Manhar Udhas

Manhar Udhas is a Hindi and Gujarati language singer and Bollywood Playback singer.

Early life

Manhar Udhas is the elder brother of singers Pankaj Udhas and Nirmal Udhas. He completed his mechanical engineering training in Gujarat and moved to Mumbai in the late 1960s to look for a job. He was interested in music since childhood. His brother-in-law, who was making Gujarati film in Mumbai, introduced him to Music Director Kalyanji Anandji. Udhas used to hang around Kalyanji Anandji to help them in song recording. Once singer Mukesh was not immediately available. So it was decided to dub song in the voice of Udhas and later on Mukesh would sing over it. The song was 'aap se hum ko bichchade huye ek zamana beet gaya' for 1969 film 'Vishwas'. When Mukesh heard the song he said that Udhas has sung the song perfectly and there was no need to record the song in his voice. The song became a hit. It proved to be turning point in his career.

Career

Manhar has worked with many composers of the film world and has lent his voice to many Bollywood heroes. He has sung for more than 300 films - Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and many others. He, like his brother Pankaj, is well known for singing Ghazals. He has released 30 albums (last one, "Aashirwad", launched in Australia November 2013). He has also worked with Pankaj on albums and Live Shows. His 31st album Alankar was released at VadFest on 18-Jan-2015 at Vadodara.

Music director

A music director may be the director of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution (but not usually the head of the academic music department), the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an Organist and Master of the Choristers (a title given to a Director of Music at a cathedral, particularly in England).

Orchestra

The title of "music director" or "musical director" is used by many symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra. The term "music director" is most common for orchestras in the United States. With European orchestras, the titles of "principal conductor" or "chief conductor" are more common, which designate the conductor who directs the majority of a given orchestra's concerts in a season. In musical theatre and opera, the music director is in charge of the overall musical performance, including ensuring that the cast knows the music thoroughly, supervising the musical interpretation of the performers and pit orchestra, and conducting the orchestra.

Music

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence. The common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics (loudness and softness), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture (which are sometimes termed the "color" of a musical sound). Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements. Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and with vocal techniques ranging from singing to rapping, and there are solely instrumental pieces, solely vocal pieces and pieces that combine singing and instruments. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike; "art of the Muses"). In its most general form, the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music (songs, tunes, symphonies, and so on), the criticism of music, the study of the history of music, and the aesthetic examination of music. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound."