Sangeeta Kaur

Sangeeta Kaur is a Grammy Award winning American classical/crossover, new age vocalist, composer, performing artist, and producer. In 2022, she received a Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album for Mythologies, making her the first Vietnamese-American singer to receive a Grammy for a vocal performance. She has performed at the Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center, among others and in 2021 made her debut television performance, "Sangeeta Kaur and Friends", with Jon Anderson of Yes and Jake Shimabukuro, among others on PBS's Front & Center music series. Kaur performed vocals on Stewart Copeland's and Ricky Kej's 2022 Grammy Award Winning album, Divine Tides.

She has won numerous awards including being inducted to the Independent Music Hall of Fame in 2020. Kaur and her husband, Hai Nguyen, own and run Studio Hill recording studio in Austin, Texas. She is of Vietnamese descent and was raised in Manhattan Beach, California. "When I was 4 years old, I got a hold of a VHS copy of The Sound of Music, and that did it for me," said Kaur. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Performance at California State University, Long Beach (Bob Cole Conservatory of Music), and a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. and co-produced by Kaur which debuted at # 1 on Amazon's Hot New Releases chart.

Kaur was classically trained as an operatic vocalist, who while performing internationally, was introduced to the world of spiritual mantra as well as the practice of Kundalini Yoga. When asked about her new age music career in an interview, "It was opera all the way — no Broadway, no contemporary — and if you sang outside of opera, you were bad," said Kaur. "But after I went to New York City for auditions, I began to study yoga and spirituality deeply. And this started me to shift my entire perspective as to what my purpose was in life … my calling was to bring joy and healing to everyone through my music".

As the creator and producer of the musical production, Niguma, The Mantra Project, Kaur performed the ancient story based on the 11th century yogini by the name of Lady Niguma, told through songs from her previous two albums, modern classical dance, yoga and visual arts. Niguma, The Mantra Project, premiered at The Broad Stage, in Santa Monica, California on November 5, 2016.

In 2022 at the South by Southwest music festival, Kaur and her production company, Studio Hill Productions, partnered with Wisdome LA, Los Angeles’ largest immersive art and music dome park, to produce a replica, Wisdome 360 Immersive Dome Park, in downtown Austin, Texas.

Spirituality and yoga Kaur began her spiritual journey while living in New York. She met her spiritual teachers who then guided her toward her practice and studies in Tibetan Buddhism, Kundalini Yoga, Yoga of Lady Niguma and the Yoga of Sound and Mantra. She released her first Mantra album Yoga is Love in 2012 and collaborated on several other albums with teachers and artists Amanbir Singh and Sajah Singh. She is a featured artist on Ra Ma Record's first compilation album that was released in 2013. Kaur changed her name from Teresa Mai to Sangeeta Kaur, (which means Princess of Music and Harmony), at her yogi's suggestion. She used to held yoga classes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Social contributions Kaur is the founder of the non-profit organization Empower With Art Productions, which recognizes up-and-coming talent in music, dance, and visual arts. EWAP produces professional level productions for artists to gain experience and showcase their gifts and talents. She is also a resident singer for the Vietnamese American Philharmonics non-profit under its director, Khanh Hong Nguyen.

Kaur is an international Kundalini Yoga teacher, mantra artist, and in 2016 founded Sat Nam Yoga, a community based yoga studio in Little Saigon (Westminster, California), for Vietnamese students to attend for donations and at no charge to those who could not afford it. She closed the studio in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life Kaur is married to singer and classical guitarist Hai Nguyen. Kaur and Hai now split their time between Marina Del Rey, California and Austin, Texas, where they own and run, Studio Hill, recording studio. 2016 - Niguma