March 07, 2014

Kanniks Kanniksewaran works as a lead programmer for the clinical data warehouse group in Information Systems, but when he clocks out, he takes on the seemingly contrasting role of music pioneer.

For 20 years, Kanniks has directed the Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir, which he formed as a way to combine classical South Indian musical ideas with the Western choral tradition - an altogether unique concept across the world.

(His groundbreaking work was recently featured on NPR.)

A decade ago, the award-winning, internationally recognized choir and several other Cincinnati singing groups took the stage in front of a capacity audience at the University of Cincinnati to perform a musical production composed and directed by Kanniks, called "Shanti: A Journey of Peace."

Next month, they'll recreate the multi-media performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Aronoff Center for the Arts with a 120-member combined choir of the Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir, Young Professionals' Choral Collective of Cincinnati, Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church Choir, Martin Luther King Coalition Chorale, and MUSE - Cincinnati's Women's Choir.

The choir will be joined by a Western chamber orchestra and an ensemble of traditional Indian instruments, along with Indian classical and folk dances and images of India.

The performance is presented by the Cincinnati Arts Association. Tickets are available at cincinnatiarts.org/events/detail/shanti.

For Kanniks, Shanti is his grand statement as a composer. It allows him to tell the story of his 5,000-year-old culture and spread its ideals of diversity, universal peace and tolerance.

But, Shanti is more than a personal triumph for Kanniks. The performance is a celebration of and testament to the rich artistic and cultural values present in Cincinnati.

"Cincinnati is a city that sings, and I can clearly state that it's Cincinnati that's allowed us to combine an Indian voice with a Western choir," he said. "It's magical when 150 people are singing together with a unified message."

Shanti has been performed in other locations across the country, including in Houston, Texas, with the United National Association International Choir. Shanti has also served as a springboard for the foundation of Indian choirs in other cities under direction from Kanniks.

With this 10th anniversary performance, Kanniks hopes to create sustained collaboration among arts groups and send a message that Cincinnati can be a beacon in making these kinds of artistic events happen.

As for his analytical day job, it's not so different from his work outside of TriHealth after all. Kanniks uses his leadership skills to coordinate the Indian choir and performances in the same way he ushers projects from square-one to go-live in Information Systems.

"There are a lot of lessons you learn from this," Kanniks said. "Anytime you deal with a project like this, things don't always go as planned and you have to find a way to fix them and move on. And, I apply that to work."