Roger Brown & Annette Philip - Mark My Brow - Tribute to Tagore

The Berklee Indian Ensemble has become one of the most storied musical collectives at Berklee having attracted visiting artists like A.R. Rahman, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Shreya Ghoshal, Indian Ocean, Clinton Cerejo, and many others. As he contemplated leaving Berklee, Roger Brown, who has served as Berklee’s President for 17 years, reached out to Annette Philip, founder of the Indian Ensemble to propose a song-writing collaboration based on the poem “Earth” by Rabrindranath Tagore.

Tagore (1861-1941) was a multi-faceted creator — a poet, playwright, essayist, novelist and musician, ultimately winning a Nobel Prize for Literature. He had a powerful impact on the development of the art and literature of modern India and beyond. Aside from Tagore's global impact, Roger and his wife Linda had a personal connection as well — they had selected excerpts of this poem to be read at their wedding 34 years ago.

Annette and Roger invited some of their favorite musicians to bring this composition to life, and recorded it at the newly renovated Power Station/BerkleeNYC studios.

Honoring one of India’s most prolific thinkers, “Mark My Brow” is a theatrical adaptation of Tagore’s evocative imagery in the poem and personalizes it with reflections on being both a child and a parent; wondering if any of the strivings we all pursue make a difference. From introspective reflection, the song evolves into a celebration in gratitude for life itself.

Learn more about the life of Rabindranath Tagore, poet, composer, philosopher, and social reformer - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore

Original Tagore poem “Earth” - https://anaemiconabike.com/2017/10/03/earth-by-rabindranath-tagore

Adapted Lyrics “Mark My Brow” - https://bit.ly/MMB-lyrics

"Mark My Brow"
Songwriters: Roger Brown, Annette Philip, Patrick Simard
Producers: Annette Philip, Stephen Webber, Roger Brown
Track & Vocal Arrangement: Annette Philip
String Arrangement: Guy Bernfeld
Additional Arrangement: Guy Bernfeld, Roger Brown, Patrick Simard
Lead Vocals Producer & Engineer: Stephen Webber
Recording & Mix Engineer: Akihiro Nishimura
Editing & Premixing: Stephen Webber, Glenn Forsythe, Annette Philip
Mastering: Oscar Zambrano
Video Directors: Stephen Webber, Simon Yu
Video Editor: Glenn Forsythe

Performers:
Lead Vocals & Piano: Annette Philip, Kerala, India
Bass: John Patitucci, Brooklyn NY
Drums: Antonio Sánchez, Mexico City, Mexico
Hadgini drum & percussion: Roger Brown, Gainesville, Georgia & Patrick Simard, Ontario, Canada
Hammond B3: Dennis Montgomery III, Shreveport, Louisiana
Saxophone: Tia Fuller, Aurora, CO
Violin: Layth Sidiq, Amman, Jordan
Cello: Naseem Alatrash, Beit Sahour, Palestine
Guitar: Aleif Hamdan, Jakarta, Indonesia

Strings:
Violin: Bengisu Gokce, Istanbul, Turkey
Violin: Gioia Gedicks, West Hartford, CT
Viola: Anna Stromer, Boston, MA
Cello: Naseem Alatrash, Beit Sahour, Palestine

Choir:
Harshitha Krishnan, Lagos, Nigeria / Chennai, India
Annette Philip, Kerala, India
Debo Ray, Haiti / Boston, MA
Lydia Renold, Schönenwerd, Switzerland
Caleb Savari, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

New York sessions recorded & filmed at Power Station at BerkleeNYC
Session Producers: Stephen Webber, Annette Philip
Recording Engineer: Akihiro Nishimura
Director of Videography: Simon Yu
Videographers: Ryan Nava, Glenn Forsythe
Director of Studio Operations: Ian Kagey
Studio Operations Assistant: Mathew Soares
Production Assistants: Henry Reinarch, Michael Hickey, Mathew Sullivan
Session Photography: Ryan Nava
Studio Manager: Gloria Kaba

Boston sessions recorded and filmed at The Record Co.
Session Producers: Annette Philip, Michael Borgida
Recording Engineer: Andrés González-Cardona
Assistant Engineer: Rodrigo Martins
Director of Video: Jeannie Greeley
Video Associate Producer: Steffan Hacker
Videographers: Marlon Solomon, Jihae Kim

Special thanks:
Linda Mason - for your constant support, guidance and encouragement
Clinton Cerejo - John says Thanks!
Lydia Renold - Artwork
Rohith Jayaraman - Promo video
Kinami Nakaza - Production assistant, BTS video/photography, social media, logistics
Esha Nijhoff Asser - BTS video/photography, logistics
Tim Hanley - Logistics, session cheesemonger (curdsandco.com)
Armeen Musa - Translation support
Ernie Bird - Initial transcriptions

Roger Brown:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhbrownberklee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PresidentRogerHBrown

Annette Philip:
Website: https://beacons.page/annettephilip
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/annettephilipofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annette_philip
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annettephilipofficial
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6NAHt8LNFLjYg0bAJYHbfy

Berklee
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