Shantala Kirtan: The Sacred Music of India

with Benjy & Heather Wertheimer ~ BACK by POPULAR demand.
Thursday, June 16th ~ Concert begins at 7:00 p.m, doors open at 6:30 

Join us for an enchanted evening of Kirtan with award winning, worldwide critically acclaimed ~ SHANTALA: Sacred music and the sounds of India.  

Featured guest artists:

 David Michael (celtic harp), Joe Breskin(guitar), and Sean Frenette (bass).

 “... an intoxicating mix of Eastern and Western… a sense of playfulness, devotion and authenticity shines through in each track.”

-Yoga Journal

We love "Church of the Sky"… the whole album just breathes love. A true blessing.”
-Deva Premal & Miten

Shantala open hearts around the world with their passionate music.

 

Shantala has performed and recorded internationally with such sacred music luminaries as  Krishna Das and Jai Uttal, as well as with Deva Premal & Miten and others. 

Benjy and Heather Wertheimer lead kirtans (sacred chanting) worldwide as the duo Shantala, with soul-stirring vocals, sacred lyrics and exotic instrumentation. The weaving of Benjy’s Indian classical singing and instrumentation with Heather’s soaring vocals is freshly original and profoundly moving. Together they create music with beauty, passion, and reverence. In summer 2008, they were named as one of the top “Wallahs to Watch” by Yoga + Joyful Living. Kirtan is a celebration of spirit through the chanting of sacred names, carrying the audience into a state of heightened awareness, bliss, and devotion. The audience is invited to participate fully through call-and-response chanting, dance, and meditation. 

TICKET PRICING: $18 advance (ends Wed June 15 at 4:30pm), $24 at the door

MEET THE ARTISTS:

Heather Wertheimer is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist who combines her special love of both music and yoga to lead devotional chanting for yoga workshops and spiritual gatherings internationally. Heather has toured in the U.S. and abroad with her husband Benjy, Steve Gorn, Manose, and Deva Premal & Miten. Heather’s debut CD with Shantala, “Church of Sky,” was named by New Age Retailer as one of the top ten albums of 2004. It has been aired on radio stations nationwide. In April 2003, she and Benjy released “The Love Window,” a beautiful and well-loved collection of sacred chants. In 2007, they released “Sri,” their second popular kirtan CD, and their first live CD “LIVE in love” was released in 2008.

Benjy Wertheimer is an award-winning songwriter, vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist (playing tabla, congas, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards). Benjy has toured and recorded with such artists as Krishna Das, Deva Premal & Miten, Jai Uttal, Walter Becker (Steely Dan), and virtuoso guitarist Michael Mandrell. He has opened for such artists as Carlos Santana, Paul Winter, and Narada Michael Walden. A founding member of the internationally acclaimed Ancient Future world fusion music ensemble, Benjy also toured the U.S., Canada, and Japan with renowned bamboo flute master G.S. Sachdev. He studied Indian classical music for over 25 years with some of the greatest masters of that tradition (including Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and Z. M. Dagar). Benjy’s CDs receive extensive airplay around the world, and his CD “Circle of Fire” went to #1 on the New Age radio charts in November 2002.

Guest Artist: David Michael - Celtic Guitar

International performer and Celtic harpist David Michael may be best known locally for his legendary concerts aboard the Washington State Ferries. He is also a pioneer of World Fusion Music and music for the healing arts. He is a multi-instrumentalist, a composer and producer of 23 CDs of original music and several film soundtracks. He is also an author and teacher who leads workshops in free-form improvisation.

Guest Artist: Joe Breskin-Guitar

David Michael and Joe Breskin play together often and have recorded quite a bit over the years, completing tracks for 5 CD projects and two soundtracks for nature films, Joe first ran into Benjy when he and David were working on theme music for a television mini-series project that unfortunately never quite came to fruition  A few years later, Joe had the unique and enormous pleasure of watching two of his favorite musical companions - Benjy and Heather - meet and then fall in love. So playing with this ensemble is always a very special sort of adventure for him. So many threads momentarily weaving together.