Voices of the Spirit II was a celebration of four different styles of devotional music drawn from Houston’s diverse faith communities – Hindu, Eastern Orthodox, Muslim and African American Gospel. All the performers are local artists who have spent their lives immersed in these traditions, performing them for their community and invigorating them with their beliefs. This concert featured Carnatic vocalist Raja Rajarajeshwary Bhat and Hindustani musician Jamuna Murali, the Saint Romano Chorale singing from a Greek and Russian orthodox liturgy, devotional music from members of the Ismaili Muslim community and the gospel compositions of V. Michael McKay.

Jamuna Murali & Raja Rajeshwary Bhat

Jamuna Murali and Raja Rajeshwary Bhat perform different styles of Hindu devotional music. They brought these styles together in a shared, improvisational jugalbandi that explored and exploited the raga structure so common in Indian music. Jamuna specializes in Hindustani music, which is associated with North and Central India; while Rajeshwary is an internationally-noted teacher and performer of Carnatic music, which is mainly based in South India.

The St. Romanos Chorale

The St. Romanos Chorale was named in honor of the Sixth Century saint considered to be the greatest of the Byzantine melodists. While the Orthodox Eastern Christian liturgy, which is mostly sung and chanted, can increasingly be heard in English, there are still many area congregations where Greek, Arabic, Slavonic and other languages are used. The Chorale is a pan-Orthodox group directed by Dr. William Attra, the repertoire of which demonstrates the linguistic diversity of the singular Orthodox liturgy.

The Ismaili Muslim Community

The Ismaili Muslim Community was represented by a group of individuals who, during the era of the concerts, sang together regularly at Ismaili community and religious events. Ismailis share with other Muslims from the Asian subcontinent a tradition of naat, hamd and salaam -- forms drawn from age-old poetry in Urdu, sung in praise of Allah and the Prophet Mohammad. They are often performed in association with Milad-Un-Nabi, a commemoration of the Prophet’s birthday.

V. Michael McKay

V. Michael McKay is a beloved and highly-respected member of the African-American gospel community in Houston. He is best known for the amazing corpus of compositions that he has contributed to the contemporary gospel scene. Writing music for headliners Kirk Franklin, Kathy Taylor, Yolanda Adams and the like, Michael is very much in the tradition of the great gospel composers and arrangers like Thomas Dorsey and James Cleveland. In this role, he is a musical and spiritual mentor to many in his community.