Listen in as Atlanta Master Chorale Artistic Director Eric Nelson and composer Reena Esmail discuss how Reena discovered she is a composer, her unique background, and how her life experience and travels have taught her to focus on commonalities rather than differences.
You’ll also get a sneak peek into Reena’s composition “This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity”, discussing how Reena deftly merges Indian and Western classical styles into a mesmerizing piece for our times. The composition’s seven movements juxtapose the words of seven major religious traditions of India and specifically how each of these traditions approach the topic of unity, of brotherhood, and of being kind to one another.
This is an interview you don't want to miss! This episode of "Spirited Conversations: Behind the Scores" was broadcast live on March 11, 2024.
Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail holds degrees from The Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music.
Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press.
A resident of Los Angeles, Esmail is the 20-25 Swan Family Artist in Residence with Los Angeles Master Chorale and was the 20-21 Composer in Residence with Seattle Symphony. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.
Reena currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board of New Music USA, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting musical traditions of India and the West.
Learn more about Reena’s work at www.reenaesmail.com/.
www.AtlantaMasterChorale.org
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