Rajee Paña Jejishergill

Photo: CMW Student Finale Concert July 14, 2024.

Photo credit: Danielle Jakubiak

I was born to a grieving mother whose father passed away a week before I was born. I’m haunted by a 48-year-old Super 8 footage of my Lolo (maternal grandfather), the first moving image I’ve ever seen of him. I’m haunted by the music that surrounds him in the image. I’m so drawn to it. I’m so drawn to grief.

I’ve learned that working through grief is a daily process, from healing internal wounds to witnessing strife in its many manifestations to the ongoing death and destruction of our planet. Grief surrounds us.

For the residency, I’d like to develop a composition that centres on grief. I want to explore the sounds & vibrations that emerge from my grieving body. The sounds my body will make as a vessel for expressing emotion— it may weep, lament or resound as primordial. Utilizing my body as an instrument in an improvisational way sonically connects me to my ancestors and the natural world.

This project also involves strong connections to my Filipino/a/x and Punjabi heritage, familial memories & home. It may include sound and improvisation from digitized home movies, field recordings from visits to India and the Philippines and different homes and surrounding environments I’ve occupied, as well as incorporating sounds & instrumentation from my dhol (a Punjabi double-sided barrel drum).

I’m excited that ES champions mentorship, creative discovery & emerging artistry and, encourages vulnerability & play. This residency will benefit my sonic practice immensely by guiding it in a direction I have wanted to pursue but have been too afraid to make the leap.

Video clip: December 1976 Ozamiz City, Phillippines. Film credit: Amarjit Singh Jejishergill