Prajna Brianna Vieira - vocals, keyboards, harmonium
www.prajnavieira.com
"Prajna Vieira has a beautiful voice that is rich, soulfully sweet, and prone to taking off into divine spaces." — Common Ground Magazine
Prajna (pronounced "prUgnyA") is the spiritual name given to Brianna Vieira by her beloved Satguru, Amma. It means "pure consciousness". A vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, teacher and yogini, Prajna's work is an expression of her love and gratitude to the Divine. Raised by her grandparents on beautiful Vashon Island, near Seattle, she has studied piano, dance, theatre arts, and singing extensively since age four.
Exposed to kirtan and bhajan in early childhood after her father returned from a trip to India and the family began attending a local satsang, Prajna fell in love with the spirituality of ancient India. The sacred chanting of mantras and hymns in Sanskrit awakened a deep longing that led her down diverse spiritual paths in her adolescence. Prajna fell in love with the work of the Sufi poets, and through her exploration of that path came across Irena Tweedie's acclaimed autobiography, Daughter of Fire, in which the author documents her years of intensive training with a Sufi master. Realizing the necessity of a Satguru for a spiritual aspirant, Prajna began praying earnestly to meet her own teacher. In 1998, Prajna met Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma, and has been her grateful disciple ever since.
Prajna has tread a sometimes beautiful, sometimes difficult life-path over the years; from the LA rock scene to the transformative, awakening power of yoga, into addiction and loss, self-effacement and redemption. She understands firsthand the healing and restoring nature of kirtan, and describes her experience returning to the spiritual music of her childhood as "life-saving."
Today, as lead singer and keyboardist of acclaimed kirtan ensemble Mukti, Prajna knows the pure joy of following her heart's desire. In September 2009, Mukti released their debut CD Light of the Sun, produced by the legendary Ben Leinbach (Jai Uttal, Deva Premal, Shiva Rea) and featuring exuisite guest performances by Manose (bansuri flute) and two-time Grammy Award winning violinist David Balakrishnan (Turtle Island Quartet). Prajna wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, and in November 2009 the group was able to finally offer their work to Amma in person. Mukti plays live regularly around the Bay Area and is currently scheduling a 2010 tour.
In addition to her work with Mukti, Prajna is co-writing and producing a new collection of original Sanskrit bhajans with Mukti producer Ben Leinbach (Deva Premal, Jai Uttal). She has lent her voice to recordings with several other kirtan luminaries, including Snatam Kaur and Jai Uttal. Jai has been an inspiration and mentor to Prajna, and frequently invites her to sing in concert with him.
Prajna lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she currently resides with her husband (sound healer Anaghan Vieira) and step-daughter. She regularly teaches singing, piano and yoga in both private and group settings, and can often be found at Amma's San Ramon ashram singing or playing keyboards for the bhajans.
www.prajnavieira.com
"Prajna Vieira has a beautiful voice that is rich, soulfully sweet, and prone to taking off into divine spaces." — Common Ground Magazine
Prajna (pronounced "prUgnyA") is the spiritual name given to Brianna Vieira by her beloved Satguru, Amma. It means "pure consciousness". A vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, teacher and yogini, Prajna's work is an expression of her love and gratitude to the Divine. Raised by her grandparents on beautiful Vashon Island, near Seattle, she has studied piano, dance, theatre arts, and singing extensively since age four.
Exposed to kirtan and bhajan in early childhood after her father returned from a trip to India and the family began attending a local satsang, Prajna fell in love with the spirituality of ancient India. The sacred chanting of mantras and hymns in Sanskrit awakened a deep longing that led her down diverse spiritual paths in her adolescence. Prajna fell in love with the work of the Sufi poets, and through her exploration of that path came across Irena Tweedie's acclaimed autobiography, Daughter of Fire, in which the author documents her years of intensive training with a Sufi master. Realizing the necessity of a Satguru for a spiritual aspirant, Prajna began praying earnestly to meet her own teacher. In 1998, Prajna met Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma, and has been her grateful disciple ever since.
Prajna has tread a sometimes beautiful, sometimes difficult life-path over the years; from the LA rock scene to the transformative, awakening power of yoga, into addiction and loss, self-effacement and redemption. She understands firsthand the healing and restoring nature of kirtan, and describes her experience returning to the spiritual music of her childhood as "life-saving."
Today, as lead singer and keyboardist of acclaimed kirtan ensemble Mukti, Prajna knows the pure joy of following her heart's desire. In September 2009, Mukti released their debut CD Light of the Sun, produced by the legendary Ben Leinbach (Jai Uttal, Deva Premal, Shiva Rea) and featuring exuisite guest performances by Manose (bansuri flute) and two-time Grammy Award winning violinist David Balakrishnan (Turtle Island Quartet). Prajna wrote or co-wrote all of the songs on the album, and in November 2009 the group was able to finally offer their work to Amma in person. Mukti plays live regularly around the Bay Area and is currently scheduling a 2010 tour.
In addition to her work with Mukti, Prajna is co-writing and producing a new collection of original Sanskrit bhajans with Mukti producer Ben Leinbach (Deva Premal, Jai Uttal). She has lent her voice to recordings with several other kirtan luminaries, including Snatam Kaur and Jai Uttal. Jai has been an inspiration and mentor to Prajna, and frequently invites her to sing in concert with him.
Prajna lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she currently resides with her husband (sound healer Anaghan Vieira) and step-daughter. She regularly teaches singing, piano and yoga in both private and group settings, and can often be found at Amma's San Ramon ashram singing or playing keyboards for the bhajans.