Sangita Santosham is an established performing artist based out of Chennai, India. She is a versatile and multilingual vocalist credited with singing a wide range of genres right from western classical music, contemporary jazz to Tamil hits. She is one of the very few artists from India formally trained in musical theatre as well.

Sangita Santosham
Background information
BornPalayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India
OriginMadras, Tamil Nadu, India
GenresWestern classical music, musical theatre, jazz, gospel
OccupationsPerforming artist, stage actress, vocalist, musician
WebsiteSangita Santosham's channel on YouTube

Biography

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Sangita hails from a family of renowned medical specialists. She was born in Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, to Julia Santosham and Dr. Ravi Santosham, and currently resides in Chennai. She is the granddaughter of Dr. Mathuram Santosham, former Member of Parliament[1] and founder of the Santoshapuram Tuberculosis Sanatorium and also the Lung Clinic, which is currently run as the Santosham Chest Hospital by her father and uncles Dr. Rajan Santosham and Dr. Roy Santosham.[2] Sangita has also trained in the areas of psychology and the behavioural sciences.

Musical background

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Sangita's family has deeply rooted musical inclinations, the most notable members being her late grandfather who was the second Indian president of the prestigious (MMA) and her father Dr. Ravi Santosham who has been serving as its president since 1990[3] and is also a member of the famous GATT Quintet[4][5][6][7] and the Male Voice Ensemble.[8][9] Sangita trained with Neecia Majolly, in musical theatre, western classical singing and music theory and was awarded the Majolly Rolling Trophy in 2009 for the best singer in Music Theatre. She also spent a year training in western classical singing at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music in Oklahoma City. She is an Associate of the London College of Music London College of Music.

Performance

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Sangita is noted for her versatility, ease in handling the different musical genres and commanding stage presence.[10][11] Her live rendition of Sweeney Todd's "Worst Pies in London",[12] and Georges Bizet's "Habanera",[13] as part of the MMA's "Over The Rainbow",[14] is Sangita at her entertaining best. She has been a part of the Madras Musical Association choir since the age of 15.[15][16][17][18] She has given several solo performances at events staged by the MMA both in India and other countries.[19][20][21][11][22] In 2009, she performed at the Vatican and the Pantheon in Rome, Italy as part of the International Church Music Festival.[23] She has sung under world famous conductors such as Sir David Willcocks and Paul Leddignton Wright. In 2000, while still in school, she performed at the Sydney Torch Relay ceremony as part of the Sydney Olympics under Dr. Ronald Smart. She has sung for several international gospel artists on tour, the most renowned being Ron Kenoly, Don Moen, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and Benny Prasad.[24]

Sangita is an active participant in musical theater. She has been invited to perform with various theater groups, and is noted for her outstanding rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" during Mellow Circle's "Magic of Musicals" show.[25][26] Her 2014 performance in Amrita Frederik and Augustine Paul's adaption of Les Misérables, garnered her handsome praise for her "perfect" portrayal of the courageous Eponine.[27][28] Her laurels include her pitch perfect and "convincing" performance as Sister Mary Robert in theatrical adaptation of Sister Act in 2015.[29] Her theatrical performances include those with well-known directors Michael Muthu,[25][30] the late Mithran Devanesan, Brian Laul of the Wizard of Oz fame and also choreographer Jeffrey Vardon.

Sangita's musical repertoire includes her on-stage performances with other established singers.[21][22] She has performed alongside popular artists such as Pop Shalini in Brian Laul's Wizard of Oz[31] and Sunitha Sarathy.[32] Her performances include duets with Grammy award winner Tanvi Shah[16][18] and actress-singer Andrea Jeremiah.[17] She has performed with Kalyani Nair, an accredited singer and composer, and also as part of her band, Harmonize Projekt.[33][34][35][36]

Sangita has also worked with other renowned Indian musicians such as Keith Peters,[25][32][37] Dr. L. Subramaniam, Keba Jeremiah[38][39] and Edwin Roy.[16][15]

Her recordings and videos have been commented on[40][41] and retweeted by popular artists Ehsaan Noorani and Keba Jeremiah.[39] She performs in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu languages.

References

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  1. ^ "Combined List of Members of Lok Sabha". Parliamanet of India. Archived from the original on 28 December 2004.
  2. ^ "Our Profile". Santosham Chest Hospital. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011.
  3. ^ "President". The Madras Musical Association. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011.
  4. ^ "The Gatt Quintet". Facebook.
  5. ^ "The Gatt Quintet" (PDF). United Evangelical Christian Fellowship Church. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  6. ^ "GATT Quintet". lifsgud.blogspot.com. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  7. ^ "At their musical best". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Male Voice Ensemble". ClassicHymns. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
  9. ^ "On a song". News India Today. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Sangita Santosham". YouTube.
  11. ^ a b Alexander, Deepa. "Some enchanted evening". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  12. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Worst pies in London. YouTube.
  13. ^ Habanera. YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ Alexander, Deepa (14 October 2013). "A rainbow in the music horizon". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Alexander, Deepa. "Sound and serenity". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  16. ^ a b c It dont mean a thing MMA choir – YouTube
  17. ^ a b His eye is on the sparrow – YouTube
  18. ^ a b "Sunset Serenade by Madras Musical Association at Sir Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert hall in Lady Andal School". ilaaka.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  19. ^ "Events". The Madras Musical Association. Archived from the original on 30 May 2014.
  20. ^ Part of that world.wmv – YouTube
  21. ^ a b "Nostalgic notes". The Hindu.
  22. ^ a b "Musical Montage 2011 in Coimbatore" (PDF). 1 February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  23. ^ "FestCorps Festivals: Click image to close this window". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011. "FestCorps Festivals: Click image to close this window". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  24. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: O Holy Night! - Sangita Santosham & Benny Prasad (Christime 2013). YouTube.
  25. ^ a b c Kumar, Divya. "A medley to remember". The Hindu.
  26. ^ Mellow Circle – July 2011 – Evita.MPG – YouTube
  27. ^ Sangita - On My Own. YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  28. ^ "A whole new world". The Hindu. 30 June 2014.
  29. ^ Zachariah, Preeti (2 February 2015). "Making it a habit". The Hindu.
  30. ^ "Ringing in Yuletide". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  31. ^ "The wizardry on show". Deccan Chronicle. 29 September 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011.
  32. ^ a b Gautam, Savitha. "Nostalgic notes". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  33. ^ "Harmonize Projekt". Facebook.
  34. ^ "Harmonize Projekt & the Drum Circle @ ScoreNight!". Highonscore - Obsessive Compulsive Music. 16 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  35. ^ "Score Presents Harmonize Projekt & 'Darbuka' Siva Drum Circle Live". IndiVibe. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  36. ^ "Harmonize Projekt and Drum Circle - ScoreNights Best". Highonscore - Obsessive Compulsive Music. 21 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011. Photo 1 via Facebook, Photo 2 via Facebook, Photo 3 via Facebook
  37. ^ ROXYGEN | Bands | Indian Music Bands | International Music Bands
  38. ^ "NAC Petite Princess 2013 Grand Final Gallery". Chennaionline. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  39. ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Tamil Medley ft. Keba Jeremiah. YouTube.
  40. ^ "Stream Send In The Clowns by Sangita Santosham". SoundCloud. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  41. ^ "Stream Hey Jude (cover) by Sangita Santosham". SoundCloud. Retrieved 10 May 2024.