Member Since: 19/01/2007
Band Website: www.rachelpersaud.com
Band Members: RACHEL PERSAUDRachel majored in Music and English at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has performed her own compositions on Prime TV, CFRB (The Marty and Avrum show), 97.3 EZ rock, and in film documentaries such as The Dirty Dish.
Classically, Rachel has performed in Operas in Graz, Austria. As an avid recitalist and performer Rachel has performed as the soloist with The Nathaniel Dett chorale (Tribute to Peter Gabriel), The Centennial choir, and St.Timothy’s Chapel choir amongst many others. Rachel performs sacred bonding songs at special ceremonies for the uniting of loved ones. In addition, she performs in frequent mixed genre recitals with a range of other classically oriented musicians.
Rachel has been teaching voice lessons for the past eight years, and has taught many students including Marco Damico and Jewel Jones who have appeared on radio programs on numerous occasions. Rachel is now contented to be creating music with this new age group and looks forward to great musical ventures in the future.ANSGAR SCHROERAnsgar has been playing music professionally for over 20 years. He composes his own music in various genres (jazz, celtic, world). Ansgar has performed in various groups including Camarillo, The Russell Leon Band, and The Joint Chiefs of Staff. He plays Harmonica (both diatonic and chromatic) and travelled to Cuba on several occassions to learn congas and Latin percussion.A vocalist in his own right, he composed and recorded original compositions for his Jazz group "The Joint Chiefs of Staff" and recorded and produced an with them in 1998. As a multi-instrumentalist, he has accompanied many artisits on piano, hamonica and percussion for music competitions and concerts in many genres. Venues include Hugh's Room, the Now Lounge, Lula Lounge, Trane Studios and Glenn Gould Studios to name a few.Ansgar teaches piano, harmonica, and percussion and music theory and is currently writing a book on music theory and an album of his own original jazz/world beat compositions .BRIAN WALLBrian has been studying Celtic, Western classical, and Indian Classical Music (both Hindustani and Carnatic styles) since 1996. He has blended the various techniques learned from each tradition creating his own unique style.
Brian has studied both in Canada and India. In 2003 recieved a grant to study Indian Calssical Violin and Vocal music in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India with Pt. Sukhdev Prasad Mishra.
He has performed in numerous groups in India and Canada (Quebec and Ontario) and taught private lessons to children and adults of all ages and backgrounds. He has taught Western Classical, Celtic, and Indian Classical music.
Brian was musician and music director in the play "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" at McGill University in Montreal in 2001.
From 1998-2002, Brian performed South Indian Classical Music (Carnatic) at numerous festivals and functions hosted by the "Bharatiya Sangeetha Sangham", Montreal, Quebec.
He composed and arranged traditional Arabic music for the play "The Arabian Nights" at Waterdown village Theatre in 2006. Since 2005, he has been performing Indian devotional music at numerous yoga studios with the group Dhvani, and recorded an album with them in June 2006 of traditional and original Indian Folk music.MARLON VON ZYLBorn in Swaziland, South Africa, Marlon then moved to Canada at a young age to become a musician. He completed a degree in percussion at Humber College School of Music. Since then, he has travelled as a musician and recorded extensively (as far as Dubai, UAE) for the past 20 years.He is working currently in a number of groups in both recording and live performance. Rosita Stone (Universal Records), Camarillo, an independent world beat music group, and BeatzMassive, an organic/electronic music group.The Didgeridoo came into Marlon's hands as a gift (which is how traditional Aboriginal peoples pass it on) and has been playing that professionally for the past 10 years.He has also been a percussion teacher and clinician for the past 20 years, and continues to develop his skills and benefits from the rich musical culture of Toronto, Ontario for further collaborations in a wide variety of musical settings.ABDULL-JIAlso a native of South Africa, Abdull has been studying tabla (Indian hand drums) for over fifteen years. He started his studies in South Africa, then continued on in Toronto, studying with some of the best Tabla masters from India. He performed in the Kirtan group DHVANI, and performed in Waterdown Village Theatre's production of "The Arabian Nights" in 2005.He has performed in numerous concerts with Neeraj Prem (sitar Artist) including in 2006 at CBC's Glenn Gould Studios. He also performs in concerts of "Ghazals" and Sufi music ensembles in Southern Ontario
Influences: As a world music ensemble, we take influences from Western Classical Opera, Indian Classical, Celtic, Australian Aboriginee, African, Middle Eastern folk music.
Sounds Like: The music of ABUNDANCE comes from all corners of the globe. Sounds that emanate from a silence and stillness within create healing vibrations and free the spirit. The intention of ABUNDANCE is to create music that heals both the musicians and listeners. It is a journey within to fill in the gaps in our consciousness to awaken to a higher vibration. Original compositions, and lyrics soaked in wisdom mixed with free improvisation lead to an opening of the heart and awakening to the joys and wonders of life. This is ABUNDANCE. Musical influences range from Indian Classical, Celtic, Arabic, Australian Aboriginee, African, Latin American and Classical Operatic traditions.
Record Label: Unsigned