RAGA SANGEET & DEVOTIONAL CHANTING SESSIONS

– In-Person and Online A hybrid component for these sessions is in place. You are very welcome to attend in person! These one-of-a-kind sessions are an unusual opportunity to embody the life of the ragas when they emerge. It feels like trance-inducing music. Pre-registration is required to get the address. Contact voxmundi@yahoo.com –

“Ragas are soliloquies and meditations, passionate melodies that draw circles and triangles in a mental space, a geometry of sounds that can turn a room into a fountain, a spring, a pool.” – Octavio Paz

Thursday 5:00 – 6:50 pm PDT –

Re-Zooming and Re-Connecting, in-depth raga, and voice practice – regular attendance is highly recommended

Ongoing Online (ZOOM) and In-Person Series:

Students are always invited to present a Raga Alap or a Bandish (a composition). The only requirement is to select among the ragas we have studied in this group. Each student will have about 8 minutes to present. This is optional, and no tuition is required.

Semester Sessions Schedule:

4 Summer Sessions Series:

August 13, 20, 27, and September 3rd.

Please mark your calendar!

Please let us know in advance if you’ll be attending in person, and send a text with your number to add to our contacts. We will give you the Emeryville Marina address and door code.

Thank you for loving and being devoted to this divine and absolutely unique raga sangeet practice. We are the ONE and ONLY regular group that keeps this sadhana evolving in this part of the World. Good merit! – Silvia Nakkach

WHERE: GLOBAL Zoom

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT METHODS:

Fees per drop-in session: $ 45 –

Discount for the Series of Four Sessions, one-time Payment: $160 – due on the first class.

All classes are recorded. Recordings are sent only to students who attend the series.

ATTENTION! PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR AS WE DON’T MEET EVERY THURSDAY. THANK YOU.

A Pre-Registration/Payment must include your name, email address, and the dates you attend in the payment description. Recordings from each session will be available upon the student’s request. A Zoom link email will be sent upon registration, and it will be the same for each session. To help us with our organization, please pre-register before attending any sessions and send an email to let us know you’re coming. Thank you!

REGISTRATION:

Venmo to @Silvia-NakkachKnapp . Include your name, email address, and dates you are attending in the payment description

Zelle: Silvia Monica Knapp and (415) 608-1535

Wise – @silviak244_ for International Students: voxmundi@yahoo.com, Silvia Monica Knapp – Bank of America

Paypal – For International Students ONLY. Please add an extra 15 dollars per payment- PayPal.me/VoxMundi Click here.

Check – payable to Silvia Nakkach-Knapp/Vox Mundi. Mail check to Silvia Knapp (Vox Mundi Project). Call or email for the mailing address. Phone: 415-608-1535. First-time students, email this registration form.

For those who are experiencing financial hardship, we’ll offer a sliding scale fee to regular attending students. Please let us know in advance by email at voxmundi@yahoo.com so we can make the right fee arrangements for you. Everyone is welcome!

Photography by Alexandre Jais (Paris) & Beatriz Gouvea (Rio de Janeiro)

In this new cycle, our focus will be given to one particular raga for as long as every student can improvise (alap & upaj) based on the melodic matrix of the raga, including exercises and compositions that expand the range, pronunciation, and teachings on the expressive movement from Scale to Raga, Taal (rhythmic cycle) to Laya, and Swar (note) to Naad (mystic sound).

These sessions involved about 1 and ½ hours of uninterrupted (akhanda swara) long tones, voice fine-tuning, vocal meditation, chanting, and raga singing practice. Based on the Yoga of the Voice techniques, the sessions include pointers on intonation, range, breath power, timbre, articulation, and postural and muscle alignment. You will be immersed in the life of one particular Raga mood and mode for a month or longer, including the deep listening quality of Dhrupad practices, Nada Yoga breathing, and expanding range through SaReGam exercises. These practices are inspired by the teachings of the late Maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and the Dhrupad Masters Pt. Uday Bhawalkar and Dr Ritwik Sanyal.

Join in and become a part of a supportive and joyous international community!

To Note

• Please RSVP at least one day in advance to voxmundi@yahoo.com for drop-in classes to ensure that you get the Zoom link via email. Don’t forget to include your email address.
• Be ready 5 minutes before the session begins. Click on the Zoom link in the email sent to you. Set the Original Sound for Musicians ON and check that your mic works. We request to see you on Video ON during the session, unless there is a particular problem.
• Highly recommended to have your drone at home (Phone app, Sruti box), recording device, etc, and a notebook during the session.
• We highly recommend your “regular” attendance. These sessions have the aspiration of building both a resonant and supportive sangha group and an evolving practice that will highly benefit your musical life and creative expression.
• For sliding scale payments, please request voxmundi@yahoo.com in advance.

If you live in the Bay Area and wish to participate in person, You are Welcome! Please contact in advance to obtain the address and the Door Code.

Individual Classes in person are available for regular and community practitioners.

Tips for best sound and video quality on Zoom

• Make sure you download the latest version of the Zoom app
• Turn the Original Sound for Musicians ON
• Keep your video on throughout the session. Black video spots on the screen disrupt the group’s attention and dynamics.
• Use an Ethernet cable to connect to the internet if your connection is slow.
• Turn off all of your other applications while in Zoom
• Turn off all other streaming devices in the house to ensure high speed.
• Having your light falling on your face lights it up best for video calls and prevents shadows.
• Give yourself the gift of sustained attention on the musical emergence during the duration of the session, and refrain from multitasking or posting on Social Media. Thank you!