Ankna Arockiam and Friends

Thursday 10 August, 8pm
Included in the price of your registration.

Amit, Sodhi and Ankna will present to you a colourful musical tapestry intricately weaving in and out of Western and Indian classical music traditions. Their collective artistry combines the beauty of the two musical worlds creating a soundscape that celebrates musical conversations.

Ankna Arockiam

Originally from India, Ankna Arockiam moved to Glasgow in 2011. Since then, she has graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Ankna is currently completing her PhD, exploring young Western classical musicians’ musical, cultural and social identities in Indian cities. She co-founded Shared Narratives, a platform dedicated to empowering researchers of colour in the performing arts.

Her singing career continues and as a soloist, she has performed in various festivals and venues across India and the UK. She regularly collaborates with other musicians and artists including Naad-Hara, an Indo-Scottish band based in Glasgow and Saanjh, a trio with Piano and Tabla.

Beyond her artistic and research pursuits, Ankna is dedicated to nurturing a vibrant music community.  She is the founder and director of Glasgow Sitare, a singing group for South Asian women in Glasgow. Additionally, Ankna actively contributes to various organisations and initiatives. She serves on the Board for MusiQuE, an organisation focused on enhancing the quality of higher music education. She is also involved with SWIM (Scottish Women in Music) and holds a position as a Regional Committee member for the Musicians Union, where she advocates for the rights and welfare of musicians. Ankna is committed to promoting inclusivity and is a member of the Association of European Conservatoires (AEC) Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, where she works towards building a more inclusive European Higher music education community. Recently, she has been appointed as the Artistic Director of Westbourne Music.

Sodhi, a captivating musician from Scotland, creates boundary-breaking soundscapes that mesmerize global audiences. With diverse talents in tabla, vocals, and composition, he defies categorization, blending traditions, and sparking cultural conversations. Sodhi’s exceptional performances have graced prestigious festivals worldwide, including Celtic Connections and the Sawai Gandharva Festival (Pune). He enriches bands Naad-Hara and Saanjh with his innovative contributions. As co-producer of the Glasgow Mela, he fosters multicultural arts. Sodhi’s dedication to education shines through the Talking Tabla Academy and Scottish Creative Asian Network, inspiring the next generation. Experience his transformative music and collaborative spirit.

Amit Anand

Amit Anand is an Indian-born, Scotland-based composer, performer, audio engineer and educator. He moved to Scotland in 2015 to undertake a BMus in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which he completed in 2019. Amit has written works for a wide range of ensembles and genres and is known for respectfully blending cultural and traditional ideas with contemporary styles. He is also actively composing for educational settings and aims to publish his own educational books in the future, having developed a wide range of skills in writing to briefs as part of ABRSM’s flagship composer mentoring programme in 2022/23.  Complementing this work is his busy teaching practice, which includes piano, composition and music theory, for students of all ages and stages. Amit is also gaining popularity as an audio engineer and has a busy recording schedule with a range of renowned musicians, his knowledge of classical music and composers makes him a preferred choice. Uniting all aspects of Amit’s work is his search for new perspectives in music and he remains passionate about finding innovative ways to inspire and ignite people’s curiosity in music.