Berklee Indian Ensemble

300 Million Hits, a Star-Studded Debut Album, and a Grammy Nomination

The Grammy-nominated Berklee Indian Ensemble is a global viral sensation with over 300 million streams. The Ensemble melds classical, folk, Sufi, and contemporary Indian music, with influences ranging from prog rock and jazz to Middle Eastern and African flavors.  

With iconic live concerts featuring immersive technology, collaborations with Grammy-winning legends, headlining international festivals, and hosting global music workshops; the Berklee Indian Ensemble is taking the world by storm.

Founded in 2011 by Zahara (Annette Philip), the first Indian musician appointed as a faculty member at Berklee College of Music, the Berklee Indian Ensemble is known for its global Indian sound that honors traditions while boldly experimenting with a cross-pollination of genres, cultures, and multidisciplinary art forms. The ensemble was in such high demand globally that it organically transitioned from an academic offering into a professional touring band of eight core alumni members in 2021, marking the ensemble’s 10th anniversary.

“The questions ‘what if’ and ‘why not’ have been at the core of every chapter,” Zahara shares. The ensemble released its first collection of transnational, genre-bending music on its debut album, Shuruaat (Hindi for "beginning").

Featuring 98 musicians from 39 countries, including Indian music royalty such as Bollywood superstar Shreya Ghoshal, the late tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, virtuosic singers Shankar Mahadevan, Vijay Prakash, and Shadow and Light, Shuruaat exploded onto the scene in July 2022. The album was named the no. 3 best album drop of July 2022 by GQ India.

“Our audience has been begging for our music to be available on streaming platforms for a decade. It is fitting that Shuruaat features our most popular live performances as well as four originals, showcasing our journey so far, and the one we’re about to begin,” Zahara explains.

In November 2022, Shuruaat was nominated for a Grammy for Best Global Music Album, thus making BIE the first official Berklee ensemble to earn a nomination.

The eight-member core band is currently working on their second album, which will be entirely original music.

The ensemble was also the driving force behind the idea of Berklee India Exchange (BIX), an institute at Berklee that serves as a platform, conduit, and incubator for Indian art and culture through concerts, high-profile artist residencies, original content, tours, workshops, and scholarships.

BIX houses the professional touring band Berklee Indian Ensemble, the renamed class South Asian Ensemble, as well as the South Asian Scholar Association (SASA) for South Asian students and their allies on campus.

Berklee Indian Ensemble is available for artist residencies, concerts, festivals, workshops, and collaborations.

For More Information 

Visit: berkleeindianensemble.com
Listen: ffm.to/shuruaat
Watch: BIE Deep Dive
Read: Press Kit
Contact: indiaexchange@berklee.edu 
Connect: Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook 

Berklee Indian Ensemble core touring entity (Left to right, top to bottom)

• Yogev Gabay (Israel) - drum set/percussion 
• Zahara (Annette Philip) (India) - piano/vocals
• Giri Subramaniam (India) - tabla/percussion
• Sindhu Vasudevan - (US) - vocals
• Rohith Jayaraman (US) - vocals/percussion
• Sharon Renold (Switzerland) - bass/vocals
• Anirudh Bharadwaj (India) - bansuri
• Yoel Genin (Israel) - guitar/buzouki

Watch the Berklee Indian Ensemble's Shuruaat music video playlist