Composer Reena Esmail

Our April 13 program features Reena Esmail’s inventive Chamak. This is the Band’s inaugural performance of Chamak.

Ms. Esmail describes this work:

The word chamak means ‘spark’ in Hindi — and the title of this work was inspired by a beautiful couplet from the Indian saint-poet Kabir:
जैसे तिल में तेल है
ज्यों चमक में आग
तेरा साईँ तुझ में है
तू जाग सके तो जाग
which translates to:
Just as a seed holds oil
And a spark holds fire
Your own spirit is inside of you
If you can awaken it, you must.
Each of the three movements of this piece explores a different translation of the word “chamak,” through the lens of a Hindustani (North Indian classical) raag or melodic framework: the first is “Ember,” which is a dark, smoky, lilting melody in Raag Bhimpalas. The second, “Luster,” is a warm, intimate journey in Raag Hamsadhwani. And the last movement, “Spark,” is a fiery, vibrant jaunt in Raag Jog.
I hope this piece ignites a spark in two ways. I hope it is a reminder to follow that spark that lies within each of us. And more broadly, I hope that this piece sparks an interest in Indian classical music in the band world — these musical cultures have been separate for so many years, and I hope this piece sparks further connection between these two worlds.

Indian American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music and brings communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail’s life and music were profiled on Season 3 of PBS's Great Performances series “Now Hear This,” as well as Frame of Mind, a podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber, and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles, including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Kronos Quartet, and her music has been featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press.

Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-25 Swan Family Artist-in-Residence and was the Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She has been in residence with Tanglewood Music Center (co-curator, 2023) and Spoleto Festival (Chamber Music Composer-in-Residence, 2024). She also holds awards and fellowships from the United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.

Esmail holds degrees in composition from the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music. Her primary teachers have included Susan Botti, Aaron Jay Kernis, Christopher Theofanidis, Christopher Rouse, and Samuel Adler. In 2011, she received a Fulbright-Nehru grant to study Hindustani music in India. Her Hindustani music teachers include Srimati Lakshmi Shankar and Gaurav Mazumdar, and she currently studies and collaborates with Saili Oak. Her doctoral thesis, titled Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Musicians, explores the methods and challenges of the collaborative process between Hindustani musicians and Western composers.

Esmail was Composer-in-Residence for Street Symphony (2016-18) and is currently an Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization promoting cross-cultural music connecting the music traditions of India and the West.

We contacted Reena Esmail and asked her to share her journey in music, her favorite musical memory, and more.

Please tell us about your journey in music and life.

I was trained as a composer of orchestra and chamber music, and grew up playing the piano and string instruments — I have actually never played a single instrument in a band!

The band world is very new to me. I was introduced to the band world by Mark Duker, the band director at Waubonsie Valley High School just a few years ago (who commissioned this work, and though I have been a composer for over 25 years, Chamak was my first time writing for band.

I love everything I've seen of the band world so far — the combination of rigor and joy is truly my happy place.

What have been some of your musical influences?

I love so many composers: Schubert, Ravel, Bartók, and then more modern voices like Christopher Theofanidis, Susan Botti, and Aaron Jay Kernis (all of whom I studied with). I also love the Hindustani vocalists Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and Lakshmi Shankar. I also have a deep love for Broadway musicals and jazz.

Please share your favorite musical memory.

Chamak was first performed in Naperville, Illinois, which has a large population of South Asian families. It was incredible that many of the students in the band were South Asian — it was amazing to create a piece that allowed their families to hear familiar music in a context they never would have expected to hear it.

There were parents taking videos of the performance to send back to grandparents in India. As someone who grew up without ever seeing Indian culture reflected in the world around me, it moved me tremendously to be the catalyst for this connection between generations within my own diaspora.

What is on your Spotify playlist or in your music library?

I listen to a lot of music, but sometimes, I get absolutely obsessed with one thing. Last summer, it was the third movement of Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio. In March, it's Seraph Brass's amazing new album, Showcase.

Which composer/musician, past or present, would you most like to meet for a coffee and why?

Hildegard. I am so fascinated by her.

What inspires you?

Relationship. I think most of my work has been written because of and through relationships. Also, deadlines.

What do you do to relax?

I love hiking, reading, and spending time with my husband and our sweet dog, Rusty.

Do you have any advice for young musicians?

Ask for critical feedback. Our culture is in a place where teachers, mentors, and collaborators are often reluctant to give difficult feedback unless it is solicited, so you must invite and encourage it. Ask someone whose opinion you value for an honest assessment of your work. You will grow more quickly than you can even imagine.

Please share any thoughts that you may have about the Northshore Concert Band.

I'm delighted to have this performance of Chamak by the Northshore Concert Band!

A special thank you to Reena Esmail for speaking with us and giving permission to reproduce this material. Please visit her website reenaesmail.com to learn more about her and her work.

Composer Reena Esmail

SPIRITED AWAY