Reena Esmail is an Indian-American composer celebrated for her unique fusion of Hindustani and Western classical music. Esmail holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Yale School of Music and was a Fulbright Scholar in India, where she studied Hindustani classical music.
Her life and work have been featured in PBS Great Performances’ Now Hear This (Season 3) and Frame of Mind, a podcast by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her music has been featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar (Conspirare), BRUITS (Imani Winds), and Healing Modes (Brooklyn Rider). Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press. Her work has been recognized with awards and fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center. Her doctoral thesis, Finding Common Ground: Uniting Practices in Hindustani and Western Art Music, explores the challenges and techniques of cross-cultural collaboration. Her notable work like This Love Between Us: Prayers for Unity and Teen Murti highlight her ability to merge musical traditions while addressing themes of unity and spirituality.
Currently, Esmail serves as the Swan Family Artist in Residence (2020-2025) at the Los Angeles Master Chorale. She also serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit dedicated to bridging Indian and Western musical traditions, further solidifying her role as a trailblazer in the world of cross-cultural composition.