NYS Music 202​0

Tag: piano

  • Charu Suri Spreads Holiday Cheer Early-Streaming Single “A Little Joy”

    Just last year, Charu Suri became the first Indian born jazz composer to premier original work at the legendary Carnegie Hall. She had hopes to take the stage again this holiday season, but COVID-19 lead her to plan ‘B’, a YouTube concert.

    Charu Suri
    Charu Suri plays the piano and has since she was five.

    At that point we decided that ‘the show must go on,’ and that You Tube and technology does offer us and many other voices, a solution.

    On Dec. 18, Suri premiered her newest original single, “A Little Joy,” on YouTube. Since then, it has gained almost 25,000 views. Suri is one of many artists who hopped the online streaming bandwagon.

    Throughout the pandemic, the music industry has had an influx of online performances. Although they have been hit hard economically, artists have proved to be ambitious with trying to make streaming work as much as they can.

    At five years old, Suri started playing the piano. At nine, she was already performing. By 15 years old, she had won an International Piano Competition.

    Suri has three albums behind her including, The Book of Ragas, A Jazz Trio and Sufi Sounds. Her latest accomplishment was recently becoming a Recording Academy (GRAMMYS) voting member. She also intends to release three new albums in 2021, with a mixture of holiday, jazz and new age music. Although she definitely has her work cut out for her. She also has a daughter and a husband to come home to in Weehawken, New Jersey.

    For Suri, “A Little Joy” is meant to represent a calm to the Covid-anxiety-storm that everyone felt this year. The single will be available for download on Jan. 30, but is up and ready to celebrate the holidays on YoutTube now.

    A Little Joy by Charu Suri.

  • Young Singer/Songwriter Shawn Wodraska Uses His Voice to Call for Peace

    One of the greatest blessings we have in life is the ability to use our voice; Shawn Wodraska, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from the small town of Wingdale, NY recently used his to represent his passion for the Black Lives Matter Movement and overall peace between those with different backgrounds and beliefs.

    Shawn Wodraska

    Shawn took to Facebook to portray a message of hope with a beautiful cover of “If I Can Dream” by Elvis Presley. “As I was scrolling through social media, I noticed that news coverage and posts were almost exclusively negative,” he said, “I decided that I had to do something; we all have to play our role to make a change, so I chose to sing, the only thing I know how to do.”

    Click here to view the original post.

    His video generated an exceptional amount of positive feedback with more than one thousand views. Prior to posting, Shawn said, “I was worried about negativity or that people would think I was using the Black Lives Matter Movement to further my career.” He continued, “I knew I had to do something to play my role in restoring peace, likes and views were the last thing on my mind.”

    Philosopher Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his belief that “the line between good and evil passes through every human heart” was one of the driving forces in Shawn’s decision to post on social media. “I want to do what I can to help bring peace to all corners of life by inspiring people to find the humanity in who they perceive to be their enemies,” he continued, “I am one voice of the many needed to bring about unity, but it’s important to remember that we are all human and we have to work together.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jntQW9XOxQ

    The passion inside of Shawn is evident in his original music as well. Although he doesn’t mind if he never makes it big, he said, “I want to use the platform I build to promote positivity. We can always do better. I want to highlight that in my music.”

    Typically accompanied by the piano, his content ranges from story-telling folk tunes that draw inspiration from Marty Robins to easy-listening ballads without lyrics. While some of his songs have a theme, many of them are left open to interpretation. “Mediums like music tend to reach people on a spiritual level – there’s a reason why they call it soul – the music we write should be inspirational and bring people together,” he continued, “We can all unite and enjoy a good song, regardless of the differences that polarize us.”

    To check out Shawn’s original music, visit his Youtube page.

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