"I believe in art's social presence, as breaker of official silences, as voice for those whose voices are disregarded and as a human birthright." Adrienne Rich, poet
Nisha Purushotham is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, activist, and artist educator who now makes her home in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Born in New Delhi and raised in New England, Nisha went on to live and work as a field researcher and writer in southern India (Bangalore, Karnataka), community organizer in rural North Carolina, and trainer for young adult service programs in New York City and Providence, RI. Her musical journey has been equally diverse and influential. Between the ages of 7 and 18 she studied Western Classical piano, learning and performing a repertoire of works from the Baroque, Romantic and Classical periods. Since 1998, she has studied Afro-Caribbean percussion traditions with Robertico Arias and Reynaldo Gonzalez, master drummers from the Dominican Republic and Cuba. In 2003 and 2007, she immersed in an intensive study of tabla, a north Indian drum, with Nitin Mitta and Christorpher Pereji, master drummers from India through the Traditional Art Apprenticeship Program of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. As an artist educator, Nisha facilitates Afro-Caribbean percussion and community singing workshops that honor creative expression, collective participation, and the power of cultural traditions. She has been included in the artist rosters of The Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, VSA Arts of RI and The Music School of the RI Philharmonic. As a singer-songwriter, Nisha is a folk artist who draws on the folk traditions of the United States, Caribbean, and India to tell the stories of people she has encountered in India and the Americas. Her debut CD, Living Water will be released in December 2008.
Nisha also performs with The Gillen Street Project and Kristi Martel and she composed and performs original music for Door of No Return, a play created and performed by award-winning poet Nehassaiu DeGannes.
Please contact Nisha to book performances and workshops.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
7:00 pm Door of No Return
featuring original music by Nisha and Cathy Clasper-Torch
The Cambridge Family YMCA Theater
820 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139
March 5 - May 22, 2009, Wednesdays and Thursdays
12:15 - 1:45 pm
An Intro to Afro-Caribbean Percussion
Birch Vocational Center, Providence, RI 02909
Click here for the full calendar of events