A.R.REHMAN to perform in the Hollywood Bo

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AR RAHMAN, the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music, is the pride of the Indian nation and a role model for millions around the world. In a country where film music is the most popular form of music, Rahman is truly the emperor. AR Rahman, hailed by Time as the 'Mozart of Madras,' is one of the most successful artists of all time and, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 100 million albums of his works, comprising music from more than 50 movies.

Rahman was born into a musically affluent family and started playing the piano at a very young age. His father, RK Shekhar, was a composer, arranger, and conductor for Malayalam movies. Unfortunately, his father died when Rahman was only nine and the family started renting out musical equipment to make ends meet.

Young Rahman then joined noted composer Ilayaraja's troupe as a keyboardist and computer programmer. After working with several renowned composers, such as Ilayaraja, Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy, Zakir Hussain, and L Shankar, he set out on his own to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. During this period, he also obtained a degree in Western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London, and went on to set up his own in-house studio, called Panchathan Record-Inn at Chennai, which is arguably Asia's most sophisticated and hi-tech studio.

In 1991, noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam offered Rahman a movie, Roja, which was a run-away success and brought nationwide fame and acclaim to the composer. The movie also led Rahman to receive the Indian National Award for the best music composer, the first time ever by a debutant. Since then, Rahman has gone on to win the Indian National Award three more times (for Minsaara Kannavu, Lagaan, and Kannathil Muthamittal), the most ever by any composer.

The "Bombay Theme," from the movie Bombay, was prominently featured in the movie Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage. The track "Chaiyya Chaiyya," from the movie Dil Se, was featured in the recent Spike Lee movie Inside Man, starring Oscar-winner Denzel Washington.

Rahman's foray into Hindi movies started off with a big bang in the superhit Rangeela, followed by Dil Se, Taal, 1947/Earth, Pukar, Lagaan, Zubeida, Meenaxi, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Yuva, and Tehzeeb, among others, all of which had huge album sales. His more recent releases include Swades, Ah-Aah, Bose: The Forgotten Hero, The Rising, Water, and Rang De Basanti, all of which have been critically acclaimed and well received.

In 1997, to commemorate 50 years of Indian independence, Sony Music signed Rahman as its first artist in South Asia. The result was Vande Matram, an album that instantly made Indian youth relate to it and succeeded in rekindling the spirit of patriotism. Being Indian was fashionable among the youth again.

Rahman is involved in various charitable causes. In 2004 he was appointed as the Global Ambassador of the Stop T B Partnership, a project of the World Health Organisation (WHO). He also supports charities such as Save the Children and does his part to alleviate human suffering. As a producer on the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota, Rahman showed his charitable side again with all proceeds going to the tsunami victims, as did his 2004 tsunami relief concert in India.

Rahman's popularity can be judged from the fact that he has had three world tours of his concerts in the last six years and has performed to packed audiences almost everywhere including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Dubai, the UK, Canada, and the U.S.A.

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SUKHWINDER SINGH is now the most renowned singer in Bollywood. The voice behind "Chaiya Chaiya" has become the most sought-after singer in India's Tinseltown. His career took off with the movie Dil Se. AR Rahman, always interested in something new, used Singh for the unforgettable "Chaiya Chaiya," and for the singer, that was that. Despite carping critics, it was no flash in the pan, and Singh is now regarded as a sensitive and eloquent singer.

Other films followed, notable among them Taal, Biwi No 1, 1947/Earth, Daag, Dillagi, and Thakshak, which have now made him a household word. Singh owes a large part of his success to Rahman's encouragement, and makes no effort to gloss over that fact.

Singh has been single-minded in his approach: he wishes to do little else but sing and compose music. Balwantrai Jaswal, a well-regarded singer in Punjab, guided him, but most of his learning, as he says so himself, has occurred by just listening and imbibing.

Rahman and Singh are presently working very closely together, and the duo have decided to make music that is not tailor-made to fit in with films, but to venture into realms where they can truly express themselves.

Apart from his work with Rahman, he is also engaged in a few other projects. He is back with Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya…, where he is working with music director Sandeep Chowta. He is planning to set up a hi-tech recording studio in Mumbai, and save himself the trouble of recording and experimenting on somebody else's time.

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HARIHARAN, the son of well-known Carnatic musician Smt. Alamelu Mani and Late Shri H.A.S. Mani, had his initial training in Carnatic music, but later switched over to the Hindustani style under the aegis of Padmashree Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Kahn. In the '80s Hari turned to ghazal singing. Since then, he's cut a variety of ghazal albums like Aaab-shar-e-ghazal with Asha Bohsle and Hazir with Ustad Zakir Hussain. Gulfam, released in 1993, won him the Diva Award for Best Album of the Year and he achieved Double Platinum sales for the same. In 1997 Paigam fetched him Double Platinum sales again. He has released 25 ghazal albums, four Colonial Cousin albums, three fusion albums, and a variety of other streams of music.

Since his debut in playback singing in 1977, Hariharan has sung over 300 Hindi film songs under various music directors. The song "Mere Dushman Mere Bhai" won him the National Award. Hariharan also has a number of Tamil songs to his credit.

In 1996, Hariharan and Leslie Lewis formed a band called Colonial Cousins, and the video for the song "Sa Ni Da Pa," from their self-titled maiden album, won the MTV Indian Viewer's Choice award in New York. The album also won the Best Album, Best Pop Song, Best Production Values, and Viewer's Choice Award in 1996 at the [V] Channel Awards Night.

Hariharan has performed various concerts for the Kargil Relief Fund and for mentally challenged children's institutions. He's also performed exclusive concerts for the ex-Prime Minister at Kumaragam in 2001 and at Goa in 2002. He rendered the invocation song at Parliament on January 26, 2000, during the centenary of Independence.

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SADHANA SARGAM received the gift of singing from her mother, Mrs. Neela Ghanekar, who has been her source of inspiration from her first step at age four. She learned classical singing from Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj. Sadhana comes from a place called Dabhol, which is situated in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. Her mentor in film playback singing was Kalyanji Anandji.

Today in her singing career, she has worked with almost all well-known music directors, such as Naushadji, Ravindra Jain, Laxmikant Pyarelal, R.D. Burman, Kalyanji Anandji, Rajesh Roshan, Anand Raj Anand, Anu Malik, Nadeem Shravan, Jatin Lalit, Anand Milind, Viju Shah, Babul Bose, Sandesh Shandilya, and many more. Sadhana has also worked with music directors of the south as well, including AR Rahman, Illaiya Raja, Karthik Raja, Deva, and Vidya Sagar.

Sadhana's talents were ultimately recognized when she won the National Award for the Year 2001 as the Best Female Singer for her Tamil song "Patta Cholli," from the movie Azhaghi, composed by the legendary music director Illaiya Raja. Her latest award is the Pan Parag Zee Cine Award for the year 2003, for the song "Kuch Na Kaho" from the movie Kuch Na Kaho, composed by Shankar, Ehsaan, and Loy.

Sargam has to her credit the first International Chinese Project, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, in which she sang the song "Khamoshi mein pukar hai," composed by AR Rahman. She has also won numerous Best Female Playback Singer awards.

Being a versatile singer, Sadhana has not limited herself to playback singing, but has sung on many acclaimed albums too - Kabhi Aasoon Kabhi Khushboo Kabhi Nagma, Oh My Love, Tanhai, and her latest, Chana Ve. She has performed in shows in India as well as abroad.

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MADHUSHREE, originally named as Sujata Bhattacharya, was just seven years old when she was introduced to the legendary music director, Madan Mohan, which changed her life. He was so impressed by her voice that he decided to take her under his guidance and was the first to predict that her talent in Khayal gayaki would hold her in good position as a playback singer in Hindi films.

Since then Madhushree has become a versatile singer and performer with true star quality and has been credited with playback singing for super-hit films like Rang De Basanti, Kisna, Swades, Yuva, Kal Ho Na Ho, Kuchh Naa Kaho, Tehzeeb, Saathiya, and many more in Bollywood.

She has also performed with legends of the music industry, like AR Rahman, Udit Narain, Hariharan, Sukhwinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Alka Agnik, Chitra, and Sadhana Sargam, to name a few. Training in both classical as well as light music has laid a strong foundation for her timeless voice to be reckoned among the leading singers of Bollywood today, credited with many live events and shows across international and Indian audiences.

Winning the Sony Stardust Award 2005 for Best Female Singing Sensation for her song "Kabhi Neem Neem…" in Yuva was the turning point of her life, and Madhushree as singing star was born. "A lot of my songs have been recorded for the Bollywood films, a success that has made me what I am today. I would like to share with my fans and audiences, in front of thousands of cheering people, and give them a memorable evening to cherish," she concludes. Her debut album is due shortly.

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A.R. Rahman, Music Director
Srinivas Krishnan, Artistic Director
Ethan Sperry, Conductor
Pat Hernly, Kevin Lambert, James Sparling, & Serena Eichhorn, assistant conductors

GLOBAL RHYTHMS was conceived in 1996 by Miami University alumnus Srinivas Krishnan. Its mission is to perform ethnic music from non-western cultures but using western instruments. Based at Miami University of Ohio, the group is open to all students at Miami University with an interest in world music and has grown from just five members in its first year to include over 30 instrumentalists and Miami's entire Collegiate Chorale. The ensemble regularly features guest artists in its performances and has had the opportunity to collaborate with a number of Grammy-winning musicians, including Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Eguie Castrillo, and Glen Velez. To date, Global Rhythms has performed music from Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on both the classical and popular music of India.

In 1998 Global Rhythms began performing outside of Ohio and since then has given over 40 tour concerts, including six performances at the Lotus World Music Festival at Indiana University in Bloomington and international performances at Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, and St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. In 2003, Collegiate Chorale and Global Rhythms joined Indian film composer AR Rahman on his Unity of Light tour of the United States, performing at major venues including New York's Nassau Coliseum for an audience of over 10,000. This past April, Rahman featured over 100 members of Collegiate Chorale and Global Rhythms in performances of more than 20 of his songs on his Wake Up Tour featuring 150 All Stars. Global Rhythms is extremely honored to share the stage with him once again tonight.

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