Choir conductor, Classical music, Music Production, Composition, Arranging & Programming, Vocal Performance and Pedagogy, Vocal coaching
2009
United States
Singer + vocal coach // Vocal teacher, choral conductor and recording artist at AR Rahman’s music conservatory in Chennai:
With a fierce commitment to transforming the world through music, the young American soprano Kavita Baliga has sung in concerts around the U.S., Switzerland, Italy, and India with repertoire ranging from Opera and Oratorio, Musical Theatre to Indian film.
The classically trained singer earned her undergraduate degree in vocal performance with a minor in gender studies from The University of California at Irvine, and graduate degree in vocal performance from The Boston Conservatory. She has trained under renowned artists such as Elizabeth Pehlivanian, Robin Buck, Anita Mixson and Sara Goldstein. Her honors and awards include winning 1st place in the Youth Focus competition of California and 1st place in the Satya Devi Memorial Trust competition. Her Western performances include playing ‘Juliette’ from Romeo et Juliette by Gounod, ‘Zerlina’ in Don Giovanni by Mozart, Emcee in The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, and soloing in Britten’s cantata St. Nicolas in Boston. Her work in India has included singing in scores for films such as Yuvraaj, Ghajini, and Blue, by A.R. Rahman. She is most known for singing ‘Moi, je nage dans l’espoir’ and ‘Lux Aeterna’ from the film Passage, directed by Shekhar Kapur with music by A.R. Rahman. The film premiered as an accompaniment to a sculpture exhibition at the Swarovski Kristallwelten museum in Austria.
Ms. Baliga has had the privilege of working with artists such as A.R Rahman, and ‘Guitar’ Prasanna, and has shared the stage with artists like Benny Dayal, Shankar Mahadevan, Naresh Iyer, Asad Khan, and Naveen Iyer. In 2008, Ms. Baliga joined A.R Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, India as a faculty member and administrator to build the Western Classical curriculum. Here she founded the KMMC Chamber Choir; a professional group of singers comprised of alumni and current students of KMMC. In 2009, she was awarded the TEDIndia fellowship for being a musical pioneer and entrepreneur. In 2010 she became Programme Leader and worked as the official liason between KMMC and Middlesex University in London to affiliate the two institutes and to provide KMMC with an internationally recognized degree program.
Notable performances in India have included the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert to mark the 50th anniversary of King’s pilgrimage to India and to recognize his non-violent activism toward human rights. The concert featured Ms. Baliga, the KMMC Chamber Choir and faculty, and included Martin Luther King III and Indian film actor Kamal Haasan who both spoke at the event. In 2009 Ms. Baliga was invited to sing at the premiere of the film Passage at the Venice Film Festival in Italy where the Venetian String Orchestra, conducted by Matt Dunkley, accompanied her. Amy Kaufman, Haley Bennet, and Nadja Swarovski were among those present. In January 2012, Ms. Baliga sang pieces from Passage and Lord of the Rings, The Musical in a 5-city concert tour called Classic Incantations: The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg plays A.R. Rahman. The event featured Rahman’s film and stage scores in a concert setting, conducted by Matt Dunkley. She also trained the KMMC Chamber Choir to sing in the event. // The American soprano Kavita Baliga has sung in concerts around the U.S., Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, and India with repertoire ranging from Opera and Art Song, Musical Theatre to Indian film.
The classically trained singer earned her Bachelors in Music degree in vocal performance from The University of California at Irvine, and Masters in Music degree from The Boston Conservatory.
From 2008 - 2013, Kavita worked in India singing in Bollywood scores; building the curriculum for A.R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory, conducting choral studio sessions for Indian films, and developing her startup company, Desi Music Entertainment. She has sung in the films "Yuvraaj", "Ghajini", "Blue", and "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", but she is most known for singing "Moi, je nage dans l’espoir" and "Lux Aeterna" from the film "Passage", directed by Shekhar Kapur with music by A.R. Rahman. The film premiered as an accompaniment to a sculpture exhibition at the Swarovski Kristallwelten museum in Austria. She also conducted the KMMC Chamber Choir for the "In Memoriam" segment of the 2012 Oscars.
Notable performances have included the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert to mark the 50th anniversary of King’s pilgrimage to India and to recognize his non-violent activism toward human rights. The concert featured Ms. Baliga, the KMMC Chamber Choir and faculty, and included Martin Luther King III and Indian film actor Kamal Haasan who both spoke at the event. In 2009 Ms. Baliga sang at the premiere of the film "Passage" at the Venice Film Festival in Italy where the Venetian String Orchestra, conducted by Hollywood arranger and conductor, Matt Dunkley, accompanied her. Amy Kaufman, Haley Bennet, and Nadja Swarovski were among those present. In January 2012, Ms. Baliga sang pieces from "Passage" and "Lord of the Rings, The Musical" in a 5-city concert tour called Classic Incantations: The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg plays A.R. Rahman. The event featured Rahman’s film and stage scores in a concert setting, conducted by Matt Dunkley. She also trained the KMMC Chamber Choir to sing in the event.
Since 2013, she has been performing across France with the group, "Olli Goes to Bollywood" with Ollivier Leroy, Asad Khan, Jesse Lucas, Erwan Volant, Jacques-Yves Lafontaine, Ashok Shinde, and other notable musicians. She also runs her startup record label, Desi Music Entertainment that produces and supports South-Asian independent music, and has been coaching young and professional singers through Skype for over 10 years.
Quotes/Awards:
TED Fellowship - Kavita was awarded the TEDIndia Fellowship in 2009.
Her voice has been described as “the voice of an angel” by Shekhar Kapur. Stanley Meyerson, the father of the Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson who has worked on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean and Inception said, “I think she has a magnificent voice. I love her voice. [she] impresses me a lot.” Alan Meyerson said, “[It’s] a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre.” Following the Classic Incantations tour, conductor and arranger Matt Dunkley described Ms. Baliga as his ‘favorite soprano’. Shabhana Azmi, the art film actress and activist who was present during the Classic Incantations concert in Mumbai exclaimed, “Who is that? Where did she come from?! What an incredible voice.” // The American soprano Kavita Baliga has sung in concerts around the U.S., Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, and India with repertoire ranging from Opera and Art Song, Musical Theatre to Indian film.
The classically trained singer earned her Bachelors in Music degree in vocal performance from The University of California at Irvine, and Masters in Music degree from The Boston Conservatory.
From 2008 - 2013, Kavita worked in India singing in Bollywood scores; building the curriculum for A.R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory, conducting choral studio sessions for Indian films, and developing her startup company, Desi Music Entertainment. She has sung in the films "Yuvraaj", "Ghajini", "Blue", and "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", but she is most known for singing "Moi, je nage dans l’espoir" and "Lux Aeterna" from the film "Passage", directed by Shekhar Kapur with music by A.R. Rahman. The film premiered as an accompaniment to a sculpture exhibition at the Swarovski Kristallwelten museum in Austria. She also conducted the KMMC Chamber Choir for the "In Memoriam" segment of the 2012 Oscars.
Notable performances have included the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert to mark the 50th anniversary of King’s pilgrimage to India and to recognize his non-violent activism toward human rights. The concert featured Ms. Baliga, the KMMC Chamber Choir and faculty, and included Martin Luther King III and Indian film actor Kamal Haasan who both spoke at the event. In 2009 Ms. Baliga sang at the premiere of the film "Passage" at the Venice Film Festival in Italy where the Venetian String Orchestra, conducted by Hollywood arranger and conductor, Matt Dunkley, accompanied her. Amy Kaufman, Haley Bennet, and Nadja Swarovski were among those present. In January 2012, Ms. Baliga sang pieces from "Passage" and "Lord of the Rings, The Musical" in a 5-city concert tour called Classic Incantations: The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg plays A.R. Rahman. The event featured Rahman’s film and stage scores in a concert setting, conducted by Matt Dunkley. She also trained the KMMC Chamber Choir to sing in the event.
Since 2013, she has been performing across France with the group, "Olli Goes to Bollywood" with Ollivier Leroy, Asad Khan, Jesse Lucas, Erwan Volant, Jacques-Yves Lafontaine, Ashok Shinde, and other notable musicians. She also runs her startup record label, Desi Music Entertainment that produces and supports South-Asian independent music, and has been coaching young and professional singers through Skype for over 10 years.
Quotes/Awards:
TED Fellowship - Kavita was awarded the TEDIndia Fellowship in 2009.
Her voice has been described as “the voice of an angel” by Shekhar Kapur. Stanley Meyerson, the father of the Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson who has worked on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean and Inception said, “I think she has a magnificent voice. I love her voice. [she] impresses me a lot.” Alan Meyerson said, “[It’s] a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre.” Following the Classic Incantations tour, conductor and arranger Matt Dunkley described Ms. Baliga as his ‘favorite soprano’. Shabhana Azmi, the art film actress and activist who was present during the Classic Incantations concert in Mumbai exclaimed, “Who is that? Where did she come from?! What an incredible voice.” // Singer + vocal coach // music production, activism, classical music, human rights, vocal performance and pedagogy, education, youth, gender, rights, composition, arranging & programming, choir conductor, teachers, vocal coaching, curriculum development // California|Los Angeles|United States|USA
California|Los Angeles|United States|USA
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