Bhavini Music is an ensemble of musicians with a diverse heritage and shared interest in the musical forms of India. With Hindustani classical music as their inspiration they have developed contemporary settings for ancient raags.
Since their formation in 2007 they have performed to great acclaim at the Houses of Parliament, with the Art of Living satsang group at Wembley Arena, and at select music venues in London
Bhavini Vyas began vocal training at age five, with well-known guru Jyotiben Kanath. Her studies with Jyotiben continued until the age of eighteen, and covered classical music as well as Gujurati folk styles.
While studying with Jyotiben, Vyas performed at biannual recitals and won several national competitions. When she was 9 years old she performed at the Canadian ashram of the Art of Living, and since then she has had the opportunity to perform for audiences around the world.
In 2003 she joined Smt Piuben Sarkhel, of the Indore gharana. Sarkhel’s Calcutta heritage added a Bengali influence to Vyas’ style, and brought her into contact with a purist method of teaching. She spent 8 months living and studying with Sarkhel, by then principal of the Saurastra Music Academy in Rajkot. During this time, Sarkhel and Vyas communicated primarily through music, as they did not share a common language.
Michael Ward-Bergeman is a passionate performer, songwriter and composer. His sensitive and creative approach to music making has led to performances and collaborations with world-class musicians and composers from across a wide range of genres.
Ward-Bergeman aims to remain faithful to the spirit that unites many of the world’s richest music traditions while continuing to develop his own unique voice. On the accordion, he has created innovative performance techniques that work in harmony with his inspired use of 21st century music technology. His vision has reached its culmination in the hyper-accordion, an acoustic accordion with extended range and expressive capabilities.
Ward-Bergeman is committed to sharing his music making with as wide an audience as possible. To this end, he has performed in pubs, bars, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, metro stations, village halls, churches, festivals, concert venues, and on street corners throughout the world.
He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and currently resides in London, UK.
Peter Michaels is a visionary artist who has a deep interest for music from a variety of styles and cultures. His early studies were rooted in classical guitar (studying with Hagai Sigalov) and jazz theory (with George Adie). He soon began to apply these lessons to other contemporary styles, such as electronic music, blues and folk.
Michaels has scored productions at the Edinburgh fringe and London’s off west end venues, and for the National Geographic channel and Sky TV, as well as composing for BBC Radio Drama.
Since 2006 Michaels has been the catalyst in bringing together a growing ensemble of musicians from around the world. This work has led to the formation of the Brazilian Balkan band Pocket Caravan, the Indian Classical ensemble Bhavini, and the klezmer band The Matzoh Boys.
He continues his studies with flamenco guitarist Tito Heredia, and vocalist David Barrell.
Alua Nascimento is a musician, teacher and capoeirista. He studied classical percussion at Sao Paulo’s Municipal Music School and popular percussion and vibraphone at Sao Paulo’s Music University.
His first public performance was at the age of 8, having learnt percussion from his father, the renowned Brazilian percussionist Dinho Nascimento.
He has performed extensively throughout Brazil and Europe.
