World Music Institute to Present Kala Ramnath With Brooklyn Raga Massive

See Kala Ramnath with Abhijit Bannerjee and Brooklyn Raga Massive at Kaufman Music Center on May 16, 2024 at 8pm. 

Opening: Sandhi Trio

Doors: 7.30 PM | Show: 8 PM

$35 | $45 | $55

Maestra Kala Ramnath with her 'Singing Violin,' has been featured on the GRAMMY-nominated Miles from India project, and compositions of hers have appeared on the GRAMMY-winning album In 27 Pieces and the Kronos Quartet's 50 For The Future. She was awarded the illustrious Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for her contributions to the violin in Hindustani Classical Music. Born into a dynasty of prodigious musical talent, Kala's violinistic vision began manifesting early. She became a pre-eminent disciple of the legendary vocalist Pandit Jasraj. During this mentorship, Kala began revolutionizing approaches to vocalized Hindustani violin technique, becoming dubbed 'Singing Violin'. Kala has appeared on world stages including the Sydney Opera House, Paris' Théâtre de la Ville, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, Singapore's Esplanade, New York's Carnegie Hall, the Rudolstadt Festival in Germany and the Edinburgh Music Festival in Scotland. Kala comfortably forges musical alliances with artists of renown from different genres around the globe incorporating elements of Western Classical, Jazz, Flamenco and traditional African music into her rich and varied repertoire. Today, Kala is keen to enrich the lives of under-privileged children through music in the form of her foundation, 'Kalashree.' Kala Ramnath will perform with long time musical companion Abhijit Banerjee on tabla.

Brooklyn Raga Massive is an adventurous nonprofit musicians' collective that creates cross-cultural understanding through the lens of South Asian classical music by providing direct support to artists, fostering collaboration through our iconic concerts and jam sessions, facilitating cultural exchange through educational initiatives, and producing transcendent, and often massive, performances, festivals, and one-of-a-kind albums.

Multifaceted violinist, composer and educator Arun Ramamurthy's music is rooted in South Indian classical "raga" music with influences of both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. He will perform an opening set with his innovative, genre-blurring Sandhi Trio featuring master kora player Yacouba Sissoko, and Carnatic kanjira virtuoso Swaminathan Selvaganesh.

The WOMEN'S VOICES series celebrates the role that female artists play in the preservation and promotion of their respective cultures and traditions.

About World Music Institute:

Founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit, World Music Institute (WMI) has served as one of the leading presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world with the goal of inspiring wonder for the world's rich cultural traditions, promoting awareness and appreciation and encouraging cross-cultural dialog and exchange. WMI presents at venues throughout the city and depends on both public and private funding to accomplish its mission.

The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.