Australian Team
Sandra Fiedeldy - President
In 2012, after having established a successful school fundraising business in NZ and Australia over 16 years, Sandra simply could not ignore the feeling that her hard-earned entrepreneurial skills were being wasted.
Through a series of synchronistic events, she invited her friend David Brown to come to Nepal to make a documentary about women and education ... and as sometimes happens there, she experienced being called to work in Nepal.
It was during her second visit in 2014, that she met a few Gandharbas, members of the musician caste of Nepal. They had been lucky enough to receive an education and requested that she invest in a restaurant. They were looking for a vehicle to uplift their community, one of the poorest in Nepal and could not do this without support.
Sandra faced a life-changing choice ... either walk away and get on with life in Australia or commit to something much bigger than herself. She chose the latter and it would entail taking the big step of selling her business. It also meant throwing her hat over the wall and working with the Gandharbas to make sure this restaurant succeeded. They had made a promise to the whole community and a lot of people were counting on them. It was certainly a lot harder than they expected, but slowly they found their way.
Five years, and a lot of hard work later, they started a chef clothing social enterprise and started working with women Mithila artists. Being very ambitious, they have many more social enterprise projects in the pipeline.
Sandra divides her time between Nepal and Australia and is equally at home in both countries. Having fully immersed herself in the culture and partnering with local organisations has been the key to Sarangi’s success.
David Brown - Vice President
David is a professional filmmaker and has been a supporter of Sarangi from it’s inception in 2014, when he began recording the Sarangi journey on film.
Many individuals and communities have benefited through his storytelling which captures our collective voice, a fundamental part of creating understanding and change.
David’s unobtrusive style allows him to quickly develop trust in any environment. This enables him to get to the core of a story and the hearts of the people involved. He has a gentle tenacity that enables him to work with a wide range of people in any environment.
His production experience includes short and long form documentaries, commercial work, community projects and fictional films. He is an advocate of human rights, the underlying theme of much of his work. David’s clients include government organisations, businesses, individuals, community groups and Non Government Organisations(NGO’s) both in Australia and overseas.
David is committed to making projects possible, big or small. He supports and guides his clients through the entire production experience either directly or with his team of professionals. He offers a wide range of services and his clients can expect open and honest communication in determing what best suits their requirements and goals.
http://davidbrownfilms.com/
Wendy Tuckett - Secretary
Wendy has extensive experience.
Matt Pettit - Treasurer
Matt is a qualified accountant who has extensive experience on 'not for profit' and 'social enterprise' board of trustees. He instigated the setup of the famous community restaurant 'Lentil as Anything' in Sydney and is passionate about telling stories of how social enterprise can dramatically succeed through their ability to inspire the public to contribute. Matt spends most of his time in Asia creating a social enterprise platform for travelers, connecting big and small companies with community businesses. He is transforming the way people experience and explore the world. Matt has been a good friend of the Sarangi projects for many years and we are grateful to have his extensive experience to draw on.
Dheeraj Shrestha - board member & adviser
Internationally acclaimed tabla percussionist, Dheeraj Shrestha is recognized the foremost Nepalese born tabla percussionist in Australia. Whilst he is an Australian resident, he is deeply connected to his homeland and to the welfare of its people. As we work closely with the Gandharba (musician caste of Nepal) his insight is invaluable to Sarangi's projects.
On a recent trip back Nepal, Dheeraj performed a fundraising concert ‘Blessings of Tabla’ at the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu. The “Dheeraj Project” was launched by the Australian Ambassador Graeme Lade at the event. He also conducted workshops for the blind & deaf orphanages in Nepal organised by UNESCO and UNWO. In Australia, Dheeraj has supported Help Nepal Network events with his Tabla forte in Sydney.
In addition to his 20 years of professional music experience, Dheeraj has taught music at the Fine Art College, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal and at present he is lecturing at the QUT & the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Australia.
An irrepressible creativity, tremendous clarity and exciting rhythmic improvisation are his stylistic hallmarks and this has established him, worldwide, as one of the finest exponents of tabla. His easy flowing style of playing tabla, sets him apart from other players of international renown. Dheeraj has been actively touring around the world every year.
His recent tour highlights include:
• Performances at the Royal Albert Hall, London in the presence of Prince Charles.
• At the renowned Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.
• California World Music Festival.
• The Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
• World Expo 88 The entertainment extravaganza.
• Melbourne International Jazz Festival 2008.
• Woodford Festival.
• Adelaide Fringe Festival.
• Big Day Out, Gold Coast.
• WOMAD, Adelaide
• Australian Himalayan Foundation “Tribute concert for Sir Ed Hillary 2008”
• Nepal Festival 2008, Melbourne
His recent collaborations include: Lior, Harry Manx, Jeff Lang, Rhythm Sutra, Flamenco Indo Jazz, Afro Dizzi Act, Dya Singh, OKA & Classical artists from Nepal and around the world. Dheeraj is conversant with various forms of music. Apart from Nepalese, classical and folk, he is just as good in jazz, blues, flamenco etc and having influences in crossing over various genres of music.
https://www.facebook.com/dheerajshrestha
Email: tablaworkshop@hotmail.com