Raaga-Rang:  Journey to the Heart of Melody!

Raaga-Rang is a unique concert where classical music based popular film music is rendered in an entertaining evening of melodies.

The show will take place on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 4pm at National Heritage Museum (33 Marrett Road, Lexington MA).

After an enthralling full-house performance last spring, Raaga-Rang is back, in response to comments such as, “ … the best music in Boston”, “… entertainment to remember” and “it brought a hundred smiles to us all.” The Raaga-Rang team is at it again to present an evening of melodies. The goal of Raaga-Rang is to connect the music connoisseur to the heart of melody.

The melodic structures of the raagas will emit the sweet fragrance of the popular songs from Bollywood films. These songs have survived through generations and are still revered and are steeped in history, and are all based on classical raagas.

“Raaga-Ranga is our innovative way to bring the delight of Classical music through the bridge of film music. A raaga can be described in a mere few notes, yet hundreds of melodies and songs can be created from that tiny core. Our goal is to connect our audience to that heart of the melody,” says Shekhar Shastri.

In a presentation designed to enthrall music lovers, classical enthusiasts as well as the Bollywood buff, Raaga-Rang brings a star-studded line-up of some of the most illustrious New England area musicians. The vocal line-up includes Meena Sundaram, Meesha Acharya, Shuchita Rao, Sowmya Sri Sandeep, Uma Sankar, Dilip Acharya, Sankar Gangaikondan, Shekhar Shastri, and Vijay Kumar. Shubhra Bhattacharya Chandra will be making a guest appearance.

A peerless set of classically trained musicians form the live Raaga-Rang orchestra: Christy Mathew (Keyboard), Christopher Pereji (Keyboard), Dilip Acharya (Harmonium), Harshal Tole (Tabla), Hiral Parikh (Percussion), Pravin Sitaram (Mridangam), Sahana Srinivasan (Violin), Sujeet Phanse (Flute), and Pranav Ghatraju (Tabla). You will hear an inspiring rendition of well-known classical and semi-classical compositions.

Hear what the participants and organizers have to say about this performance:

“The content and structure of Raaga-Rang is designed to highlight the essence of classical music in a capsule that is gentle, and pleasing to a wide range of audiences. The team of performers is fabulous, the song selection is exquisite and it is sheer delight to sing the classical compositions.”
- Shuchita Rao, a well-known Classical Hindustani singer and teacher

“It excites me to be working with a group of talented musicians and singers. This is a new experience for me and what attracted me to Raag Rang was that I was confident that the concept, music and the execution of the show would not compromise the basic fundamentals of Indian Classical music.”
- Pravin Sitaram, a well-known Carnatic musician and teacher

“The Raaga-Rang team says it all: classical music teachers such as Shuchita, Uma, and Pravin; musicians such as Christy, Chris Dilip, and Harshal; and melody queens such as Meena and Sowmya. In Raaga-Rang, I get to sing the songs that are closest to my heart, with a top-notch live orchestra.”
- Sankar Gangaikondan, star singer and Raaga-Rang team member.

 â€œRaag-Rang is an introspective journey as a singer to the basics of what music means to me. I enjoy the teaching and mentorship within the group with accomplished teachers like Shuchitaji and I love the interaction between singers and musicians from various genres. This teamwork and camaraderie along with the beautiful musical compositions creates a special vibe with which we are ready to enthrall New England audiences.”
- Meena Sundaram, star singer and Raaga-Rang team member.

This inimitable program is brought to you by Meru Education Foundation in collaboration with Learnquest Academy of Music. Classical raagas or melodies will be explored in Hindi, Kannada Tamil, and Telugu film songs – with a dash of Bangla. Indian classical music and innovation go hand in hand; we shall show it in action, in a way that involves the audience. So be ready to participate.

Visit Raaga-Rang on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/195722653944839/

For event details and tickets, contact:
Vanita Shastri (781) 862-9648 or Pallavi Nagesha (508) 736-5405
Email: raagarangboston@gmail.com

Check out listing here: http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/cal.php?stage=1&event_id=10481

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