Reena Esmail and the Space Between Traditions

Reena Esmail composes in the spaces between languages. Her music lives at the intersection of Hindustani and Western classical traditions, not as an act of fusion, but as an ongoing dialogue—textural, harmonic, philosophical. It is in this conversation that she has forged a voice that is both unmistakably her own and radically inclusive.

Born in Los Angeles in 1983 to Indian parents, Esmail trained in Western classical music from an early age, studying piano and composition. But even as she pursued formal studies—earning degrees from Juilliard and Yale—she remained attuned to the musical legacy of her heritage. A Fulbright-Nehru fellowship to study Hindustani music in India deepened that connection, not only in terms of technique, but in how she thought about the role of music itself.

In Esmail’s work, line and ornament are held in delicate tension. She often begins with a raga—a melodic framework in Indian music—and allows it to unfold through Western harmonic systems. Her choral writing reflects this convergence, as does her chamber and orchestral output, which frequently includes raag-based gestures and microtonal inflections alongside traditional Western instrumentation.

Her compositions are marked by a patient attention to sonic architecture. Works like This Love Between Us, a multi-movement oratorio incorporating texts from seven religious traditions, and Teen Murti, a trio for piano, cello, and tabla, are emblematic of her ability to write across and through traditions without flattening either. The result is music that is not merely cross-cultural, but deeply relational.

Esmail’s commitment to bridging communities extends beyond the page. She has worked with youth ensembles, community choirs, and some of the most renowned professional organizations in the country, including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Kronos Quartet, and the Seattle Symphony. In every context, her presence signals a shift toward an ecosystem in which diverse musical lineages are not merely represented but are essential.

She also serves as Artistic Director of Shastra, a nonprofit that fosters cross-cultural music collaboration between Indian and Western traditions. Her advocacy has made her a central figure in a new generation of composers who resist singular definitions of identity or sound.

Esmail’s music does not shy away from beauty—nor from silence, friction, or stillness. In her hands, composition becomes a kind of listening: to tradition, to the self, to what might emerge in the space between.