Michael Stirling is a disciple of the late Master of Indian Classical Vocal Music (Khyal singing of the Kirana Gharana), Pandit Pran Nath (1918-1996) and a student of Terry Riley. Michael has accompanied Pandit Pran Nath and Mr. Riley in America, at the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas; in India at the dhargha of Sufi Hazarat Inayat Khan in New Dehli; at Diggi Palace in Jaipur and elsewhere. Khyal singing in the Kirana Gharana. The unfolding swaras and divine melisma (ornamental phrases sung to multiple notes and often on one syllable - part of a mantra, poem or prayer) carry the heart song between singer and listener. The voice of Mother Nature, Gaia, the Goddess, Saraswati (the Flowing One) manifest in our presence through music. A delicate and refined musical and energetic discipline, raga singing links body, breath, sound & rhythm with the deep cycles of the nature and the seasons. Raga (Nada Yoga) is the timeless melodic language that is the heart of Indian classical music.
