16 February,2012 08:01 AM IST | | Anurupa Dongare
Contemporary folk and alternative musician, Geetu Hinduja is all geared for her first performance in the city. She has been invited by the Pune Jazz Club to perform for the city's music lovers
Geetu Hinduja has a very philosophical outlook towards music and life in general. She comes across as a person who has not just studied music but also feels a sense of oneness with it. Talking about her first performance in Pune Geetu says, "This is the first time I will be performing at the PJC. I will be playing a lot of originals from my new album. The performance was arranged when I met a friend here, who facilitated the whole thing. I am extremely privileged to be playing in a musically and culturally rich city like Pune."
Geetu Hinduja
Geetu has also had the privilege of studying at the Berklee College of Music in the US. Talking about her experience there, she says, "I am very fortunate to have studied with Mili Bermejo who was then the dean of the classical music department at Berklee. Frankly the whole experience was a culture shock. I am a Bombay girl and I was used to the teaching methods here. At Berklee even if we were a minute late for our lectures we were reprimanded."
Ask her if the strict teaching methods at Berklee made her what she is today. "Although I am thankful for the experience it isn't only those six weeks that make my life. I have been privileged to study with greats like D Wood and Ashley Quiney and they are as responsible for my success as the teachers at Berklee," she says.
Geetu will be performing new songs from her almost complete album, Hope Faith Time & Me. "My sister had cancer. I told her I would sing if she wrote the lyrics and she did. The album sort of spiraled form there," she says adding, "The name of the album is the name of the title song. My sister passed away a year ago. The song sprouts from our bond, the closeness we shared and the relationship we had. The name of the album is a testament to that."
Geetu is going to be accompanied by Grammy Award nominee, flautist, arranger and composer RK Bikramjit Singh at the upcoming concert. Talking about her equation with Bikramjit, she says, "There is a synergy between us. Bikram makes me feel really comfortable. I met Bikram through my sister. She wasn't meeting anyone in her last phase. She met Bikram though and he played the flute for her. I respect and honour him and consider myself extremely privileged to work with him."
Ask her what she expects from the crowd in Pune and Geetu replies, "Once you start performing how can you quantify the audiences response? It is very much like that in life, unpredictable. We can just hope that the audience connects with the performance."
Geetu is currently working on fine-tuning her album. "I also have something else in mind, but I will talk about it, when the idea is a bit more concrete. Till then the album and live performances are my
priority," she concludes.
On: February 18, 11 amu00a0
At Max Mueller Bhavan, Boat Club Road.
