MMP_Score_Poorvi_An Evening Raga for Concert Band_Aakash Mittal copy

About the Composer
Hailed as “A fiery alto saxophonist and prolific composer” by the Star Tribune (Minneapolis), Aakash Mittal creates
music at the intersection of improvisation, composition, sonified movement, and noise. The colorful dissonances,
meditative silences, and angular rhythms that emerge invite the listener to enter a sonic landscape. Mittal’s work
explores universal designs while being rooted in his studies of South Asian and American musical traditions. In his
latest project, Breathe, Mittal sets text from anonymous musings on the Covid-19 pandemic, expresses his own
relationship to family, and asks questions about who is allowed to breathe in America.
As a composer Aakash Mittal has written extensively for a variety of ensembles and mediums composing over one
hundred new works. His wind ensemble works include, Salt March (2022), Three Songs of Bengal (2019) and Samay
Raga for Wind Ensemble (2019). His recent works for strings include The Other Shore for solo violin and The First
Dream for countertenor, baritone, violin, viola and cello. Both works were commissioned by the Gabriella Lena Frank
Creative Academy of Music (2022). In This Sound We Are One and Many for cello and field recordings was
commissioned by Jake Charkey (2022). In 2017 Mittal composed the found sound piece Ghosts for BOMB
Magazine, and a work for solo percussion titled Meditation, Motion, and Melody for Indian-American percussionist
David Abraham. In 2014 Mittal premiered a suite of trio works titled Nocturne as part of his American Institute of
Indian Studies Fellowship. American University Creative Ensemble commissioned the work Pooja, in 2013. The
Playground ensemble has commissioned a number of works including Urban Raga (2011), Transitions (2011), and
Questions of Identity (2012). In 2009 Mittal wrote Octet on Raga Yaman for the Ethos West Chamber Orchestra. As a
leader, Mittal has self-released the five recordings Possible Beginnings, Videsh, Thumbs Up EP, Ocean, and
Nocturne to rave reviews.
Aakash Mittal has performed with such notable ensembles as the Milford Graves Trio, Du Yun’s Ok Miss, Amir
Elsaffar’s Rivers of Sound, William Parker’s Little Huey’s Pocket Watch and the Brooklyn Raga Massive. As a leader
Mittal has performed nationally at such venues as Lincoln Center (New York City), The Dakota (Minneapolis), The
Cultural Center of Chicago, The American Jazz Museum (Kansas City) and Dazzle Jazz Club (Denver). Internationally,
Aakash Mittal led a quartet at the Congo Square Jazz Festival in Kolkata, India. As a sideman, Mittal has performed
in Kolkata with world renowned percussionist Pandit Tanmoy Bose’s Taal Tantra, and with the creative music
ensemble Kendraka. In 2012 Mittal toured Mexico with Ravish Momin’s Trio Tarana. Other collaborations include
poet Bhanu Kapil, Yells at Eels with Dennis Gonzalez, and Joining Hands with bharatnatyam dancer Anjal Chande.
Aakash Mittal’s awards and honors include the Gabriella Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music Fellowship (2022),
Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music (2012), the Herb
Albert/ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award (2013) and the American Institute of Indian Studies Creative and
Performing Arts Fellowship (2013). Aakash Mittal has received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Colorado at
Boulder (2007) and has been a participant of the “Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music” and “(R)evolution:
Resonant Bodies” at the Banff Center in Alberta, Canada. Mittal has been studying Hindustani raga music with
Prattyush Banerjee and Tanmoy Bose since 2009 and with Samarth Nagakar since 2016. Aakash Mittal studied music
and creativity with the legendary drummer/healer Milford Graves from 2015-2022.
Acknowledgments
Thank you California Band Directors Association and the consortium of music programs for commissioning this work.
Dr. Kaitlin Bove, thank you for your hard work, attention to detail and for being available to answer questions at
weird hours of the day and night. Quite simply this piece would not exist without your leadership. Thank you M.J.
Wamhoff for premiering this work, asking important questions and offering feedback throughout the process. Thank
you Samarth Nagarkar for teaching me how to sing raag Poorvi. I hope this piece inspires many more fans and
practitioners of the artform. Michael Markowski, thank you for being my second whenever I need to duel Sibelius.
Thank you Meera Mittal for bringing the score to life with your captivating art and design on the cover. Thank you
Jayanthi Bunyan for listening to every draft of this piece and for picking up the slack when writing Poorvi required
my full attention. To my dearest Nishad, thank you for being a shining light of joy and love in our lives. When you are
old enough to join band I think the repertoire and pedagogy will be more reflective of your life and culture.