Schedule:
Pascale is the founder of Kirtan Path, a Minneapolis-based kirtan group consisting of:
Pascale LaPoint (harmonium/vocals)
Nancy Lemke(violin)
Mark Baker(doumbek).
We sing various chants to Ganesh, Sita and Ram, Radhe and Krishna, Hanuman, Divine Mother, etc. in call-and-response style. Come to experience the energy and vibrations of communal singing, connecting to the Divine and each other, opening your hearts and quieting your minds.
Says Pascale: “My love for kirtan was born during a yoga retreat where I was introduced to chanting. I pursued the musical aspect and started leading kirtan soon after, but was quite unprepared when I realized that the devotional aspect quickly became the integral part of my experience. Bhakti yoga has had — and continues to have — a profound effect on many different aspects of my life, and I am immensely grateful for that.”
Susan Shehata holds a B.F.A. in Performance from the University of MN, Duluth. As a seasoned performer of nearly 15 years, her credits include: Brave New Workshop, Mystery Café, National Theatre for Children, Camp Snoopy, Best Buy, Verizon Wireless, Gateway Computers and Sprint. Susan began leading kirtan five years ago, after her first trip to India. As a kirtan leader, Susan has performed and/or taught about kirtan at the Varsity Theatre, Acadia Café, Project Earth, Harvest Fest and Bella Madre music festivals, Restore Healing, Mega-Aurapalooza and the Edge expos, as well as a number of yoga studios and healing centers in the region. As a recording artist, Susan has sung supporting vocals for two local bands and is in the process of recording her first album. Susan recently co-produced the First Annual Twin Cities Kirtan Festival as well as the most recent Kirtan concert with Dave Stringer. She is the co-owner of Sacred Rearrangements Shop and Healing Center, in Uptown Minneapolis. Susan also co-hosts the weekly radio show, Raising the Consciousness on AM950, KTNF.
Susan is supported by an experienced band that includes singer/songwriter, Colleen Buckman (Sometimes in the Sun; 2007), Keith Helke on bass, and Jill James and Andy Hertel on percussion.
Our inspiration is the tradition-rich sacred music of India’s Bhaktas and Sufi Mystics. We make our music to bring Sundara – spiritual beauty into the world, to create Sangha – community through singing, and to make sacred time and space for you to contemplate both the indwelling and all-pervading spirit. We invite you to chant and sing with us. The poet Ranier Maria Rilke proclaimed, “To praise is the whole thing.” As a group, the Wild Moon Bhaktas combine accomplished musicianship with years of dedication to kirtans and chanting:
David Schmit, vocals, guitar and accordion.
Gary Waryan, tablas. Dalyce Elliott, violin.
David Ballman, vocals, percussion, tambura.
A longtime yogini, Narayani’s early exposure to Sanskrit was on the Big Island of Hawaii, learning kirtan from Shaivite devotees. The mantras and the melodies of the bhajans captured her heart and inspired in it a deeper love for the Divine. She says: “To me, a kirtan circle is the safest place on the planet. It is a time when the Divine energies are present and tangible; where the restless mind is tamed and focused. It is a place where deep spiritual healing occurs.” Narayani leads several kirtan circles in the Minneapolis area and is in studio for her first CD, Bolo Shankara! She is blessed and grateful to be accompanied by some of the best musical talent in Minneapolis.
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Pictured above, left to right: (1) Sat Purkh Khalsa leading Kirtan at the 2007 Yoga Festival, (2) Susan Shehata playing the Harmonium, (3) Gregg Giddings, Pasacale LaPoint & Pete Luellen at a local Kirtan Session