04. Ranjana Ghatak: Unlocking the Power of the Voice through Singing
In this episode, enjoy this informative and inspiring discussion with Ranjana Ghatak on Unlocking the Power of the Voice through Singing.
Ranjana tells us how her journey started with singing and how she knew this was her path as well as who has been her greatest inspiration. She mentioned what forms of Indian classical singing have influenced her the most and how she came into contemporary music and other forms of singing. She then mentioned how singing unlocks the power of your voice and shared some practical examples for this.
Ranjana shared her thoughts on the use of intuition and improvisation in singing as well as how singing may evolve over time in the UK and abroad. She then spoke about the benefits of singing at an individual level as well as benefits of singing as part of a group and in the wider community. Ranjana shared information about her vocal workshops, upcoming projects and what to expect and what’s included in her community membership.
Her key message she left viewers was to harness the power of music through listening to more music and connecting with your voice or learning an instrument and creating space for more creativity. She ended with singing a beautiful peace prayer embodying peace and tranquillity.
More about Ranjana:
Ranjana started her learning in the classical and devotional Hindustani vocal traditions from a young age in London, before continuing her study under the guidance of Maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakabarty from 2000. Ranjana has explored traditional music in addition to juxtaposing the beauty of sacred vocal music with contemporary instrumentation over the last 14 years.
Performances include Bath Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Cadogan Hall, Buckingham Palace and opening for John McLaughlin, Shai Maestro and Trilok Gurtu. She released her solo album in 2020 with Mercury-nominated producer/musicians Liran Donin (double bass) and Jack Ross (guitar) titled - The Butterfly Effect. Collaborations include LPO, RPO, Nitin Sawhney, Jesse Bannister, Jason Singh, James Yorkston and Jon Thorne.
Composing credits include a vocal piece for 130 singers inspired by Pandit Ravi Shankar’s opera (Royal Opera House/Southbank Centre/Krishna Avanti School) and a Raga inspired choral piece for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. She lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2018 till the end of 2020 performing and teaching for the Chitresh Das Institute and the Ali Akbar College of Music. She was invited to solo on the opening song for the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in July 2022.
She was one of 8 musicians selected on the Making Tracks Residency in Sep 2022 which created new works and toured the UK. She was invited to premiere a piece with LA based composer Juhi Bansal, as part of Yale University’s Chamber Music Festival last year and she recently sang on the same line up as Robert Plant for the Bert Jansch Tribute at the Royal Festival Hall with James Yorkston. She gave an interview and performance on BBC Sunday Morning Live.
Ranjana is an experienced teacher and workshop leader and has been teaching the foundations of voice culture through Indian Classical and devotional music through her Vocal Membership program called Swaranjali. She has run workshops across the UK and abroad, including venues such as the Barbican, Southbank Centre and Kings Place.
Links:
https://www.ranjanaghatak.com
https://www.facebook.com/ranjanaghatak
https://www.instagram.com/ranjanaghatak/
http://www.youtube.com/@ranjanaghatak
More about Anita:
I love being a dynamic multi-dimensional catalyst and channel to bring about transformation, activations, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, regression therapist, soul plan reader, soul transformation therapist, energy & sound healer, shamanic practitioner, psychic medium, counsellor, coach, qigong instructor, teacher of holistic healing practitioner courses. I offer soul healing and guidance to remember who you truly are and to live your greatest potential in this life.
I would love to assist you in your journey of transformation and empowerment to be the best that you can be, create your dream reality and live your unique soul purpose. "Life is a creative playground to create your dream reality!" - Anita Das
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