NEW YORK (Top40 Charts/ Chandrika Tandon Official Website) - What: Record Release Party - Chandrika Tandons Soul Call hosted by the IAAC
When: Tuesday, October 6, 7-9 pm
Where: AICON Gallery, 35 Great Jones Street, New York, NY
RSVP:
[email protected] Websites: www.soulchants.com
www.iacc.us
Chandrika Tandon, a leader in the fields of business and philanthropy, is preparing to release her new CD, Soul Call, following her successful debut release, Soul Mantra. Over 3000 copies have already reached listeners during the three weeks of pre-release events at ashrams and temples with an outpouring of support from fans of all ages.
Soul Call takes the listener on a healing journey with Sanskrit slokas and an important chant from ancient Indian texts - eight phonemes, Om Na Mo Na Ra Ya Na Ya. This is a powerful healing mantra that works to cleanse the eight vital centers of the body, Chandrika explains. Most of the songs introductions are verses of surrender to the grace that is present in every atom of every being. The chant is recreated as eight melodious songs in ragas melding Carnatic, Hindustani and Western influences and accompaniments. I composed the songs to be easy to sing by all audiences - young, old, East and West - whether they are trained in Indian music or not, says Chandrika. I also wanted to make the process of meditation and contemplation joyous, so there are vibrant rhythms and percussion instruments woven into the songs.
Recorded both in Calcutta and New York, Soul Call incorporates world-class musicianship and production. The music has been arranged by the sarod master Tejendra Narayan Majumdar with assistance from Snehashish Mozumder, the gifted mandolin player - both with many albums to their credit. Rakesh Chaurasia, the fabled flutist, has provided accompaniment on multiple tracks. The album combines traditional Indian sounds such as sarod, sitar, and esraj with Western instruments such as piano, electric bass, and classical guitar.
Chandrika has also built a tremendously successful business career with the same passion with which she approaches music. She spent many years as a partner with McKinsey and Company before founding Tandon Capital Associates, Inc., a financial advisory and investment firm, which she currently chairs. She has worked with Boards, Chief Executives and Senior Management teams of over 40 financial institutions all over the world. She shares her management and financial skills with students as an Executive in Residence and a member of the Board of Overseers of New York Universitys Stern School of Business and the Presidents Council of International Activities at Yale University. In 2009, Chandrika was honored with the Walter Nichols medal, NYU Sterns highest honor given to distinguished business people with a record of integrity and service. And she reaches out to her community as founder and chairman of the Tandon Foundation, supporting non-profits that focus on sustainab! le livelihoods, womens economic power, education, the arts and spirituality. She is also a Board member of the America India Foundation and the Hindu Community Outreach Foundation.
Five years ago, Chandrika revisited her musical roots and started taking voice lessons from Hindustani master, Girish Wazalwar. Girish Dada gave me a window into this melodious, complex, yet totally enchanting world of Hindustani vocal music, where nothing else seemed to exist but the notes, and space, and the connection with a power far deeper than me, says Chandrika. In her journey she was further guided by other musical greats from multiple gharanas - T. Viswanathan of Wesleyan, Pandit Jasraj, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Pandit Vijay Kichlu and Shubhra Guha.
Soul Call is Chandrika Tandons offering to the world. She is partnering with local and national charitable organizations such as the Indo-American Arts Council, Art of Living Foundation, the Arsh Vidya Gurukulam, and Hindu Temples in many parts of the US to use the CD as their fundraising tool, and to reach a wider audience that can benefit from the rejuvenating power of the songs. Ive spent my whole adult life building my business and using that to give back to the community, says Chandrika. I feel blessed to be able to give something that has been so personal and healing for me, the gift of my music.
She is especially thrilled to partner with the Indo-American Arts Council, where she is an advisory board member. Chandrika says, The IAAC and I have a long personal and professional relationship, and they have been doing an amazing job of bringing performing arts to New York City and the US. I am thrilled that all the proceeds of CD sales during this party will be donated to the work of the IAAC.
The party will be held at the AICON Gallery on October 6, and will feature music from the album,
along with the sale and signing of CDs. It is open to the public with an RSVP.
Soul Call will be available online at CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes and others, as well as in stores.
For more info on Soul Call go to www.soulchants.com or email [email protected]
