Shruti Ramani
Artist
Shruti Ramani is an innovative emerging vocalist, composer, and educator based in Vancouver, Canada. Shruti hails from Mumbai, India, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Hindustani music under the mentorship of Dr. Ritu Johri from the Agra Gharana. She moved to Canada and acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies (Performance) with a specialization in voice from Capilano University. Her original music is an exciting and novel combination of Indian and Jazz traditions. Shruti is the band leader of Raagaverse, an eclectic Indo-Jazz fusion ensemble. Raagaverse also includes Juno-nominated bassist Jodi Proznick, exemplary pianist and composer Noah Franche-Nolan, and dynamic drummer Nicholas Bracewell. Within one year of forming, Raagaverse has performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Bolt, and the JazzYYC Canadian Festival. Raagaverse won a highly-competitive grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, which they used to record their debut album in the summer of 2023. Raagaverse’s debut album Jaya released in the spring of 2024 and is available on all streaming platforms.
Aside from spearheading Raagaverse, Shruti has earned a reputation as a multifaceted and versatile vocalist that can sing anything. Her agile and precise vocal style has allowed her to lend her musical voice to projects spanning a wide-range of genres, including Hindustani, Jazz, improvised music, pop, Carnatic, and European classical. Shruti describes her singing style as maximalist and heavily ornamented. She subverts traditional expectations within the realm of Jazz because of her formative training in Hindustani music. As a vocalist, she has been part of renowned ensembles, such as Grammy-award winning music director A. R. Rahman’s highly-selective vocal ensemble NAFS, and the Juno-nominated all-women Jazz ensemble Ostara Project, spearheaded by Jodi Proznick and Amanda Tosoff. She has also worked with the NOW Society in collaboration with Douglas Ewart and Lisa Cay Miller. Shruti does not restrict herself in her musical endeavours because she is very keen to collaborate with artists with varied influences and experiences. She loves to learn new music and learn from new people. Overall, Shruti’s diverse musical skillset and highly technical vocal style set Shruti apart as a unique vocalist in the Canadian vocal landscape. As a composer, many of Shruti’s compositions include rich Hindustani melodies situated within dense and dynamic Jazz harmonies. Shruti’s music often uses centuries-old texts and melodies that tell stories of love, grief, longing, and evoking the feeling of being at home. She enjoys exploring composing for both small and large ensembles. Shruti writes for diverse instrumentation settings, including Jazz quartet, string quartet, orchestra, big band, Carnatic ensembles, and choir. Some of her commissioned compositional highlights include a voice and orchestral composition for Sister Jazz Orchestra, a string quartet and voice arrangement for the Mixtophonics Festival, a composition commissioned by ethnomusicologist and musician Dr. Curtis Andrews for a Carnatic ensemble, and a big band composition commissioned by the Hard Rubber Orchestra.
Shruti also has extensive experience teaching music to people with a wide range of ages, musical abilities, and genres. She is currently a faculty member at the renowned VSO School of Music teaching both Jazz vocals and Hindustani music. As a teacher, Shruti prioritizes developing a strong mentorship relationship with students, and her teaching style is supportive while building strong foundations of musical understanding in her students. Shruti also teaches workshops, including giving a workshop on Hindustani and Jazz fusion for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and workshops on vocal technique and practice for Pardalis Studio, Tiny Lights Ignites, and Jazz Yukon. Shruti has also spoken on panels, particularly related to 2SLGBTQ+ and gender representation in Jazz. For example, she has spoken on a panel about queer musicians for Muze West, and a panel on women in Jazz for Jazz YYC. As part of her focus on uplifting women and gender-diverse people in music, Shruti is a reoccurring instructor at the VSO School of Music’s Sisters in Jazz Day.
