10 Questions with Kamala Sankaram

1. Where did you grow up?
   I grew up in Ramona, CA, which is about an hour inland from San Diego.

2. What made you realize that music was your path?
   I don’t know that it was a realization that it was my path so much as the fact that couldn’t seem to do without it. 

3. How would you describe the music that you typically create?
   I have heard my music described as “energetic” and “eclectic.” 

4. Who are your biggest musical influences?
   I grew up hearing a lot Carnatic music in my house, so I think that those modalities are always present. As far as specific influences, they range from Braxton to Strauss to Radiohead and Pink Floyd.

5. What makes your music unique?
   I think my music is unique to me because it reflects my worldview and the non-traditional path I’ve taken. I have played as much rock and avant jazz as I have classical music, and those connections are found in the music I write.

6. Has there been one particular moment in your musical career that you're most proud of?
   Right now, I’m most proud of the LA Opera performances of my piece Thumbprint. The piece is about Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani human rights activist. We were able to bring her to LA for the performances, and she participated in talkbacks after each show. It was incredibly moving and humbly not only to meet her, but to be able to introduce her to a new audience of supporters.

7. What made you want to write?
   I’ve always dabbled in writing music, but I began to write more seriously because I wanted to see better roles for women in opera. 

8. What is your favorite thing about your new opera Here’s looking at you?
   I’m very excited about the kinds of people who came to see the show. There was a huge range of ages and ethnicities, and many people in the audience had never been to an opera before.

9. Where did you get the idea for this opera? 
   Rob and I began thinking about writing an opera on internet privacy after Edward Snowden revealed the extent of government surveillance on normal citizens. We started out with the very basic conceptual idea that we should make a piece about how we don’t actually have privacy online. And as we kept researching, things kept happening like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a lot of work on algorithmic weaponization. So the piece evolved as we attempted to keep up with the news cycle.

10. What’s the next thing for you?
    I’m currently working with librettist Kelley Rourke on an adaptation of the Jungle Book for the Glimmerglass Festival. It will be their children’s opera this coming season. There are also two new productions of my opera Taking Up Serpents (with librettist Jerre Dye), for which we are adding some new scenes.