Jyoshna

Jyoshna (Joanne La Trobe) aka Jyosna, Joshna, Jyotsna, is a British born [1] New Zealander Kirtan singer/songwriter[2] and ethnomusicologist[3] Her stage name comes from Sanskrit and the meaning is "moonlight".

Her second band was Turiiya which included Daryn Long (aka Diipali Linwood) and Kim Wesney who performed, composed and recorded together between 1983 and 1990.

Her other passion is ethnomusicology, and in 2010 she completed her PhD in music, at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London on "Marai Kirtan and the Performance of Ecstasy in the Purulia District of West Bengal, India".

As a musician and ethnomusicologist of eastern devotional singing, kirtan plays a major role in La Trobe's musical and academic career.

Dr Jyoshna La Trobe's pioneering research work on the music culture of Rarh (1996–2010) is documented in her Masters Thesis Red Earth: the Music Culture of Rarh (University of Auckland)[8] and her PhD Red Earth Song: marai kirtan and the performance of Ecstasy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London.