Anoushka Shankar returns to the Chan Centre and Hania Rani to make Vancouver debut

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts  revealed today the return of sitar player Anoushka Shankar for its 26th Chan Centre Presents season. The nine-time Grammy nominee will perform on Sunday, October 15 at 7PM. Composer, pianist, and singer Hania Rani is on a meteoric ascent, garnering international acclaim and a worldwide following for her cinematic, meditative, and transcendent music. The Polish artist makes her Vancouver debut on Saturday, December 2 at 8PM for the Chan Centre EXP series.

Anoushka Shankar last played a sold-out show at the Chan Centre in 2019. The daughter of the late master sitar player Ravi Shankar, the revered virtuoso has become a powerhouse performer and genre-defying composer. A trailblazing artist and advocate, Shankar was the first Indian woman to be nominated at the Grammy Awards, as well as the first Indian musician to perform and present at the prestigious ceremony. She is the first and youngest female recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, and has collaborated with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Sting, and Patti Smith.

Anoushka Shankar brings with her a new quintet of musicians,  with whom she has carved out a new, multifaceted and dynamic sound as they perform music from her newly-released mini-album alongside thoroughly shaken-up, reinterpreted gems from her previous releases including last year’s Grammy-nominated live album Between Us… The quintet, representing the very best of the thriving London music scene, comprises of clarinetist Arun Ghosh, drummer-composer Sarathy Korwar, Carnatic percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah, and bassist Tom Farmer, each of whom are startlingly-talented solo artists in their own right.

Premiered for the first time in India in December 2022, this quintet has been hailed as one of the best ensembles to have toured with Anoushka across her 28-year global performing career. The energy and camaraderie on stage are unmatched as Shankar leads the way in pioneering a new sound through inventive arrangements, sensitive virtuosity and a neoclassical approach to the music tradition to which she belongs.

Anoushka Shankar and the quintet will perform on October 15. Tickets for this concert will only be available as part of a Chan Centre Presents subscription. Subscriptions will be on sale to the general public beginning June 8. Single tickets will become available June 13.

On December 2, Hania Rani will perform as part of the Chan Centre EXP series. Hania Rani is a classically trained pianist quickly carving a name for herself alongside artists like Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds. Born in Gdansk, Poland, Rani spends her time in both Warsaw and Berlin. Her 2019 debut album Esja garnered a Sanki award for “Most Interesting New Face,” an honour that recognizes Polish musicians as chosen by Polish journalists, as well as five Fryderyk Award nominations, the Polish equivalent of the Grammy Awards. She has since released a second album, Home, which won her “Best Composer” from the Fryderyk Awards, been profiled by BBC Radio 4, had her work used by luxury brands Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton, composed music for two films, and released a collaborative album with Dobrawa Czocher for the hallowed label Deutsches Gramophone. Her live performance from the courtyard of Invalides in Paris has been viewed over three million times since its publication on YouTube eight months ago, a testament to her reputation as one of the most exciting young artists today.

Tickets for Rani’s Vancouver debut go on sale Friday, April 14 at 10 AM.