In 2010, Reena co-founded Yale’s first Hindi A Cappella group, Sur et Veritaal. Sur et Veritaal’s singers come from many different backgrounds including Hindustani and Carnatic trained singers, and choral, operatic and popular singers. The group’s repertoire is largely a cappella arrangements of popular Bollywood songs, as well as mashups of bollywood and American popular music. Reena was Sur et Veritaal’s first conductor, from 2010-2011, and also did many arrangements for the group including:
- Barso Re (Guru)
- Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe (Dil Chahta Hai) / Yeh Ishq Hai (Jab We Met) / Sheila Ki Jawani (Tees Mar Khan)
- Ghanana Ghanana (Lagaan) / Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se) / Hips Don’t Lie(Shakira)
- Yeh Honsla Kaise Jhuke (Dor)
- Turning Tables (Adele) / Alvida (Life in a Metro)
Below is a selection of videos from some of Sur et Veritaal’s recent performances:
Click to load this video in a new window.
Sur et Veritaal performs Ghanana Ghanana (Lagaan) / Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se) /Hips Don’t Lie (Shakira)
Soloists: Shivani Bhatt (intro), Cristina Ceballos & Achyut Patil (Ghanana Ghanana), Sabyasachi Chatterjee (Chaiyya Chaiyya), Shunori Ramanathan, Marios Falaris, Jaime Sunwoo (Hips Don’t Lie)
Sur et Veritaal holds auditions at the beginning of each semester. If you are a Yale student and are interested in auditioning for the group, please visit the Surs Facebook Page for more information.