01/classic-incantations-concert-review.html

Some excerpts from the blog:


PASSAGE SUITE
By the end of the first three pieces - Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Lagaan and Mangal Pandey, anyone who haven’t seen the films and doesn’t know the purpose of the music, is definitely bound to come to a conclusion that all orchestral pieces of A.R.Rahman sound similar and might feel that the concert is already turning monotonous. That is why it is a brilliant idea to have Passage Suite as the next piece, which is far removed from the bangs, drum rolls and bombastic brass sounds of the first three period film pieces. Passage exhibited the tender tones of the orchestra and what it takes for a Soprano to raise and soar over a 100-piece orchestra. Kavita Baliga, the soprano gave an exquisite rendition of Aria from Passage, with her voice rendering a wide array of emotions through crests and troughs, straight notes and vibratos in A.R.Rahman’s invigorating melody. Waltz, the end credits music from the film Passage followed, but surprisingly, with Kavita Baliga singing some Italian verses along with the orchestra which weren’t present in the original. Waltz is an all out western classical composition from A.R.Rahman with not a note of Indianness in it.


LORD OF THE RINGS SUITE
With the serene Canyon (instrumental version of “If I Rise” song) theme and excerpts from Acid Darbari 127 Hours suite became the Concert’s quietest piece. It was an exceptionally moving performance by the Orchestra. The Orchestra was just crouching low during 127 Hours suite before plunging back in action in full force for the Lord of the Rings Suite. Lord of the Rings Suite is the only piece in the concert that I wasn’t much familiar with. The performances by Arun H.K, Kavita Baliga, K.M Choir and Babelsberg Orchestra were absolutely magical and transported me to a different world. It was the most colorful and vibrant of all the pieces performed in the concert and I instantly fell in love with the piece. 


Read the whole review!

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.

Classic Incantations Promo 2!

It's me! It's me! 'Aria' from the short film Passage by Shekhar Kapur, music by A.R. Rahman. 

'Classic Incantations' Press Conference

The press conference for 'Classic Incantations: The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg plays A.R. Rahman' was this afternoon:

I'm on the far left!

'Classic Incantations: The Babelsberg Film Orchestra plays A.R. Rahman'

Starting on January 20th, over a 100 musicians from different parts of the world will come together on a 5-city tour across India to perform the orchestral scores of A.R. Rahman.

For the past four months, I have been training and rehearsing with the KMMC Chamber Choir to prepare them to sing in this event (28 alumni as well as current students) and I have been preparing to sing three songs for it!

Check out the promo!

Teaching

I now spend almost every day of my life teaching - Classical repertoire, Choral, Musical Theatre, Academic skills, etc. Most of the time I forget why I do it and what it does for me. But every so often there's a moment of realization and poignant understanding of the effect and purpose of my actions. In my opinion there is a gentle balance in life. I generally strive to give back as much as I take. Yes, since I've been living in India, I have lived quite the extravagant lifestyle: 5-star dinners, tropical vacations, driving around the countryside on my moped and loving every minute of it. Sometimes I take these things for granted and more often than not, the poverty of Chennai and the modest lifestyles people lead here fill me with guilt and despair. But every now and then, I realize that I am giving back; that I do effect people on a daily basis, and that I am cultivating knowledge and talent through a universal language: Music.

There's nothing quite as fulfilling as introducing a new world to another person. The students at KMMC don't quite know what they're getting themselves into when they join KM. They have never heard Western Classical music, and their knowledge of western music in general is Shakira and Lady Gaga. And usually, in the beginning of their Foundation year, their eyes fill with doubt and cynicism when I begin to teach western technique and make them listen to lieder, chanson, and operatic arias. But at some point during the year, there is a moment of realization: the moment when their eyes begin to sparkle when they hear a new piece; the moment when they can make their own connection between Hindustani and Western technique; the moment when they decide to take their own initiative to learn something new based on what I've taught them. That moment is what every educator waits for. It is inspiring.

If you haven't seen it already, below is what I have been working on for the past three years. I am proud of my students for the work they have put in, and proud of myself for sticking it out and giving it my best. Enjoy!

Go to the KMMC youtube page for more!

Mugdha Hasabnis

UPDATE: Mugdha mentioned my name on the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa website! Check it out!
http://srgmpss.zeetv.com/mugdha-hasabnis/

I am very proud of my student Mugdha Hasabnis who is doing a wonderful job singing on the 'American Idol' of India - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa! Here are some clips of her singing:





Cross your fingers for her! I am!

TEDx CHENNAI

A couple of weeks after the TEDIndia conference in Mysore, a man named Kiruba called me and asked if I would like to speak at the TEDx Chennai event. I immediately refused. I'm not good at speaking, I thought. I've never done anything like that before, and more importantly, what would I speak about?? I had no idea. But Kiruba kept pressing, kept calling, and kept motivating me to speak. And finally, after a LOT of persuasion, I agreed. I agreed to speak for five minutes followed by a short performance.

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I’m not here to talk about social programs, or women’s rights, or anything I’ve invented. I’m not going to try and promote anything or sell anything. All I can offer you is a story about my journey.

Almost 5 years ago, I got “The Call.” I feel like everyone, at some point or another, gets a call that changes their life. For me, that call came at two o’clock in the afternoon on June 9, 2004. My doctor told me that the cells they had removed from my neck were indicative of Lymphoma. Now, you have to understand that I was a typical 21 year old college student – the world revolved around me, I was a self-proclaimed hippy; making my own clothes, cutting my own hair, eating organic food, (I’m from California, if you haven’t already guessed)… I had no idea what Lymphoma meant. I had never known anyone who had had cancer. He told me I would have to move home and go through treatment. My response was “Can I do it here? Because like, I’m enrolled in summer classes and like, I really want to hang out with my friends this summer.” He said… “You probably won’t be taking classes this summer.”

So I looked it up immediately. I didn’t know what to think or how to react. I just remember holding my breath for a really long time. I didn’t know how to tell my parents, and I couldn’t do it for a couple of weeks. I figured hey, the doctor’s could be WRONG, right? I only told my mother after the results came in from my second biopsy at which point it was confirmed that I had Stage 2A Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The following six months of chemotherapy and radiation involved a whirlwind of infusions, injections, medications, steroids, transfusions and a lot of other fun stuff that probably doesn’t need mentioning. During the long hours that I spent in bed, on my back, staring at the ceiling, and with the aid of some really strong medication, I started to feel panic. This can’t be it, I would think. There’s so much that I want to do. There’s so much I haven’t done. I haven’t left my mark.

What began as an incredibly dire situation, actually ended up doing me a whole lot of good. All of a sudden I felt motivated to do things I had never done before. It’s amazing how we react when we realize we’re running out of time.
I started painting – and the paintings that I created during this time are my absolute favorite. I started experimenting with photography. I taught myself how to play the guitar. I started composing classical music as well as popular music. I remember at one point I ran up to my mother and said “Mom! I’m going to write a THESIS.” And she said “that’s nice, but about what?” And I said “I have no idea, but I’M GONNA WRITE ONE!” I was sick during the 2004 presidential elections and instead of reacting in a surface level, hippy-esque, peace rally type of way, I actually tried to understand the ideas, the concepts, the motivations behind the candidates. I learned how to cook well and make food look beautiful.

I returned to university in 2005 to finish my music degree. Because the radiation treatment I had was directly on my neck and lungs, I really had no idea whether I would be able to sing again. The doctors didn’t know either. But I had to try.

In 2005 I auditioned and was admitted to L’academie de Musique Tibor Varga for a summer program commemorating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. The same year I joined the Intimate Opera Company in Los Angeles and was a chorus member in the comic opera Trial By Jury. In 2006 I mixed and produced my first cd which is now available on iTunes and Rhapsody online. The same year I was admitted to The Boston Conservatory to earn my graduate degree in Vocal Performance. In 2007 I co-founded a non-profit organization called Uplifted: Art Perpetuating Hope. We put on our first event that year which involved art galleries, dramatic monologues, photography galleries, and classical as well as popular music – the prerequisite being that all of the art involved had to represent or promote an aspect of social change or hope for a better future. In 2008 I met a man named “Guitar Prasanna” – those of you who are into Carnatic music probably know of him. He’s this crazy eclectic man who plays Carnatic music and jazz on electric guitar. He had worked with A.R. Rahman on the score for the film Lagaan a few years prior. After doing a concert with Prasanna, he recommended me for a position at AR’s music conservatory here in Chennai. I am currently a vocal teacher, choir conductor and recording artist at KM Conservatory in Kodambakkam, Chennai. Since being here I’ve had the opportunity of working with AR on multiple projects, including singing an aria for Shekhar Kapur’s short film Passage. I sang the aria at the premiere of the film at the Venice Film Festival in September.
In 2009, I also became, a TEDFellow.

So why am I telling you all this? I’m telling you this because going through cancer treatment was ironically the most inspiring, and motivating factor in my life. It made me realize the true incredible capacity of human beings. We as people are capable of doing amazing things. We are capable of changing ourselves in the course of 6 months – and because of that, I know that we are capable of changing others, and ultimately, changing the world. Going to TED in Mysore was proof of the staggering talent and strength of the people we share the world with. The more I live, the more beauty I see in people, the more good I see in people, and the more I realize that all we want is to be happy – and a big part of happiness is fulfillment. So I urge you in whichever field you’re in, to use it in a way that affects people.

Because the kind of fulfillment you get from affecting others, is limitless.

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And then, I sang. It was probably one of the WORST (and I mean WORST) performances of my life. Why? Well as you know, I'm not good at public speaking, so what I did would probably count more as public "reading." But because the topic at hand was so private, and so emotional, I felt a vulnerability so intense that I completely broke down during my speech. Not only was I a nervous wreck about speaking, but the topic itself made me quiver. Immediately after opening the flood gates, I had to sing, what is now becoming my signature aria, the "Laughing Aria" from the opera Die Fledermaus. I had asked for a piano for Andrew (my colleague and friend) to play, but the organizers could only come up with an electric keyboard - not even a full sized electric keyboard. To top it off, before I went up to speak, both Andrew and I had to go in for hair and makeup and they randomly gave him a mohawk. Yes. A mohawk. Why? No idea. But there was no time to complain.

Then to REALLY top it off... get ready for this... the electric keyboard's "piano" function wasn't working, so I sang the laughing aria to... drum roll please... weird carnival bell sounds. The whole performance was so ridiculous that I ended up having a whole lot of fun while simultaneously praying that no one would ever see that footage. So far, so good.

The response was very positive and I have Kiruba to thank for forcing me to step out of my comfort zone and take on a new challenge.

Website Update

Hello Everyone!

Just letting you know that I updated my website recently.... Check it out!

Check the Photos page for new pictures from a photo shoot I did with Claire Ronsin in the slums of Jafferkhanpet. I had so much fun doing it and she is an amazing photographer... considering it was a 100 degrees outside and I was sweating like a pig.

If you go to the Music page there's a recording of me singing "Mein Herr Marquis" from the opera Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. I sang the aria for KM Day in August here in Chennai.

And I finally gave myself a real domain name:
www.kavitabaliga.com

ENJOY!
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I'm currently at the TED INDIA conference in Mysore. Will blog soon!

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...

End of the Year Concert

We had a small end of the year concert - CNN randomly made a last-minute appearance! I thought the cameras were just there to tape the concert for KM's records so I had no idea the whole time. Crazy! All departments performed: strings, percussion, piano and voice. Since we just had a vocal concert recently, I had the choir sing instead of individual vocal performances. The Chamber Choir sang "Ave Maria" by Vittoria, the KM Choir sang "Regina Coeli" by Mozart, and my vocal students sang a choral rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" from the musical Carousel.



Some pics from the concert
Photography by Claire Ronsin

From Concert 4.14.09

From Concert 4.14.09

From Concert 4.14.09

From Concert 4.14.09

From Concert 4.14.09