Shanti Raval

Shanti Raval is an active solo and chamber clarinetist in New York City. She has a wide variety of musical interests, including Western classical, in which she received her initial training, and also in Hindustani music. Coming from a family of mixed heritage, with an Indian father and a Polish-American mother, she was naturally exposed to different kinds of music and aesthetics while growing up. Her training initially consisted of the standard repertoire of a Western classical clarinetist, which she studied with Robert Spring, Michele Gingras, and David Krakauer. It was not until she was awarded New York University’s Steinhardt School’s most prestigious fellowship, the Founder’s Fellowship for Doctoral Study, that she was able to study Hindustani music under Daisy Paradis, a disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. She has since begun an in-depth study of the performance of Hindustani music, and how to effectively convey it on the clarinet. Shanti specializes in combining aspects of gayaki ang (vocal style) and string style, while utilizing the large range of the clarinet. She also continues to be active in Western music, and is the principal clarinet of the innovative chamber orchestra, the Manhattan Camerata.

Shanti also teaches music privately throughout the New York City area, and is on the music faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY. Shanti has won a variety of awards in the past several years. She was awarded a two-year graduate teaching assistantship in clarinet at Miami University (Ohio). She was the recipient of the three-year Founder’s Fellowship for Doctoral Study, New York University’s most competitive and prestigious fellowship among all students in the Steinhardt School. She also won New York University’s concerto competition, playing the Copland Clarinet Concerto.

Shanti has taught all levels and ages of clarinet students, from beginning to graduate level, and children to adults. Her style of teaching stresses the importance of proper fundamentals, but never loses sight of the creativity and joy of making music. Lessons are tailored to the needs and goals of the students, whether they be preparation for a professional career in music, or a creative and relaxing hobby.

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