wow awesome article. so, this is the story behind the 150 all star eh?
thanks for sharing. --- jsrwm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Guys check this site: > > The URL may require an US zipcode: > > http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/aanews/index.ssf?/base/features-1/114\ > 4680116196230.xml&coll=2&thispage=1 > > > Monday, April 10, 2006 > BY KEVIN RANSOM > News Special Writer > > As the world keeps turning, it keeps getting > smaller. Still. > > Indeed, due to such varied forces as the Internet, > digital technology > and continued cross-cultural pollination, more > Americans are grooving to > world-music styles today than they were 10 years > ago. Or even five years > ago. > > One form that has burrowed into the American > pop-culture consciousness > in the last couple of years is Indian music. And, > within the broader > Indian-music scene, one sub-genre getting attention > is the fusion of > classical Indian music with modern rhythms. > > Perhaps the most accomplished of these fusionists > is A.R. Rahman, who > began his career as a writer of commercial jingles > and went on to become > India's most popular composer of film scores. > > Until the last year, Rahman's biggest claim to fame > was his > collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the London > and Broadway > productions of "Bombay Dreams'' in 2002 and 2004, > respectively. Webber > produced, Rahman composed the music. > > But Rahman's profile got even higher when he struck > the seeming unlikely > collaboration with the Finnish folk group Varttina > to compose the music > for the $23 million, four-hour-long stage production > of "Lord of the > Rings,'' which opened in Toronto on March 23. > > Rahman's unique synthesis of traditional Indian > music with more > contemporary rhythms inspired Sidney Fallon, wife of > Eastern Michigan > University president John Fallon III, to seek out a > meeting with Rahman > during a recent trip to India. Rahman and the > Fallons had a mutual > Indian acquaintance, and the three parties began > discussing ways for > young Americans to learn more about Indian culture. > > They decided on a pair of benefit concerts by Rahman > and fellow Indian > artists Sekar, Kalish Kher and Vasundhara Das. The > first concert will be > at the EMU Convocation Center on Saturday, the > second in Dayton, Ohio on > April 22. > > The show, "Wake Up! A.R. Rahman with 150 All > Stars,'' will bring > together Rahman's works on stage through colorful > costumes and set > designs, along with Indian and American singers and > dancers. Rahman also > will perform with the Global Rhythm All Stars, a > group of more than 150 > American artists that have performed with numerous > Grammy-winning > artists. > > Joining Rahman on stage will be cellist V.R. Sekar, > founder of the > Madras String Quartet; singer/actress Vasundhara > Das; and singer/actor > Kailash Kher. > > "I love his music,'' said Sidney Fallon. "I like > that it's a wonderful > fusion, which has a basic foundation in Indian music > and then brings > together a lot of different rhythms. Many of the > songs he'll perform > will be in Indian languages.'' > > Fallon said that 70 percent of the funds raised by > ticket sales will go > to the creation of an endowment for a program that > will "help our young > people to gain a greater understanding of the world > by studying Indian > music, and culture.'' > > Three filmmakers are also expected to be in town for > the event, Fallon > said. Rakeysh Mehra, director of "Rang da Basanti,'' > will show the movie > and talk to students, and music from the film will > be performed at the > concert. Ramkumar Ganeshan also plans to meet with > students and faculty. > And Swedish filmmaker Niclas Ribbarp expects to make > a documentary about > the project. > > In India, Rahman has come to be known as the > "Mozart of Madras,'' and, > according to the BBC, he's sold between 100 million > and 150 million CDs. > > He's also collaborated with a range of artists, from > Nusrat Fateh Ali > Khan to Michael Jackson to David Byrne to Sarah > Brightman. > > But Rahman started out amidst much more modest > circumstances. Following > the death of his father when Rahman was just 9 years > old, he turned to > music and developed his instrumental skills. Then, > at age 17, he took a > job writing music for TV commercials before leaving > India to earn a > degree in Western classical music from Oxford > University. > > Still in his early 20s, Rahman had a fateful meeting > at a party held to > celebrate an award he won for writing a TV jingle. > One reveler was Mani > Ratnam, a leading Indian filmmaker. One thing led to > another, and, in > 1992, at age 25, Rahman composed the score for > Ratman's film, "Roja,'' > in the Tamil language. The score won acclaim in > India for its fusion of > classical and modern Indian music, and Rahman was on > his way. > > Rahman's next several projects were also > Tamil-language films, and he > became known as India's leading Tamil film-music > composer. From there, > he turned to India's more commercial and > cross-cultural Bollywood movie > biz, composing the score to Ramgopal Varma's > "Rangeela.'' > > In 1997, Rahman found a global springboard for his > talents when he > signed with Sony Masterworks and released "Vande > Mataram,'' a > re-creation of India's national song that became an > anthem of sorts > among Indian youth. Sony released the record in 28 > different countries. > > Fast-forward to 2004, when "Bombay Dreams'' made it > to Broadway. The > success of that project led Rahman to broaden his > horizons once again. > This time, it was in China, where he composed the > score for the Chinese > epic film "Warriors of Heaven and Earth,'' which > Sony Pictures > distributed on a worldwide basis. > > Fallon is looking forward to Rahman's upcoming EMU > show for more reasons > than one. > > "I really do think one of the best ways of bringing > peace and harmony to > the world is to learn about other cultures, and > music is probably the > most powerful of all,'' said Fallon. Then, with a > laugh, she added: "I'm > also learning Hindi, so listening to this music is a > great way to pick > up the language.'' > > > rOshAn __________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Matrimony: Find your partner now. Go to http://yahoo.shaadi.com Explore, Experience, Enjoy A.R.Rahman - The Man, The Music, The Magic. Only at arrahmanfans.com - The definitive A.R.Rahman e-community. 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