Ginger Shankar is an American Indian musician. She is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer and violinist. He has composed music for several well-known films such as Circumstances (2011), Brahmin Bulls (2014), Heartbeats (2018), and The Passion of the Christ (2004) and television series including Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), We Will Rise . : Michelle Obama’s mission to educate girls around the world (2017), and And She Could Be Next (2020).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ginger Shankar was born in Los Angeles, United States. He was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Soon after completing her schooling, she went to Kalakshetra Creative Arts School in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to pursue a degree in Fine Arts. Later, she studied opera singing from professional opera singer Tantu Cardinal in Sherman Oaks, California. She belongs to one of the most acclaimed and influential musical families in the world. Her father, Dr. L. Subramaniam, who was a violinist, and her mother, Viji Subramaniam, an Indian classical singer, began teaching her Indian classical singing and musical instruments when she was very young. According to Ginger Shankar, he was brought up and spent much of his childhood in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. While talking to the media he said,
I spent a lot of time growing up in Madras and in Calcutta and Bombay in my adolescence and adulthood.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 1″
Weight (Approx): 55 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Dr. L. Subramaniam and he is a leading Indian violinist. His mother Viji Subramaniam was an Indian classical singer.
L Subramaniam with Viji Subramaniam
His grandfather’s name is V. Lakshminarayana and he was a musician.
A picture of V. Lakshminarayan
His grandmother’s name is Lakshmi Shankar, who was an Indian classical singer and sister-in-law of prominent Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar.
Ginger Shankar’s childhood photo with her grandmother
Ginger Shankar has two brothers and one sister. His brothers’ names are Dr. Narayan Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam. Both of them are Indian musicians.
Ginger Shankar’s brother Dr. Narayan Subramaniam
Ginger Shankar’s brother Ambi Subramaniam
Her sister’s name is Bindu Subramaniam and she is an Indian classical singer.
Ginger Shankar’s sister Bindu Subramaniam
Husband
Ginger Shankar is not married.
livelihood
Ginger Shankar began performing live concerts and musical events at the age of fourteen. As a teenager, her first concert was at Madison Square Garden. She then worked as a professional singer with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Anadamar. Later, the song was sung by him at Carnegie Hall, a concert venue in New York City.
Ginger Shankar performing at a concert
After venturing into the music industry, he got the opportunity to work with many famous singers, producers and film composers such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Saul Williams, Mike Nichols, Meryl Streep, Rocknation, Marilyn Manson, Peter Gabriel and Steve Vai.
movies
Ginger Shankar collaborated with composer John Debney to compose the music for the film The Passion of the Christ in 2004. After this he composed songs for the film The Forbidden Kingdom in 2008. In 2011, songs for the film Circumstances were composed by Ginger. Shankar and the film won the Sundance Audience Choice Award the same year.
music album
Ginger Shankar collaborated with Indian composers L. Shankar, along with Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram, composed songs for the music album Enlightenment in 2003. In 2008, the music album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust! was released by him in collaboration with musician Saul Williams. In 2010, Ginger Shankar and Solo EP jointly composed songs for the music album ‘Anywhere But Here’. In 2013, Ginger Shankar worked as the music composer for the film Monsoon Shootout under the direction of Amit Kumar. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year. Ginger Shankar worked with Katy Perry in 2013, playing double violin on Katy’s song Legendary Lovers. In 2014, he lent his voice and music to the film Brahmin Bulls, which was released in the US. The film was honored with several awards and accolades in the same year. In 2015, Ginger Shankar worked with American director Noni de la Peña on the film ‘Project Syria’, a virtual documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He composed and co-directed the theme song for the 2020 US presidential elections. That same year, she released her song “Promises of Our Grandmothers”. The following year, the song was featured for a prize nomination at the Nobel Prize Summit.
Documentary film
In 2012, Ginger Shankar made her debut in film documentaries by releasing her music project ‘Himalaya Songs’ at the Sundance Film Festival. Ginger Shankar along with Mridu Chandra narrated the documentary film as part of the Shanghai Restoration Project. A documentary titled Akiseita: The Battle of Standing Rock was produced by Ginger Shanker in 2018, and that same year, this short film was at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2020, she featured famous American singers Aloe Blacc, Tariona ‘Tank’ Ball and Saul Williams in her music album ‘And She Could Be Next’.
Non-profit-organization
A non-profit organization called Little Indian Girls was organized in India by Ginger Shankar after making a name for herself in the music industry. This organization was founded by her to empower young Indian girls who are passionate about artistry. Through this NGO, Ginger Shankar began providing sponsorships and scholarships in the fields of science, music and leadership. Along with the Little Indian Girl project, Ginger Shankar started the ‘Promise of Our Grandmothers’ and ‘Naari’ projects. In the project Promise of Our Grandmothers, Ginger Shankar focuses on writing about environmental issues and problems faced by Indian women’s groups in India. In Nari Project, she focuses on recording the stories and problems of women belonging to India’s first musical family. In Nari Project, she narrated the experiences and stories of her mother, Viji Subramaniam, and grandmother, Lakshmi Shankar, who tried to establish Indian music in the West and faced many challenges artistically and personally in India.
Ginger Shankar’s grandmother and mother performing a concert
music label
After years in the music industry, Ginger Shankar co-founded her own music record label called Naughty Horse Records. The label gives female artists from around the world the opportunity to release the music they create. Additionally, the record helps preserve global old classical recordings, and many of the recordings preserved by this label are of the Shankar family and its songs date back to the 1930s.
achievements
In 2012, following the release of his multimedia project ‘Himalaya Songs’ (on climate change), Rolling Stone ranked this music album as one of the ’10 Best Music Films of Sundance’. During the same year, Ginger Shankar was ranked as one of the ’25 New Faces to Watch’ by Filmmaker magazine.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Ginger Shankar is a skilled dancer and an expert in playing the violin and piano. Ginger Shankar joined some famous stage productions in America and started modeling and acting soon after receiving music lessons from professional opera singer Tantu Cardinal.
Ginger Shankar’s childhood photo with her grandfather
- Ginger Shankar sings in Pop, Rock, Electronica, World and Carnatic genres and is adept in vocals, double violin, violin and viola.
- According to Ginger Shankar, her favorite singers include The Beatles, Madonna, MS Subbulakshmi, Lata Mangeshkar, Ella Fitzgerald, Bach and Billie Holiday.
- Ginger Shankar’s father married Indian playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy in November 1999, four years after the death of Ginger’s mother Viji Subramaniam, who died on 9 February 1995.
L Subramaniam with Kavita Krishnamurthy
- Ginger Shankar said in a media interview that she likes fashion and modeling. He said in the same conversation that fashion and music are closely related to each other. He said,
I love fashion and I think music and fashion go together. I worked with different companies modeling for clothing and music companies. I really want to meet and collaborate with emerging designers in India.”
- Ginger Shankar was selected to participate in the Sundance Institute Composer Lab in 2007, and was one of six film composers who participated in this film music program, which is led by a program designed to bring composers and directors together in the first place. Peter Golub did it on purpose. Hands-on experience in musical collaboration.
- Ginger Shanker is a member of the Sundance Film Festival’s Artist Advisory Board. She is also associated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- Ginger Shankar is an expert in playing the double violin and is considered to be the first woman in the world to master it. In a media interaction, Ginger Shankar revealed that she learned the 10-string double violin very slowly, and when she started learning it, it was very challenging. He narrated,
very slowly! It was definitely very challenging to learn. I actually started playing violin and cello and it became difficult to take multiple instruments to shows and mic them. The double violin covered the entire orchestral range, so once I started using it, I always used it. It has a very unique sound and plays a huge role in my live shows as well as my soundtrack scores.
- Ginger Shankar is often invited as a guest speaker on various live motivational shows. She frequently speaks at TEDx on the topics of girls’ empowerment and education in India. She is an environmental advocate and frequently speaks on many environmental protection topics at renowned international forums including Davos, UNESCO, Nobel Prize Summit, Carbon Footprint Summit and Cartier Women’s Initiative.
Ginger Shankar performing at TEDx
- Many famous national and international magazines and tabloids often feature Ginger Shankar in their articles.
Ginger Shankar in a newspaper article
- Ginger Shankar regularly shares her music videos on various social media platforms. More than 67 thousand people follow his Facebook page. He has more than 36 thousand followers on Instagram. He has more than four hundred subscribers on his YouTube channel.
- In June 2022, she got the opportunity to write a song in the Marvel project, Ms. Marvel and taking advantage of this opportunity, Ginger Shankar became the first Indian singer to work with Marvel Studios. In this American web series, Pakistani rapper Eva B worked with Ginger Shankar and composed the song ‘Rozi’. On one of her social media accounts, Ginger Shankar said that it was an incredible opportunity for her to write a song for Marvel Studios as she has been a big fan of Marvel since her teenage years. Ginger Shankar said,
I’ve always been a Marvel fan, but if you would have told me five years ago that we would be making a hip-hop track with Pakistani and Indian influences with the first female Pakistani rapper, I wouldn’t have believed it! I think it makes me more of a fan, honestly.”
An Instagram post from Jinger showing a scene from Rosie singing
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn