Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
Vocal Landscapes of India and Italy
Artists: Shruti Ramani & Charles Daniels, voices; Alon Sariel, theorbo; and Alexander Weimann, keyboard
Innovative Hindustani and Jazz vocalist Shruti Ramani joins forces with tenor Charles Daniels to present a musical meeting of Italian 17th century florid writing and Indian classical vocal ornamentation: musical styles that share the art of virtuosic improvisation, with multifaceted roles and forms that transcend historical boundaries. Witness these two accomplished singers as they display the most breathtaking examples of each style and their teaching traditions.
Concert generously sponsored by Joy Johnson and Pam Ratner; Artist-in-Residence sponsored by Birgit Westergaard and Norman Gladstone
Runtime: 60 min, no intermission
Programme to be announced from the stage.
Shruti Ramani, voice
Shruti Ramani is an innovative emerging vocalist, composer, and educator based in Vancouver, Canada. Shruti hails from Mumbai, India, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Hindustani music under the mentorship of Dr. Ritu Johri from the Agra Gharana. She moved to Canada and acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies (Performance) with a specialization in voice from Capilano University. Her original music is an exciting and novel combination of Indian and Jazz traditions. Shruti is the band leader of Raagaverse, an eclectic Indo-Jazz fusion ensemble. Raagaverse also includes Juno-nominated bassist Jodi Proznick, exemplary pianist and composer Noah Franche-Nolan, and dynamic drummer Nicholas Bracewell. Within one year of forming, Raagaverse has performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Bolt, and the JazzYYC Canadian Festival. Raagaverse won a highly-competitive grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, which they used to record their debut album in the summer of 2023. Raagaverse’s album is set to release in the spring of 2024, and currently has three singles available on all streaming platforms: Saajan, Khaabon Ke Parindey, and Naina.
Aside from spearheading Raagaverse, Shruti has earned a reputation as a multifaceted and versatile vocalist that can sing anything. Her agile and precise vocal style has allowed her to lend her musical voice to projects spanning a wide-range of genres, including Hindustani, Jazz, improvised music, pop, Carnatic, and European classical. Shruti describes her singing style as maximalist and heavily ornamented. She subverts traditional expectations within the realm of Jazz because of her formative training in Hindustani music. As a vocalist, she has been part of renowned ensembles, such as Grammy-award winning music director A. R. Rahman’s highly-selective vocal ensemble NAFS, and the Juno-nominated all-women Jazz ensemble Ostara Project, spearheaded by Jodi Proznick and Amanda Tosoff. She has also worked with the NOW Society in collaboration with Douglas Ewart and Lisa Cay Miller. Shruti does not restrict herself in her musical endeavours because she is very keen to collaborate with artists with varied influences and experiences. She loves to learn new music and learn from new people. Overall, Shruti’s diverse musical skillset and highly technical vocal style set Shruti apart as a unique vocalist in the Canadian vocal landscape.
As a composer, many of Shruti’s compositions include rich Hindustani melodies situated within dense and dynamic Jazz harmonies. Shruti’s music often uses centuries-old texts and melodies that tell stories of love, grief, longing, and evoking the feeling of being at home. She enjoys exploring composing for both small and large ensembles. Shruti writes for diverse instrumentation settings, including Jazz quartet, string quartet, orchestra, big band, Carnatic ensembles, and choir. Some of her commissioned compositional highlights include a voice and orchestral composition for Sister Jazz Orchestra, a string quartet and voice arrangement for the Mixtophonics Festival, a composition commissioned by ethnomusicologist and musician Dr. Curtis Andrews for a Carnatic ensemble, and a big band composition commissioned by the Hard Rubber Orchestra.
Shruti also has extensive experience teaching music to people with a wide range of ages, musical abilities, and genres. She is currently a faculty member at the renowned VSO School of Music teaching both Jazz vocals and Hindustani music. As a teacher, Shruti prioritizes developing a strong mentorship relationship with students, and her teaching style is supportive while building strong foundations of musical understanding in her students. Shruti also teaches workshops, including giving a workshop on Hindustani and Jazz fusion for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and workshops on vocal technique and practice for Pardalis Studio, Tiny Lights Ignites, and Jazz Yukon. Shruti has also spoken on panels, particularly related to 2SLGBTQ+ and gender representation in Jazz. For example, she has spoken on a panel about queer musicians for Muze West, and a panel on women in Jazz for Jazz YYC. As part of her focus on uplifting women and gender-diverse people in music, Shruti is a reoccurring instructor at the VSO School of Music’s Sisters in Jazz Day.
Charles Daniels, tenor
Charles Daniels is a noted interpreter of Baroque music, though his narrative gifts are praised for music as diverse as Machaut Virelais and Graham Treacher’s Visions (2016). His recordings include Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Andrew Parrott, Bach’s Matthäus Passion with the Bach-Stiftung; Schütz Weihnachtshistorie, Monteverdi’s Vespers and Purcell’s Fairy-Queen with the Gabrieli Consort; Heracleitus with the Bridge Quartet and Lambert airs with Fred Jacobs; Kilar’s Missa Pro Pace with the Warsaw Philharmonic; much Bach and recent Purcell releases with the King’s Consort.
He created the dual role of Ulisse and John Gregory Dunne to critical acclaim in last year’s Bayerische Staatsoper production of Il Ritorno d’Ulisse/Jahr des magisches Denken His concert appearances span the intimate and the grand, from BBC Radio 3 recitals with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, domestic music of Bach for Nederlandse Bach Vereniging and Handel Chandos Anthems in their original setting of the Canons Estate church, to performances of Britten’s War Requiem (Canterbury, Lille) and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius (Cardiff, Wroclaw). Recent concerts include Dowland in Japan with Les Voix Humaines, Viadana in Verona and Switzerland with Bruce Dickey, a Weckmann programme in Vienna’s Konzerthaus and the 50th birthday celebration in Oxford of Andrew Parrott’s Taverner Consort.
Charles’ reconstructions of Gesualdo’s Sacrae Cantiones à6 have been premiered by the Gesualdo Consort of Amsterdam and his completion of Purcell’s court Ode Arise my Muse was broadcast on Radio-Canada during the Montréal Baroque Festival. He is delighted to return to EMV for this summer’s Festival.
Alon Sariel | Sponsored by Birgit Westergaard and Norman Gladstone, theorbo
Philharmonic hall, not jazz podium; Mozart festival not cult TV rock programme – back then, Alon Sariel had not foreseen how things would develop: back then, in 1994, when his music teacher told the eight-year-old that the mandolin and the electric guitar were “basically the same thing”. This was a momentous deception that was to deliver to the world of music one of the most versatile mandolin players, lutenists and ensemble directors of the present day. In his concert programmes, Alon uses the lute, Baroque guitar, oud and other plucked instruments to give his audiences the most diverse musical experiences. The mandolin, which has survived the centuries and found its place in the most varied of music styles and cultures, occupies a very special place in his heart.
His many acclaimed recordings of Renaissance and Baroque works – his album “Telemandolin” was recognised in 2018 with an OPUS Klassik award – have firmly established him in the public eye as a specialist for early music. His work with international soloists and ensembles such as Maurice Steger, Andreas Scholl, Lautten Compagney, Norway’s Barokksolistene and many others attests to his reputation. That said, Alon’s guiding principle is a changing perspective. In other words: giving new life to existing material, as well as creating completely new works.
That is why Alon, as soloist and conductor, frequently brings contemporary compositions both to the stage and into the studio. He conducted the Munich Chamber Orchester in Markus Stockhausen’s “Symbiosis”, premiered as soloist with the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin Gilad Hochman’s “Nedudim”, and commissioned two new works for mandolin from Uri Caine for the Beethoven anniversary year in 2020. His album and PENTATONE debut “Plucked Bach” is a journey through Bach’s Cello Suites on six of his different plucked instruments, with a follow-up “Plucked Bach II” released in 2023.
Looking beyond the scope of a professional musician, Alon is an active member of Rhapsody in School, introducing classical music to schoolchildren of all ages. Furthermore, he supported the Live Music Now Foundation and has played in Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Animal protection is also an important issue for Alon; he has been an ambassador for the Pro Animale charity since 2021.
Alexander Weimann, keyboard
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.) He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.
Alex has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra. His latest album series “The Art of Improvisation” (Volume 1: A Prayer for Peace; Volume 2: Ad libitum; and Volume 3: Caravan Variations, released on Redshift, 2024) unites his passions for both baroque music and improvisation on organ, harpsichord, and piano.
