saraswathi ranganathan

“The more aware the audience is of diverse cultures, Saraswathi opines, the less fear there is and consequently less and less hate. It is a delightful way to transcend race, religion, culture and color. All of these cultures (Indian/Turkish/African/Spanish/American) have had a history of warmth and kinship when families shared dinner and you could hear laughter from miles away – not gunshots. Saraswathi’s fond hope is to revive that spirit of friendship, sharing and warmth through these collaborative musical endeavors.” – as shared with ‘achicagothing.com, NPR, IndiaAbroad, WGN, WBEZ Radio.

This is my intent behind founding Surabhi Ensemble - a world music collective of accomplished artistes from different genres and backgrounds coming together to produce eclectic music: To reach a cross cultural audience. I wanted to highlight a diverse culture onstage behind this artistry. Showcase our diversity through the outfits we wear, the delightful array of acoustic instruments we play, the multitude of languages we speak, of stories that we can share, and the variety of genres we present. Yet provide an experience to the audience as one cohesive unit. To drive home the message not simply by talk but leading by example.

And in the process build a strong inclusive accepting community: Aside from the artistic confluence, my secondary objective of bringing out the beauty of natural acoustic sounds of uncommon instruments from across the world is also accomplished.  The third intent with all of this is to engage community business in all these endeavors - photography, videography, lighting, costumes, food, catering, sound, recording, and so much more.

Surabhi Ensemble recently concluded their Global Peace Tour of 2019 visiting performance spaces, immigrant communities, schools in art-restricted neighborhoods sharing my mission of "less fear, less hate, more love" to "liveasonefamily".