Workshops at Shastra

Shastra summer collaborative

The Shastra Summer Collaborative (previously Composing with Indian Voice) is an intensive, immersive program for Western composers and Hindustani vocalists. Composers and singers are paired with one another, learn about each others musical traditions, participate in a series of collaborative assignments and work together on a new composition. The course is co-taught by Saili Oak and Reena Esmail, beginning remotely and culminating in a 3-day residency in Los Angeles.

Now in it’s fourth year, the program has provided an entirely new repertoire of music for Hindustani singer and Western string quartet, which has been performed throughout the US and in India. Some of the most outstanding selections from  this repertoire was released in May 2019 on Shastra’s album, Beyond.

The 2020 Summer Collaborative has been postponed to next summer in light of the CDC issued guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

raga meets symphony

Raga Meets Symphony is an intensive for Hindustani singers and instrumentalists to begin exploring the mechanics of Western classical music through the lens of their training. Raga Meets Symphony was held in Mumbai and New Delhi in 2017. This year’s workshop is scheduled to be conducted online in July 2021. Click here to register!

shastra rhythm collaborative

Composing with Indian Rhythm provides Western composers with an immersive experience into Hindustani Rhythm. Co-taught by composer Payton MacDonald and tabla player Shawn Mativetsky, composers learn the fundamentals of Hindustani taal (rhythm), and the mechanics of writing for tabla. The workshop culminates in a 3-day residency in New Jersey, at William Paterson University, where students workshop record new compositions for tabla and Western percussion quartet with Shawn and New Jersey Percussion Ensemble (NJPE).