Gingger Shankar is an American singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. She has scored several films, including '' Circumstance''.

Early life

Shankar was born in Los Angeles, California and raised there and in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She is the eldest daughter of violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam. Her mother, Viji Subramaniam, was a classical singer just like her grandmother

Lakshmi Shankar Lakshmi Shankar (née Sastri, 16 June 1926 – 30 December 2013) was an Indian singer and a noted Hindustani classical. Born into a south Indian Brahmin family, she became an outstanding Hindustani vocalist of the Patiala Gharana and married R ...

, sister-in-law of noted sitarist

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

. As a child, she learned to sing, dance, and play violin and piano and attended the Kalakshetra

creative arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

school in

Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Later, she studied opera vocals with professional opera singer Tantoo Cardinal in Sherman Oaks, California. She also modeled and acted in stage productions. She began performing professionally at age 14.

Instruments

Shankar plays the violin, cello and piano. She is the only woman in the world to play the double violin. This ten-string,

stereophonic Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

instrument covers the entire orchestral range, including double bass, cello,

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and violin.

Career

Motion pictures

In 2004, she performed on the score of composer

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a l ...

for the movie ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary ...

''. She is also credited as a performer on the score the 2007 film '' Charlie Wilson's War'', alongside composer James Newton Howard. Shankar contributed to the 2008 film '' The Forbidden Kingdom''. She composed music for the 2011 film, '' Circumstance'', which won the Sundance Audience Choice Award. In 2012, she debuted her multi-media project

Himalaya Song The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

at the Sundance Film Festival. It was a project about climate change in the Himalayas with live film, narration and music created by Gingger, Mridu Chandra and Dave Liang of the

Shanghai Restoration Project The Shanghai Restoration Project (SRP) is a Barcelona-based contemporary electronic music duo, consisting of Chinese American artists Dave Liang and Sun Yunfan. Background Producer Dave Liang was born in Lawrence, Kansas and grew up in Upstat ...

. It was chosen as one of the 10 Best Music Films at Sundance by

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cove ...

. In May 2013, Monsoon Shootout, a thriller she scored for director Amit Kumar premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. In 2014, Brahmin Bulls, a film she scored for director Mahesh Pailoor opened in the US. Starring Sendhil Ramamurthy,

Roshan Seth Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade ...

and Mary Steenburgen, it won film festival awards. In 2015, she composed the music for the virtual reality 'Project Syria' created by Nonny De La Peña which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Musician

Shankar has performed in numerous festivals and venues alongside acts such as

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, Steve Lukather and

Sussan Deyhim Sussan Deyhim (born December 14, 1958) is an Iranian American composer, vocalist, performance artist and activist. She is internationally known for her invention of a unique sonic/vocal language. LA Times quotes her as "One of Iran's most potent ...

. She performs on a track in the 2007 Saul Williams album '' Niggy Tardust'', produced by Trent Reznor. In July 2008, Shankar appeared in two Sgt. Pepper's 40th-anniversary concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. On July 16, 2012, she appeared in the music video "Love All Humans" alongside guitarist Anthony Gallo, actress Kate Kelton, model Tara Bre and others. In 2014, she performed at the George Fest in Los Angeles with the

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honoring George Harrison. Other artists included

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his ...

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Dhani Harrison Dhani Harrison (; born 1 August 1978) is an English musician, composer and singer-songwriter. He is the only child of George and Olivia Harrison. Dhani debuted as a professional musician assisting in recording his father's final album, ''Brainw ...

, Brian Wilson and more. In 2014 she released music video cover of U2's

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album ''War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...

directed by Nicholas Bruckman through

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

Discography

Original

*2019: '' Article 15''

Film scores

* 2008: '' The Forbidden Kingdom'' * 2011: '' Circumstance'' * 2011: ''Homecoming Film'' * 2011: '' Bedouin'' * 2012: ''419'' * 2012: ''

'' – Collaboration with

* 2013: '' Dose of Reality'' * 2013: '' The Missing Tomb National Geographic'' * 2013: '' Monsoon Shootout'' * 2014: ''Girl, Adopted Documentary'' * 2014: ''

Brahmin Bulls ''Brahmin Bulls'' is a 2014 American drama film directed by Mahesh Pailoor and starring Sendhil Ramamurthy, Roshan Seth, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Bartha and Michael Lerner. It is Pailoor's feature directorial debut. Cast *Sendhil Ramamurthy as ...

'' * 2014: '' Water & Power'' * 2014: '' Katiyabaaz Documentary * 2014: '' Teacher in a Box''-

ITVS ITVS (Independent Television Service) is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly seri ...

* 2016: ''

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

'' * 2016: '' Six LA Love Stories'' * 2018: '' Heartbeats''

Music albums

* 2003: '' Enlightenment – L. Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakram'' * 2008: '' The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!'' – Saul Williams * 2010: ''Anywhere But Here'' – Solo EP

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Gingger Living people Musicians from Los Angeles American film score composers Carnatic instrumentalists Tamil musicians Kalakshetra Foundation alumni 21st-century American composers Singer-songwriters from California American women musicians of Indian descent American classical musicians of Indian descent American people of Indian Tamil descent Expatriate musicians in India American expatriates in India 21st-century American violinists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century classical composers