Rohini Rajaraman, a new comer to the Boston area is musical star that has been added to the New England sky. A classically trained singer, she has won many awards for both classical and light music. She has been a playback singer and even given supporting vocals for the famous film Swades. She talks to Lokvani about her musical journey.
Can you describe your musical journey?
Having started at the age of 6, I have had 13 years of rigourous carnatic music training. After the first few years of carnatic training I also deeveloped interests in light music singing. I partnered with several Chennai-based bands and performed at several shows and event. I was also fortunate to have gotten the oppurtunity to perform as a backing vocalist for well-renowned music directors like A.R.Rahman, Yuvan Shankar Raja etc.I also participated in music-based reality shows like Sangeetha Mahayudham and Airtel Super Singer and was among the top singers. Very recently, I moved to Boston and now I am performing at private events and charity shows and am also giving vocal lessons for carnatic music as well as light music. This has been my musical journey so far and I am looking forward to the road ahead.
How did you decide to make music your career?
Right from a very early age, I had an inclination towards music. One of the reasons for this is that I come from a family that has amazing singers.I feel I am fortunate to inherit this trait from my family. From there on, I was greatly encouraged by my parents to pursue this career. My interests only grew as I learnt and performed at many stages.
You have had no less than 13 gurus ! How was the experience working with different Gurus?
Over the period of 13 years of classical music training I was fortunate to work with 4 gurus. The style of singing and compositions of each of my gurus were different. Each of my guru had a very unique personality this resonated in their training. In retrospect, I feel that having learnt from multiple gurus has provided diversity in my singing.
What brought you to Boston?
My better half did. Recently, in the monh of May, I got married to Arvind, who is a graduate student in UMass Medical School, Worcester.
You are very well trained in classical music and yet seem to go seamlessly between Classical and Film music. Did your classical training help in your film music presentations?
Classical music training laid a solid foundation for me to perform any kind of music. I should confess that i have always had an inclination towards film music. One of the major advantages i felt in learning carnatic music was that it allowed me to easily improvise film songs and create my own renditions.
Do you continue to keep your classical music tradition up?
Although I do not practice hard core classical music as much as I would like to, I keep learning and practicing semi-classical film songs very often. Additionally, I have also been giving classical music lessons to several students in Shrewsbury.
What does music really mean to you?
Music is not just my passion, its my companion too. It allows me to express myself in a way that gives me great joy.
What do you see for your musical future?
My dream is to perform as a playback singer in mainstream film industry. I also want to explore other styles of music and work on fusing these genres. I will continue performing in music shows to entertain my audience.
Any special message for Lokvani readers?
Firstly I am extremely thankful to the New England community to recognize me in such a short time frame of 6 months. I specially want to thank Mrs.Shefali Desai Kalyani, Mr.Jay Srinivasan and Mrs.Swathi Subramanian who provided me with a platform to establish myself as a singer in this community. I also wish to thank all those who are reading this article and I hope to sing for you sometime soon. Happy 2017.
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