below you'll find info on our wonderful tribe of kirtan wallas, as well as links to keep in touch with us over the year...

Scott Medina - Summit founder, kirtan leader...

Scott started leading evenings of devotional chanting eight years ago out of necessity ~ he wanted to chant and yet, at the time, there were few public opportunities to come together in this way. A leader of the Dances of Universal Peace, Scott shared some chants with fellow peace dancers and before long there was enough enthusiasm to begin holding larger gatherings. Since then the kirtan movement has grown exponentially! Scott has since recorded three CDs of original chants, "Bolo" and "Enchanted" and the lastest "StarHouse Kirtan Live!". He leads large kirtans at the StarHouse on a quarterly basis, and smaller kirtans at Nanak's Nook in Boulder; please e-mail Scott for upcoming dates & directions. His kirtans are known for their upbeat energy and ecstatic enthusiasm. Scott and his wife Shanti have recently formed the lively kirtan rock band "MahaGroove" with Eyal Rivlin, Steve Bross and Gayan -- go to www.MahaGroove.com. Sign up on the e-mail list at ColoradoKirtan@aol.com. Scott dreamed up the Kirtan Summit in 2005 as an offering to the community, and an opportunity to bring all of the wonderful local leaders together. He co-leads Yoga/Kirtan events with his partner Shanti, www.EnergizeShanti.com. He also founded www.SpiritualEventsCalendar.com which is a free listing of local spiritual happenings.

Shanti Medina - volunteer coordinator, goddess of everything

Shanti spends much of her life in dance and music. Whether she is enjoying offering kirtan with her husband or playing gigs with MahaGroove (the cutting edge band infusing mantra and groove into a life force dance experience), Shanti lives from her heart for her soul. As an inspiring Yoga & Pilates Fitball instructor, Shanti guides her clients and students to playfully explore and expand their mind/body awareness while learning to live and move from their core in all aspects of their lives. Using her Certifications in Personal Training and Wellness Coaching, Shanti combines an eclectic blend of core integration and stabilization along with inner body wisdom and awareness to inspire holistic health and a sustainable increase in fitness for each of her clients. Her unique style attracts a broad spectrum of students ranging from professional athletes to new moms. Shanti has the ability to inspire transformation, union and balance. She playfully guides classes and workshops in Boulder, CO and across the globe for all levels of practice. To take a peek at what Shanti is up to, check out EnergizeShanti.com.

Robert Gass

A well-known seminar leader, organizational shaman and leader coach, for 30 years Robert has been one of the pioneers in the revival of sacred chant in the West. His CDs with his renowned recording group, On Wings of Song, have sold over 700,000 copies, including the best-sellers Om Namaha Shivaya, Alleluia, and Ancient Mother. Robert is author of the book Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, and founder of the record label Spring Hill Music.

www.SacredUnion.com

Eyal Rivlin & Danya Uriel - Angels of song!

Eyal and Danya are devoted to revitalizing Jewish chanting as a form of meditation and joyful prayer on the path of the heart. They create and share their music in the service of peace - inner and outer. Drawing on the power of the repetition of sacred phrases in a Kirtan-style, they use Hebrew chants to create an experiential connection to the One. Come and weave your voice into this holy song we are creating together.

www.HebrewChanting.com

Ariana Saraha - kirtan bliss princess...

Songstress, creatrix, bliss princess... Ariana's great love is singing the river of the divine. Ariana has been involved in the Summit from its inception, in order to share some of the healing waters that flow through her, and perhaps inspire others to do the same. Singing in the Mother tongue of Sanskrit is a blessing unto itself, a boundless grace enfolds us in her arms... She has also had the pleasure in current years to begin studying the ancient Indian system of Raga music and has released a delicious cd of Classical Indian style vocal warmups. For concerts, cds, and ceremonies, please visit her website...

www.ArianaSaraha.com

(Ariana also created this lovely website, as well as many others... For more, visit Ariana's design portfolio, ::Creatrix in the Matrix::)

Steve Bross - tabla maestro, chantleader, funniest man in Boulder ;-)

After riding a unicycle off a diving board in High School at Kinhaven Music School in Vermont, Steve Bross wondered where one could possibly go from there. He decided India was a good choice, where he spent a year in Pune on an exchange program, and discovered the irresistable phatness of the tabla, which he studied for the better part of a year. After returning, and playing rock and reggae through his college education, studying art and architecture at Oberlin College and Columbia University, he took off a year and toured the East Coast with a Reggae band. After earning a Masters Degree in Architecture from Yale, and subsequently designing fire stairs for a couple years, he co-founded a dot-com company in Seattle, Global Sight (which even has a regional office in Gunbarrel!). Then he got deeply into the Bhakti tradition, resurrecting the tabla, and now spends his time split between developing websites, facilitating Nonviolent Communication, and playing tabla with a wide variety of wonderful musicians and fellow Spirit nuts.

Kabir - the ocean of Raga swims through this beautiful man!

Kabir fell in love with Indian music in 1964 and soon found it was his life. He began studying bamboo flute and voice in South India and later spent many years in North India and got immersed in the slower more expansive raga style there... He joined a kirtan group in Bombay and soon found that kirtan can take you to the same Presence that the intricate raga music can. Since then he has been combining kirtan and raga in his teaching [kirtankars in India often look for a raga singer to study music with]. Kabir teaches privately & has ongoing classes in Boulder, Denver and Naropa University: all of Kabirís students learn to play tambura and learn the svaras ‚ the sung tone names: SA RE ga ma PA DHA ni SA. Much of his repertoire is from the vast collection of Ammachi's songs, and he has had the blessing of performing for her several times. Currently Kabir is beginning to write up his discoveries of the harmonic perfections of 5 tone ragas. Kabir's Divine Singing CD set [8 CDs] is available from Sounds True.

303-443-8029
hckabir@earthnet.net

Shawna Suzyn

Shawna Suzyn, M.A., C.Y.T., is a certified yoga and meditation instructor, traditional and spiritual counselor devoted to living a mindful, balanced, meaningful, uplifted and inspired life. Shawna first connected with the healing power of chant 14 yrs ago while studying Kripalu yoga. A few years later her relationship with chant deepened during a month long stay at the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat, where 3 hours of chanting and meditation were part of each day's spiritual practice. Since then, the power of song and sound has been part of her spiritual practice. Shawna's other passions, and offerings: yoga, meditation and counseling, are influenced by both traditional and ecclectic healing and spiritual wisdom traditions ranging from her Reiki Master Certification to her Master's degree in Psychology. She has a private counseling practice in boulder and in longmont where she supports clients in cultivating a deeper sense of the true self within, learning tools for transforming and healing the shadow, and cultivating a relationship with the inner-heart. Shawna also leads day and weekend workshops at the majestic colorado Gold Lake Mountain Resort.

For more info contact: shawnasu@gmail.com

Heart Connection Community Kirtan Band ~
Susan St. Clair, Steve Bross, Tom Duffy, Stuart Allen, Jill Spruiell, Eliza Parker & Pamela Kaye

Susan St Clair: Lead Vocals & Harmonium. Susan has been in love with chanting and kirtan since 1980 after being introduced to chanting while living in the Ananda Community in Northern California. "Paramahansa Yogananda was my first inspiration to learn chanting and harmonium. My other wonderful inspirations are Ammachi and Amma Karunamayi and all the devotees of kirtan that I have met along the way." In 1992, Susan moved from the Ananda Community to Ft Collins, Colorado to establish a metaphysical bookstore: Northern Lights Wholistic Books and Gifts.

We meet every Friday evening for kirtan chanting in Boulder at Vida Yoga Studio. For more info: www.KirtanCommunity.com

Tom Duffy - AKA Tommy-Ji

Art of Living Teacher Co founder of the Prison SMART Foundation, Tom has sung all around the world at Art of Living Satsangs. A proud student of Gandharva Master Diviya Pabha and a 17 year Devotee of His holiness Shri Shri Ravi Shankar (he even sang back up vocals at the ALF silver Jubilee with 2.5 million attending!)

Tommy-ji merges his own heart with the Melodies of nature and sings the rhythms that have been sung buy sages and Rishi's for thousands of years. Tommy-Ji is nothing extraordinary just extra ordinary. "There are no individual Kirtan singers we all sing one voice one Love in one sweet song."

Facilitator of the monthly "Full Moon Full Heart Kirtan" - tomduffy4u@gmail.com

Bhakti Shakti - The Sacred Power Of Devotion

Bhakti Shakti Chanting is an exquisite devotional experience, using the ancient tools of Mantra and Sacred Sound to evoke the Power of Devotion through Sanskrit chanting. Join us in our ongoing practice of Bhakti Yoga where we sing together, breathe together, and in the silences between each chant, drop into our true blissful identity: the Supreme Consciousness of Oneness.

The Kirtan is led by Karen DeMarco on harmonium, with Kali Martin and Anandamayi on harmonium, Brian Borg and Harsh Agrawal on tabla, Hal Paris on djembe, and Joseph DiMasi on bass. Our musicians come from many different backgrounds but we share a love of singing to the Divine. For all of us, Kirtan is a spiritual practice that brings us into connection with our true selves.

www.BoulderKirtan.com

Sadananda

Sadananda was born and raised in a mixed Catholic and Baptist family in the Mexican neighborhood of Denver. A series of mystical experiences during his teens and twenties led him to study with the masters of the East who were arriving in America during the late 60's and early 70's. After studying at Naropa Institute and Insight Meditation Society, Sadananda travelled to India to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha. For seven years he lived the life of a traditional sadhu, meditating in temples, ashrams and cremation grounds and he became the beloved disciple of Sadguru Raghudas Maharaj.

Sadananda has always been a musician. In the 70's as a singer and songwriter he studied and performed at the Denver Folklore Center. In India he imbibed Kirtan at the feet of the true Kirtan Masters of Maharashtra. Today Sadananda is an adept Kirtan leader and inspiring meditation instructor.

www.AlandiAshram.org

Tom Fuhrmann - Host and Facilitator, Littleton Kirtan Gang

Tom has been leading weekly kirtans at his home in Littleton and at other locations around the Denver area since 2005. He also plays and sings with Bhakti Shakti in Boulder on Sunday nights at Studio Be. A relative newcomer to the world of devotional chanting, Tom says he plans to keep his day job as a civil engineer, businessman, and entrepreneur. "Kirtan is for everyone and anyone, even people like me. It requires no particular training or spiritual heritage, because its source is beyond systems, cultures, and religious boundaries. It originates from the source of all that we long for. My heart finally recognized itself and danced with delight. Now I cannot not do it."

tdfuhrmann@hotmail.com for info...

Jaya

Jaya is a spiritualist who has studied bhakti yoga for 20 years, earning a degree in Bhakti Sastri, the teachings of devotion. He is also an initiated Vedic brahmana who has a degree in Psychology (a unique combination which has enabled Jaya to help hundreds of people spiritualize their lives).

www.BoulderKrishnaHouse.com

Padma

Padma is a native of Italy and has been studying Indian folk music for over 13 years. In order to get the best musical training he spent several years in India learning the harmonium, khol (mridanga-dholak), and tabla. Padma's unique fusion of Gypsy and Mediterranean melodies with traditional Indian ragas is loved by all.

Shiva's Garden (not leading this year)

There are some artists who awaken us to our innermost Selves. As the subtle energy of their musical expression permeates our hearts, a sense of delight and wonder begins to reveal itself from within. Shiva's Garden is just that type of band. Their blend of roots rock, folk and kirtan offers sweetness and a cutting edge that dissolves musical boundaries and opens our hearts in the process. The Boulder-based band comes from a variety of musical backgrounds. They have all been residents of Shoshoni Yoga Retreat. The band formed in 1997 out of a collective wish to grow spiritually and mutual devotion to H.H. Mahamandaleshwar Rishi Shambhavananda. They offer kirtan on the third Friday of every month at Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram and every Monday evening as part of their community night at the same location.

www.Shoshoni.org