Menaka

Menaka – Lead vocals
Tsoof Baras – Percussion and backing vocals
Kelsey Giarola – Keyboard and backing vocals
Darshil Shah – Bansuri

Menaka
Award-winning Indian-Australian singer and composer Menaka is celebrated for seamlessly blending traditional Indian vocals with contemporary musical influences. With her collaborators, she creates music at the intersection of East and West, using her powerful voice to connect, inspire and unite audiences.

Menaka began her musical journey at age five under the guidance of her mother, Vijaya Visvanathan, founder of the Sri Krishna Music Academy in Brisbane. Her early training in Carnatic music laid the foundation for a lifelong exploration of voice and sound. She later expanded her practice through contemporary voice studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University.

Her distinctive sound and commanding stage presence have seen her perform at major festivals and venues including Woodford Folk Festival, Brisbane Festival, BrisAsia Festival, Queensland Theatre and Brisbane Powerhouse. She was a featured cast member in Women in Voice in 2022 and received a Queensland Music Award for Best Song (World) in 2023 for her collaboration with songwriter mou. In 2025, she is a co-composer and featured performer in Queensland Theatre’s production Back to Bilo.

Menaka’s songwriting grew from a deeply personal health crisis and became a form of healing, leading to her debut album My Eyes Can See. She continues to work as a performer, educator and producer, using music as a powerful tool for connection and cultural celebration.

Tsoof Baras
Tsoof Baras is a Brisbane-based percussionist, composer, drummer, educator and author whose eclectic practice spans world-fusion, classical, jazz, rock and experimental music. Deeply grounded in both performance and composition, his work bridges cultural traditions with contemporary practice, creating rhythmically compelling and emotionally expressive sound worlds.

A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Tsoof holds a Bachelor of Music majoring in Advanced Percussion Performance and brings over 18 years of professional experience to his craft. His classical training is complemented by extensive study in West African, Afro-Cuban and Middle Eastern drumming, informing a versatile career as a session musician across orchestral, theatrical, major event and independent stages.

As a composer and arranger, Tsoof creates original works for percussion ensembles, chamber groups, dance, theatre and interdisciplinary projects. His compositions often explore unconventional instrumentation, including body percussion and found sound, and are designed to engage musicians of diverse backgrounds and skill levels. In 2025, he developed Chameleon, a contemporary ballet supported by a Brisbane City Council Creative Sparks Grant, blending narrative, movement and an original score.

Alongside his creative practice, Tsoof is a committed educator and author of How to Get Good and The Percussion Blueprint, focused on empowering musicians through practical, accessible learning.

Across performance, composition and teaching, Tsoof Baras is driven by a passion for expanding the expressive potential of rhythm and sound.

Kelsey Giarola
Kelsey Giarola is a Brisbane-based contemporary vocalist, songwriter, performer and vocal coach whose work spans jazz, soul, pop, funk, Motown and original music. Known for her charismatic stage presence and musical versatility, she has built a reputation as both an engaging live performer and a dedicated mentor to singers at all stages of their journey.

Kelsey holds a Bachelor of Music with Honours in jazz performance and voice pedagogy, a Master of Music Studies, and additional professional qualifications including studies with Berklee College of Music and certification as a vocal instructor. This strong academic foundation informs both her expressive vocal style and her technique-driven approach to teaching.

As a performer, Kelsey has appeared at festivals and corporate events across South-East Queensland and beyond, performing in formats ranging from solo acoustic sets to full band productions. She has shared the stage with artists including Ian Moss and James Morrison and has performed internationally with award-winning vocal ensembles.

Alongside her performance career, Kelsey is an accomplished songwriter and recording artist, with original releases exploring themes of love, loss and joy. She is also the founder of SingWhys, her personalised vocal coaching practice, empowering singers to develop confidence, strength and freedom in their voices.

Darshil Shah
Darshil Shah is a Bansuri artist dedicated to sharing the expressive depth of Hindustani Classical Music while exploring meaningful cross-cultural collaboration. His artistic practice is guided by a deep respect for tradition alongside a commitment to expanding its possibilities, inspiring new audiences and the next generation to discover the transformative power of the Bansuri.

Trained in the Hindustani (North Indian) classical tradition, Darshil has studied the Bansuri since 2002 within the Maihar Gharana lineage. He continues advanced training under acclaimed Bansuri maestro Partha Sarkar, a disciple of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, and is actively engaged in teaching students in the art of Bansuri.

Darshil’s performance practice centres on Hindustani classical music while extending across diverse genres including world fusion, jazz, Sufi and Qawwali traditions, Kathak accompaniment, Bollywood, meditation music and contemporary improvisation. Versatility, spontaneity and cross-cultural musical expression are central to his approach.

He has performed at major festivals including Brisbane Festival, BrisAsia Festival, the National Multicultural Festival (Canberra) and Sangeet Mela, and has collaborated with international artists such as Padma Shri Hansraj Hans and Charulatha Mani. Darshil is a co-founder and performer with world-fusion ensemble PanAlchemy, a member of Brisbane-based group Infusion, and a regular collaborator in dance, community and movement-based works.