The Acoustic Mandala Project

The Acoustic Mandala Project returns to the Rubin for a Spiral Music performance and a special sound bath meditation session.

Join the performers in the Rubin’s Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room at 5:00 p.m. to participate in the sound bath. The duo will create soundscapes using Tibetan bowls, gongs, bamboo flutes, and other instruments that are ideal for harmonizing the mind and body. At 6:00 p.m. the performers will begin their Spiral Music set in the Spiral Lobby.

5:00 – 5:45 pm
Sound bath meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room on the fourth floor (free with admission)

6:00 – 9:00 pm
Performance in Spiral Lobby (free, admission not required)

The Acoustic Mandala Project was formed in 2009 by Joshua Geisler (bansuri) and David Ellenbogen (guitar) to create raga-based ambient music. As their self-titled album was being pressed, Geisler was picked up by Cirque du Soleil’s Totem, with which he traveled the globe for the next six years and rose in the ranks to become their musical director. Ellenbogen remained based in NYC and began producing ambitious musical events like the twenty-four-hour Ragas Live Festival, the Africa/India Series, and playing guitar with a who’s who of the Indian and Fusion music scene.

This Spiral Music event will be the Acoustic Mandala Project’s first time performing together as a duo in seven years and will mark the long overdue official release of their Acoustic Mandala Project album.

This recording has already been used in wonderful and diverse contexts. In Capetown, South Africa, the singer Morley led members of rival gangs to come together and lie down next to each other and be guided through visualizations as they listened to the Acoustic Mandala Project; yoga practitioners began listening to the album daily for meditation; Doulas have reported playing the recording on repeat during childbirth. Geisler and Ellenbogen are humbled by the way their music has served people and are excited to reunite at the Rubin.

About the Musicians

Joshua Geisler (bansuri) focuses on Indian classical music and jazz, innovating both the playing technique and construction of his instrument. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Geisler has also made multiple trips to India to study with the late bansuri legend Pandit Raghunath Seth and sarod maestro Pandit Vikash Maharaj.

David Ellenbogen (guitar) has studied and played music around the world in places such as Mali, Brazil, India, and Australia. In addition to maintaining an active presence on NY radio station WKCR-FM, Ellenbogen has worked to produce many of the Brooklyn Raga Massive collective’s events. He has led sound and healing retreats as well as spoken about ragas and the healing properties of music on the TEDx stage.