Gingger Shankar

Violin and Sitar

Gingger Shankar is a singer, virtuoso violinist, composer and activist who was born into one of the world’s most acclaimed and influential musical families. Her accomplishments include working with top producers and film composers including Mel Gibson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Trent Reznor, Mike Nichols, Mike Myers, Katy Perry and James Newton Howard. In addition to her film projects, she has also has lent her voice and violin to several diverse projects ranging from soundtracks to pop and electronic hip­-hop. 

An accomplished artist and performer, Gingger is the only female in the world that has mastered the 10­ string Double Violin, an instrument that covers the entire range of the orchestra’s double bass, cello, viola and violin, and of which there are currently only two in existence. Coupled with her voice, which covers five octaves, the sound is unparalleled, unbridled, and unforgettable. She debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a soprano in Osvaldo Golijov’s opera “Ainadamar” and later performed it at Carnegie Hall. The multi­talented powerhouse transitioned from opera to rock, Gingger then toured with the Smashing Pumpkins as a special guest on their 20th Anniversary tour.

In 2011 she was chosen as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s ‘25 New Faces to Watch’, as well as becoming a member of the Advisory Board for the Sundance Film Festival. Gingger composed music for the critically acclaimed 2011 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Audience Award Winner ‘Circumstance’ directed by Maryam Keshavarz. In addition to being the artist and co-­composer behind the poignant score of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster “Passion of the Christ”, Gingger’s music can be heard in Mike Nichol’s film, “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

Her multimedia project ‘Himalaya Song’ (focusing on Climate Change in the Himalayas) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was named one of the ’10 Best Music Films at Sundance 2012′ by Rolling Stone. Her most recent projects include ‘Heartbeats’ directed by Duane Adler with Jay-Z and Roc Nation, and Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘We Will Rise’ for the First Lady’s ‘Let Girls Learn’ Initiative which was the highest rated film ever to air on CNN. ‘We Will Rise’ was premiered at the White House on the International Day of the Girl.

Her multimedia project ‘Himalaya Song’ premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was named one of the ’10 Best Music Films at Sundance’ by Rolling Stone.  Her multimedia ‘Nari’ had it’s World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in November and it’s U.S. Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016, Nari is the unsung story of the lives of her grandmother Lakshmi Shankar and her mother Viji- two extraordinary artists who helped bring Indian Music to the West in the 1970’s through their close collaboration with Ravi Shankar and George Harrison. The documentary and album will be released in 2019.

Her score for ‘Viper Club’ starring Susan Sarandon, directed by Maryam Keshavarz can be heard in theaters October 26, 2018. She is currently producing and scoring ‘Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock’ directed by Cody Lucich.