Lyric & Spirit is an International Celebration of Women’s Voices, bringing together female singers from around the world. The inaugural American Tour in Fall 2023 features Lenna Bahule from Mozambique; Varijashree Venugopal from India; and Luisa Lacerda from Brazil.. In the style of International Guitar Night each artist will perform a solo set, followed by collaborations showcasing the blending of their global cultures.
Lenna Bahule is a multi-talented artist—a Singer, Art Educator and Cultural Activist, born in Maputo, Mozambique. She's deeply involved in researching exchanges with the afro cultures and social movements of her country and other African diasporas.
In Brazil where she lived for 7 years, she funded research about vocal music and the different ways of using the voice and body as a musical instrument and for artistic expression.
She has performed and collaborated with musicians from different countries and genres such as Cheny Wa Gune (Mozambique), Mario Laginha (Portugal), Mû Mbana (Guine Bissau), Virginia Rodrigues (Brazil), Benjamim Taubkin (Brazil), Paulo Flores (Cabo Verde), Luedji Luna (Brazil), and Kastrup (Brazil).
Her debut album NÔMADE, whose repertoire has its focus on vocal expressions from the indigenous culture of Mozambique and surrounding areas, was recognized among the 100 best albums produced in Brazil in 2016.
Varijashree was born to musician parents Sri H.S. Venugopal and Smt. T.V. Rama. She was found to have the rare ability to identify about 50 ragas when she was a 18 month old toddler and about 200 ragas at the age of 4.
She was initially trained by her father, Flute Vidwan H.S. Venugopal and later under Vidushi H. Geetha, Vidushi Vasantha Srinivasan, Vidwan D.S. Srivatsa and later, she took higher music lessons under Gaanakalanidhi Vidwan Salem P. Sundaresan. Her Carnatic vocal debut was at the tender age of 7, at the prestigious platform of Bangalore Gayana Samaj. Varijashree trained in flute playing under her father and Guru Vidwan H S Venugopal. As a flautist, Varijashree is a solo flute performer and a sought-after recording session artist.
Having trained in one of the strongest classical forms of music – Carnatic, Varijashree finds her own space and unique language by interspersing different genres of music and merging into various musical cultures, yet retaining the authencity of her musical roots. These cross cultural experiments have led to her work as a composer and song - writer spread across a variety of platforms such as Playback singing for Films, Tele soaps, Theatre productions, Short films, Albums, etc.
Varijashree’s journey as a seeker of new sounds and flavors of music has lead to her participation as part of performances, records, and music workshops with acclaimed artistes such as Praveen D Rao, Sandeep Chowta, Victor Wooten, Bobby McFerrin, Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Hamilton de Holanda, Trio Bobo, etc,.
Varijashree is one of the founder members of the popular South Asian contemporary cross-genre quartet ‘CHAKRAFONICS'. She is popular for her rare ability to scat Jazz compositions using Indian Sargam system (solfege), which she calls ‘CARNATIC SCAT SINGING’, which has gained her a lot of appreciation from music lovers from all over the world.
Luísa Lacerda is a Brazilian singer and guitarist, graduated in classical guitar from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro 
(UFRJ) and master in musicology from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO). With her melodious voice and refined instrumental performance, she works in the production of her own shows, disseminating innovative work, with emphasis on the dissemination of songs by new composers of the contemporary scene.
Luísa participated in major events in all regions of Brazil, in addition to having performed in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, in Portugal. Their shows alternate in terms of format, from a more intimate set up, with voice and guitar, to larger formations. She has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Guinga, Cristovão Bastos, Cláudio Nucci, Paula Santoro, Mariana Baltar, Renato Braz, Áurea Martins, and the sambista Sombrinha. The singer participated in important Brazilian festivals such as the XXX Festival Internacional de Música do Pará and the Winter Festival of Garanhuns.
In 2017, she recorded her first album, “Meia Volta”, in partnership with composer Miguel Rabello, with arrangements and musical direction by maestro Cristovão Bastos. In 2019, she released two more albums: “Cantiga do Breu”, with composer Renato Frazão, and “Beira do mundo”, in partnership with the cellist Maria Clara Valle. The album entitled “Nó”, with songs by the São Paulo guitarist Giovanni Iasi, was released in 2020 and in 2021 her most recent work, “Zigue-Zague” reached the digital platforms.
During the period of social isolation, Luísa Lacerda performed in live streaming for national and international online events, such as “Resiliencerevue”, with artists from Rio de Janeiro and New York; “Canciones como Semillas”, with the Argentine group Tajy and the “Brazilian Guitar Today”, organized by the ORI-GEN Collective.
In 2020, she participated in the project “Guinga and the female voices”, at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB) and in 2021, she participated in the VII National Festival of Free Popular Music, by the Curupira Institute, in which he received the award for best instrumentalist.
For her interpretations and repertoire research, she has received praise from established artists, such as Edu Lobo, Guinga, Marco Pereira and Aquiles Rique Reis.
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2023
| October | |
| *22 SU | Grand Theatre Center For The Arts, Tracy CA |
| *25 W | Patricia Reser Center For The Arts, Beaverton OR |
| *27 F | McIntyre Hall Performing Arts & Conference Center, Mt. Vernon WA |
| *28 S | Edmonds Centre For The Arts, Edmonds |
| *30 M | Ketchikan Arts Council, Ketchikan AK |
| November | |
| *1 W | Wright Auditorium, Petersburg AK |
| *3 F | Discovery Theater, Anchorage AK |
| *5 SU | Valdez Civic Center, Valdez AK |
The inaugural Lyric & spirit American Tour will be October/
