Kalpana Rao

Kalpana Rao is a professional jazz singer and vocal coach for jazz, pop, and rock. Born in Germany and raised in India, she lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland, which has been her home for over 30 years. Singing since the age of 4, Kalpana holds her listeners captive with her sensual tonality and multifaceted voice; the roots of which are in her Indian upbringing and music. Her passion for music has led her to perform all over Switzerland, Germany, and Austria with professional pop and rock bands before finding her true calling in jazz. Kalpana has done intensive studies in all genres of music, including three years at the Zurich University of the Arts (Dept of Jazz & Popular Music), from where she received a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Music Pedagogy. She is currently attached to two youth music schools in Zurich. Her unmistakable touch is a reflection of a striving to blend cultures in a natural and subtle manner without losing their purity or beauty, and yet infusing it with her own personality. Being a serious practitioner of yoga for 20 years, it had always been her wish to bring the message of its principles across and make it tangible to all through her music. So, based on the Sanskrit mantras and prayers taught to her by her grandmother and the diverse musical influences that formed her as a musician, she created the self-named genre MantraJazz Fusion and composed the album "Transformation.