SACRED CHANTING WITH SHANTALA AND FRIENDS
On Sunday, June 8, Shantala (Benjy and Heather Wertheimer and friends) returns to Port
Townsend for a kirtan concert with sacred chanting from diverse traditions. Their six-piece
ensemble will include guests: local Celtic harpist, David Michael, Grammy-winning bansuri
(bamboo flute) artist, Steve Gorn, guitarist/bassist, Sean Frenette and vocalist Kristin Wheary.
The concert will be held at Unity of Port Townsend at 7pm.
Benjy and Heather Wertheimer have been leading kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide since
2001. They have performed and recorded internationally with such renowned luminaries as
Krishna Das, Deva Premal & Miten, and Jai Uttal. Kirtan traditionally is an Indian music form of devotional group singing and celebration of spirit with the audience invited to participate fully. Shantala’s expansive style of kirtan is a unique blend of voices with instruments of India and the West, sweeping audiences through the centuries and around the world. Drawing from
numerous sacred traditions worldwide, no particular religious affiliation or belief system is
required or implied.
Benjy Wertheimer is an award-winning songwriter, vocalist, composer, and multi-
instrumentalist (playing tabla, congas, percussion, esraj, guitar, and keyboards. He is a founding
member of internationally acclaimed ensembles The Hanumen and Ancient Future. Benjy
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 has
produced 17 albums since 2000, which receive extensive international airplay. Shantala has
released seven albums since 2003 and have recently received tens of millions of plays on
various streaming sites.
Heather Wertheimer is a kirtan artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist who combines her
special love of both music and yoga to lead devotional chanting internationally. Heather has
toured in the U.S. and abroad with her husband Benjy, Steve Gorn, Manose, and Deva Premal & Miten. Heather brings the richness of her background as a therapist, meditation teacher, and
yoga teacher into the practice of kirtan.
Steve Gorn has performed Indian classical music on the bansuri bamboo flute in concerts and
festivals throughout the world. A Grammy winner and five-time Grammy nominee, he is
creating a new idiom, a music that combines the essence of classical Indian tradition with a
contemporary music sensibility. The strength of his music arises from a virtuoso mastery,
generating a vibrant fusion, alive and accessible to western ears.
David Michael has been collaborating with Benjy for 45 years. Known locally for decades as a
Celtic harpist, he is a recording artist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, teacher of free-form
improvisation, author, and pioneer of World-Fusion music who has produced 26 CDs of original
music. Aside from Benjy Wertheimer and Steve Gorn, he has worked with numerous master
musicians such as Nancy Rumbel, Richard Russell, Jami Sieber, Michael Mandrell, Gwen Franz, and the late Randy Mead. His CDs have been featured on syndicated radio shows, cable & network television, documentaries and in nature films.
Sean Frenette is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter, playing bass, three-string
guitar, electric classical guitar, woodwinds, piano and voice. Sean artfully blends improvisation
and slow crafted composition with a great breadth of musical influences from all over the world
and from many time periods.
Unity of Port Townsend is located at 3918 San Juan Ave. Advance tickets are available for $30
from Brightstar:
https://app.brightstarevents.com/event/4c62120c-e5eb-40f8-a6ed-239ce5093e64 or $35 at
the door.
For more information, contact:
David Michael
Purnima Productions
360 301 4451
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