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Putting Love into Action with Benjy Wertheimer
July 1, 2020 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PDT
This sort of inquiry and introspection has never felt more important than it does as we face the chaos, uncertainty, upheaval, and opportunities we find in 2020. In this live event, we’ll be exploring these questions, offering some musical and devotional practices, and sharing stories and perspectives that invite each of us to deepen our love-in-action, spiritual practice, and compassion.
Benjy’s connection to Ram Dass, in some ways, predates his birth. His father, Professor Michael Wertheimer, was Richard Alpert’s Masters Thesis adviser at Wesleyan in the early 1950s. Some half a century later, Benjy joined Ram Dass and Krishna Das in Berkeley for a joint program in 2002, and since 2003 Benjy – along with his wife Heather – has often provided music and kirtan for Ram Dass pilgrimages and retreats in Maui.
Benjy is an award-winning musician, composer, vocalist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who has performed and recorded with such artists as Deva Premal and Miten, Jai Uttal, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, virtuoso guitarist Michael Mandrell, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and renowned bamboo flute master G. S. Sachdev.
Starting music at age 5, he has been a student of Indian classical music for over 40 years, sitting with some of the greatest masters of that tradition. He toured internationally with his wife Heather in the beloved kirtan group Shantala, was a contributing composer and member of the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience, a founding member of the sacred music ensemble The Hanumen, and a member of the Confluence Trio with David Michael and Grammy winner Nancy Rumbel.
Benjy has produced 18 CDs since 2000, which receive extensive airplay around the world, and his CD Circle of Fire went to #1 on the New Age radio charts.
