It is a profound joy as a teacher to watch a student build a bridge between her musical training and their personal heritage.
Anagha Kapsi, my undergraduate student here at the Peabody Institute, has done exactly that. I am thrilled to feature her as a composer whose work beautifully navigates the intersection of heritage and modern innovation; her latest piece is featured on the newly released album Dwelling, a project by Peabody’s New Contemporary Tonality Collective.
Below, Anagha shares the story behind her piece and the collaborative journey of the album:
In Her Own Words: "Sarod on the Qanun":
"My piece “Sarod on the Qanun” is inspired by the Hindi movie "Piku", a slice of life film about a young Indian woman navigating the meaning of family and identity. The Indian instrument "Sarod" evokes feelings of home as I grew up listening to Hindi songs and Traditional Carnatic and Hindustani music. I originally wrote this piece for the Guitar, as a homage to my upbringing -- combining Indian music with the Western instrument (Guitar), reflecting my own blended foundations in Indian Carnatic music (singing) and Western Classical (Violin). Eventually, the piece evolved into something more that I could not have expected. I was introduced to a Qanun player at Peabody, Faisal Aletani. The Qanun is a stringed Arabic instrument, similar to the harp or Chinese Guzheng. This new instrumentation revealed the cross-overs and overlaps between Indian and Arabic music — adding another element of cultural collaboration to this piece."
About the Project: “Dwelling”
"Peabody’s New Contemporary Tonality Collective won a Peabody LaunchGrant in May 2024 to create their first album, “Dwelling". The album features nine pieces composed by nine Peabody composers. The project took place from May 2024 to May 2025, with the official Spotify release of the album happening in December 2025. The album was a culmination of hard work and collaboration between 17 performers, 9 composers, 2 audio engineers, 2 recording studios, mastering artists, and multiple Peabody mentors."
Link to Album:
Link to “Sarod on the Qanun”:
