Communal Sing-In with Kamala Sankaram
Free (RSVP required)
- Kamala Sankaram, soprano
Join Kaufman Music Center Artist-in-Residence Kamala Sankaram for a free, public communal sing-in featuring new works by Sankaram in Merkin Hall. All levels are welcome!
This event also takes place on May 12.
As part of her 2021-22 Kaufman Music Center Artist Residency, composer, soprano and Bombay Rickey bandleader Kamala Sankaram has addressed the power of communal music making to bring people together at a time when our need for connection and community is especially acute following two years of isolation during the pandemic. Working with Kaufman Music Center students throughout the season, Sankaram has developed a Secular Sacred Harp, a broadly accessible tool that enables all individuals, including those with little or no musical training, to sing and create music together.
On May 12 and 26 at Merkin Hall, Sankaram will premiere new songs as well as the newly-developed “Sing-In” app at two free, public, broadly participatory sing-ins at Merkin Hall open to singers at all levels of musical skill and experience. Erasing the distinction between performer and audience, participants will join Sankaram in a circle on stage and will see two elements projected on a screen: the “score,” a pared-down form of notation denoting rhythm through easily-describable physical movements, and a color-based pitch detection image that indicates how close the group is to the correct pitch. Using the Sing-In app, individuals will sing into their phones and receive color-based feedback on their own pitch.
Kamala Sankaram’s Artist Residency is generously underwritten Cathy White O’Rourke.
About Kamala Sankaram, soprano
Praised as “one of the most exciting opera composers in the country” (The Washington Post), composer Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music and contemporary opera.
Also an accomplished performer, Kamala has been hailed as "an impassioned soprano with blazing high notes" (Wall Street Journal).
Kamala is the leader of Bombay Rickey, an operatic Bollywood surf ensemble whose accolades include two awards for Best Eclectic Album from the Independent Music Awards, the 2018 Mid-Atlantic touring grant, and appearances on WFMU and NPR.
Dr. Sankaram holds a PhD from the New School and is currently a member of the composition faculties at the Mannes College of Music and SUNY Purchase.
https://www.kamalasankaram.com/