Shruthi Rajasekar
Written for The Gesualdo Six vocal ensemble, Da Pacem Domine is a pre-medieval text that means "Give peace, Lord." When I wrote my piece—a contemporary response that incorporates the original plainchant tune—I was facing the loss of someone dear to me. So early on, the score is marked with words like "bereft" and "wrathful." I chose to start my setting with the words "quia non est alius” which means “because there is no one else but You." Through conversations with Tusen Takk Founders Geoffrey and Patricia during my 2022 residency, I came to understand that, for them, accepting that "there is no one else but" God, a certain peace emerges—peace given by the divine. That is where my setting takes a turn, and a "Regal" and "Loving" God is revealed.
ARTIST BIO
Shruthi Rajasekar is an Indian-American composer and vocalist exploring identity, community, and joy. Named by The Guardian as a composer "who will enrich your life,” Shruthi creates intersectional art reflecting her unique background in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) and Western classical idioms.
Shruthi has won numerous honors, including the KHORIKOS ORTUS International Award and the Global Women in Music Award from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights & Fondazione Adkins Chiti. Praised as “lushly beguiling music” by The Times, Shruthi’s compositions are performed across the world and have been featured on Spotify's Official Classical Releases, BBC Radio 3, and YourClassical. Recent and current commissions include new works for VOCES8, Hertfordshire Chorus, ABRSM, Seattle Pro Musica, and Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music. In November 2021, her piece for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus was premiered at the United Nations COP26.
Shruthi has been an artist-in-residence at the Anderson Center and Britten Pears Arts. A graduate of Princeton University, she received a Marshall Scholarship for further study in ethnomusicology (SOAS, University of London) and composition (Royal Northern College of Music). Currently based in Minnesota, USA, Shruthi serves on the board of new music chamber ensemble Zeitgeist.
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