New York, N.Y. I recently attended Ticket2Bollywood (T2B) sponsored by Molecule Communications. I had the opportunity to interview its director Ajay Shrivastav and his sister and business partner Kiren. Brother and sister Ajay and Kiren Shrivastav are opposites. He is the creative one and Kiren more the businesswoman operating Molecule Communications in Mumbai and Ajay is opening [...]
Tag Archives: Music
Bollywood for Beginners – A Seeker’s Guide
New York, N.Y. Speaking broadly, we don’t appreciate Bollywood because we don’t understand it. We fail to grasp it not for any intellectual flaw, but for a major cultural one: we didn’t grow up in India. The biggest point to absorb to better get Bollywood is that Indian cinema is both sophisticated and unique. Films began [...]
Young Concert Artists Presents Ravishing Soprano at Merkin Hall
New York, N.Y. The LA-based pianist, conductor, and composer André Previn called Susan Wadsworth, who founded Young Concert Artists (YCA) in 1961, last week to tell her how much he loved soprano Jeanine de Bique‘s singing of his cycle, Honey and Rue. When I received an invitation to cover her upcoming recital in New York’s Merkin Hall at Kaufman [...]
Roosevelt Island Prepares for Third Annual Cherry Blossom Festival
New York, N.Y. Warm weather is upon us at last, and with it comes the Third Annual Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossom Festival. Located under the 59th Street Bridge, across from the United Nations, Roosevelt Island has 600 incredible cherry trees. With the opening of FDR Four Freedom Park, a $50 million improvement to the island [...]
Segal and Sissoko Create Harmony from Diverse Music Traditions
New York, N.Y. Music has the ability to bridge diverse cultures. That was powerfully on display recently at the Florence Gould Hall Theater in Manhattan. Malian Ballaké Sissoko and Frenchman Vincent Segal are in many ways worlds apart. But on stage, the two musicians found harmony. Sissoko, a master of the kora (21-stringed harp-lute), joined Segal, a classically [...]
Bollywood’s Economic Impact — on New York
I first met New York-based music composer Wayne Sharpe two years ago at the New York Indo-American Film Festival (NYIFF). He was the first American I had ever encountered who worked for Bollywood. Recently I had the chance to attend a conference that focused on the economic impact of Bollywood in New York City – [...]
Hip Hop Saves Lives’ Wan-Luv Summer Music Series in NYC
New York, N.Y. Summer in New York City is a special time with heat, rain – and outdoor festivals! On July 26, the Wan-Luv 2012 Summer Music Series will present a “Pre Carnival des Fleurs” celebration at The Ritz Plaza Park on Times Square. Sponsored by Stonehenge Properties and produced by Hip Hop Saves Lives, the festival will highlight Haitian music, [...]
A Promise for Tomorrow with Urban Promise
By Vanessa Cabezas, edited by Jim Luce Camden, N.J. Urban Promise is exactly what it stands for. Founded by Dr. Bruce Main back in 1988, Urban Promise has grown significantly over the years and has become a resource or “go to place” for children to get off the streets starting with Camden, New Jersey where it [...]
