Kavita Baliga

Ms. Baliga has had the privilege of working with artists such as A.R Rahman, and ‘Guitar’ Prasanna, and has shared the stage with artists like Benny Dayal, Shankar Mahadevan, Naresh Iyer, Asad Khan, and Naveen Iyer. In 2008, Ms. Baliga joined A.R Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, India as a faculty member and administrator to build the Western Classical curriculum. Here she founded the KMMC Chamber Choir; a professional group of singers comprised of alumni and current students of KMMC. In 2009, she was awarded the TEDIndia fellowship for being a musical pioneer and entrepreneur. In 2010 she became Programme Leader and worked as the official liason between KMMC and Middlesex University in London to affiliate the two institutes and to provide KMMC with an internationally recognized degree program.

Notable performances in India have included the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert to mark the 50th anniversary of King’s pilgrimage to India and to recognize his non-violent activism toward human rights. The concert featured Ms. Baliga, the KMMC Chamber Choir and faculty, and included Martin Luther King III and Indian film actor Kamal Haasan who both spoke at the event. In 2009 Ms. Baliga was invited to sing at the premiere of the film Passage at the Venice Film Festival in Italy where the Venetian String Orchestra, conducted by Matt Dunkley, accompanied her. Amy Kaufman, Haley Bennet, and Nadja Swarovski were among those present. In January 2012, Ms. Baliga sang pieces from Passage and Lord of the Rings, The Musical in a 5-city concert tour called Classic Incantations: The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg plays A.R. Rahman. The event featured Rahman’s film and stage scores in a concert setting, conducted by Matt Dunkley. She also trained the KMMC Chamber Choir to sing in the event.

Her voice has been described as “the voice of an angel” by Shekhar Kapur. Stanley Meyerson, the father of the Hollywood sound engineer Alan Meyerson who has worked on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean and Inception said, “I think she has a magnificent voice. I love her voice. [she] impresses me a lot.” Alan Meyerson said, “[It’s] a voice that crosses the boundaries of style and genre.” Following the Classic Incantations tour, conductor and arranger Matt Dunkley described Ms. Baliga as his ‘favorite soprano’. Shabhana Azmi, the art film actress and activist who was present during the Classic Incantations concert in Mumbai exclaimed, “Who is that? Where did she come from?! What an incredible voice.”

Ms. Baliga is currently developing performance programs in India with A.R. Rahman.

Kavita Baliga’s tracks

• Claude Debussy - La Romance d'Ariel by Kavita Baliga
• I Wanna Be Loved By You, Marilyn Monroe by Kavita Baliga
• Scarborough Fair (Hindi) ft. Nikhita Gandhi & Kavita Baliga by Kavita Baliga
• Cielito Lindo by Kavita Baliga
• All the Sweetness, 8th Grader by Kavita Baliga
• The Fair Captive of Samarcand from The Mask of Joy, Stuart Wood by Kavita Baliga
• Bhoola Tujhe from BLUE, A.R. Rahman by Kavita Baliga
• Lothlorien from LOTR, The Musical, A.R. Rahman by Kavita Baliga
• Lux Aeterna Luceat Eis, A.R. Rahman by Kavita Baliga
• Nager Dans L'Espoir, A.R. Rahman by Kavita Baliga