Grade 11 student from San Joe, Amrit Kaur Rana has performed for the fifth time this year. Born and raised in the United States, Rana is also the captain of her school\u2019s volleyball team and hopes to study pre-medicine. She plays the Taus. \u201cI would say I had butterflies in my stomach,\u201d she said while remembering the moment when she stepped on the Carnegie Hall stage for her first performance. \u201cI was a little bit nervous, but I was also really excited and really proud to be able to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
A computer science engineer by training and, by choice, a music educator, Bedi is behind each of these young performers. She founded the Sikh Heritage Symphony with a straightforward purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was founded to revive Gurmat Sangeet and the Tanti Saaj, and to bring them before listeners who had never heard them,\u201d said Bedi, who recently received her doctorate degree. \u201cYet very few teachers and students today are familiar with these instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bedi shares that their path to Carnegie Hall took years of hard work. She herself underwent professional music examinations, built recognition within presenting organizations and guided her students through a competitive audition process alongside young classical musicians from around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was amazed that we received second place in the audition,\u201d she said about the first performance. \u201cAfter we performed, the organizers told us, \u2018We are going to call you every time there is something with Raags.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A mesmerizing performance<\/p>\n
This year, Students chose six Raags from the Guru Granth Sahib and performed two Shabads in English translation in a 20-minute mesmerizing performance. \u201cOur Gurbani \u2014 the message from Guru Granth Sahib \u2014 holiest Sikh scripture, is so great, it is for all humanity \u2014 but the world does not yet know about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rana\u2019s musical life started at home when she was 7. Then, she joined Bedi\u2019s class, and began with Dilruba \u2014 played with the bow held in front of the body and finders sliding along the strings then she moved to the Taus. The early months were rough. \u201cI basically fell in love with the music,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a major passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
She recalled that the first hymn she performed at Carnegie Hall was \u201cDeh Shiva Bar Mohe\u201d\u2014 a composition by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Master, about a plea for courage, righteousness, and the grace to face death without fear.<\/p>\n
Rana states that preparing for Carnegie Hall is a new challenge every year. \u201cEvery time we start preparing, it\u2019s a challenge because each year we raise our level,\u201d she said. \u201cOur team grows, and we also choose harder compositions. When we first hear the piece, it\u2019s a little overwhelming to think, \u2018We are going to play this at Carnegie Hall.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SIKH-01.jpg\")
Sikh Heritage Symphony students hold ancient Indian string instruments while in traditional dress with their teacher, Leena Singh Bedi, center, in their studio in San Jose Sikh Temple in San Jose after their weekly class on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Gagandeep Singh via Bay City News)<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s program included a new section that the group had never tried before. Performing without a tabla player, they had to hold the rhythm within the ensemble. \u201cThat was a big challenge, but once we figured it out, it became really fun and much easier,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her mother, Jyoti Rana, who emigrated from India 22 years ago, has also attended every performance. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cMy daughter started singing and playing rare Indian instruments at a very young age, and we never imagined she would perform at Carnegie Hall. That was never our thought.\u201d She becomes emotional.<\/p>\n
\u201cTears come to our eyes when our kids perform there and represent our culture,\u201d she said. Now, Amrit, an assistant teacher at Symphony, also helps teach younger students and hopes to carry both medicine and music forward. \u201cI\u2019ve always felt that music is universal,\u201d she said. \u201cLanguage can be a barrier between people, but music crosses those boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of them is Seerat Dang. 17-year-old Dang, also marked her second time at Carnegie Hall. \u201cIt felt much easier,\u201d she said. \u201cI was less nervous than last year.\u201d She believes the sense of responsibility has only grown. \u201cEvery time I step on that stage, it feels like an honor to represent these Sikh instruments and Gurmat Sangeet in a space that\u2019s primarily Western music,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just an honor for us, but for Indian Americans as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seerat first encountered the Tanti Saaj through a school project. She researched traditional Sikh instruments before she ever met Bedi. \u201cI was really intrigued by the different instruments,\u201d she said. \u201cKnowing that Bhai Mardana Ji, an accompaniment of the first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev, played Rabab really drew me in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Honoring the spirit of the music<\/p>\n
Rana started on the Dilruba and eventually moved to the Taus. She thinks carefully about what the Carnegie stage demands. \u201cThe hardest part at Carnegie Hall is doing justice to the pieces and the instruments,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re very complex, and playing them correctly while giving a true representation of Sikh devotional music to the rest of the world is probably the biggest challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal, she said, is to honor not just the music but the spiritual inheritance within it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s to do justice to each Raag and to the Shabad\u2019s that exist within those Raags,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She has sharpened her sense of translation while growing up in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we sing Shabad\u2019s in English at Carnegie Hall, it allows people to understand the true essence of our Shabads in a language they know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While wearing white suit \u2014 traditional attire for women from North Indian origin, Raisa Kaur was practicing her Rabab on Sunday. A seventh grade student, Kaur marked her second year performance at Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cTears come to our eyes when our kids perform there and represent our culture. \u2026 Language can be a barrier between people, but music crosses those boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amrit Kaur Rana, assistant teacher at Sikh Heritage Symphony<\/p>\n
Her instrument is the Rabab \u2014 short-necked lute with roots. According to Sikh tradition, it was the instrument of Bhai Mardana, the companion of Guru Nanak Dev, and the one used to accompany the earliest Sikh hymns. \u201cThe Rabab just stood out to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew that was the one I wanted to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaur termed her first time at Carnegie Hall as an overwhelming experience. \u201cI had never been there before and didn\u2019t expect it to be that big,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A 2017 performance by the Sikh Heritage Symphony. (Sikh Heritage Symphony\/YouTube)<\/p>\n
Kaur found a way to steady herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I sat down on stage, I just took a moment, looked out, and told myself it would be okay,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce I started playing, the nerves went away, and I felt excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaur practices four times a week and attends class every Sunday. She talks about the commitment with a calm that feels older than her years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t started playing, I wouldn\u2019t have had all these opportunities or traveled to the places I\u2019ve been,\u201d she said. \u201cIt started as a hobby, but now I want to continue as long as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Kaur, connection matters. \u201cPlaying helps me connect to how people in older times, like the Gurus, did Kirtan-singing religious hymns \u2014 with instruments like these,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes me feel closer to that history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spreading Sikh devotional music through English<\/p>\n
Bedi know the importance of English translation. She recalls being directed by the Supreme priest of Sikhs \u2014 Sri Akal Takht Jathedar \u2014 a decade ago to sing religious hymns and teachings in English in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want to spread that message, one of the best ways is to present it in English,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if you can present it musically as well, that is even more powerful.\u201d Bedi underlines the teaching children to play the Tanti Saaj is demanding work. \u201cWith Tanti Saaj, the music does not come right away,\u201d she said. \u201cIt comes only with a lot of practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bedi insists that parents commit with their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I take on a new student, I request that the parents see it as a joint commitment,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they haven\u2019t practiced three or four times a week, especially in the first six months, they get very demotivated.\u201d She has also learned to use the power of example.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany traditional art forms are struggling to survive from one generation to the next. We have to bring this to Western audiences, especially to our youth. Then they connect more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leena Singh Bedi, Sikh Heritage Symphony founder<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they see everyone on stage performing with Tanti Saaj, they get inspired,\u201d she said. \u201cThey all want to learn. Getting them attached to it and comfortable enough to start performing is the first step \u2014 and the most challenging. Once they cross that stage, I see them become truly motivated and dedicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cRaag Naad Journey\u201d program \u2014 built around all 31 raags of the Guru Granth Sahib and presented as a purely instrumental work \u2014 allows the ensemble to appear on Western stages without restriction. The music carries its sacred meaning even for audiences who may not understand a word of Punjabi.<\/p>\n
Bedi also transcribes Gurmat Sangeet into Western notation, opening the door for violinists and other string players trained in different traditions to join.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany traditional art forms are struggling to survive from one generation to the next,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to bring this to Western audiences, especially to our youth. Then they connect more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside the main hall of the Sikh Temple, hundreds of worshippers sat cross-legged on the floor. In the community kitchen, volunteers moved quietly between steaming pots, their work a form of worship. South Asian families mingled with visitors who had wandered in out of curiosity.<\/p>\n
Back in the Sikh heritage symphony, rehearsal winds down. The children set their instruments aside with practiced care in the room. The Sikh Heritage Symphony plans to return to Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IT WAS A BRIGHT MORNING SUNDAY at Evergreen hills \u2014 the day San Jose Sikh Temple filled with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[99520,329,99521,41423,6522,99522,93,4306,99523,99524,99525,99526,330,99527,88,99528,90,89,198,72030,99529,99530,99531,99532,99533,99534,44464,7164,99535],"class_list":["post-216943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-amrit-kaur-rana","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-bay-area-arts","tag-carnegie-hall","tag-culture","tag-dilruba","tag-featured","tag-featured-news","tag-gurmat-sangeet","tag-indian-classical-music","tag-indian-culture","tag-leena-singh-bedi","tag-music","tag-rabab","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-arts","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-sikh-community","tag-sikh-culture","tag-sikh-heritage-symphony","tag-sikh-music","tag-sikh-temple-san-jose","tag-tanti-saaj","tag-taus-instrument","tag-traditional-music","tag-youth","tag-youth-musicians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}