I am excited to announce that in addition to my usual solo and choral work I will be collaborating with two highly respected musicians on special concerts next year.
Nanda Banerjee is a musician that I greatly admire. She is a master of classical North Indian singing but not afraid to try something new. I had the great pleasure of working with her once before, and that concert was named of the “Ten Best” concerts of the year by the Houston Chronicle.
Our new project is tentatively called “The Color of the Melody.” For several years I have been experimenting with ragas in my own compositions, inspired by a definition of raga as ‘the color of the melody.’ I wondered if the distinctive ‘color’ of a rag would still be present in a harmonic presentation as it is in a melodic one. This program will put that question to the test by comparing traditional performances by Nanda followed by a compositions of mine based on the same ragas.
I am also very happy to announce that I will collaborate with Hsin-Jung Tsai on a concert of new chamber music. Dr. Tsai is an excellent composer and pianist and is active in the new music scene in Houston. She has generously agreed to work on several of my compositions for this program and I will perform something of hers. Music for overtone singing with other instruments has recently been an important part of my work, and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with a colleague who has so much chamber music experience.
Stay tuned for info about dates and venues for these exciting concerts!