Gouri Choudhury is a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 singer

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 and music teacher

Music education

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...

 of Bangladeshi origin

Bengali people

The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

.

Education

In 1984, Gouri Choudhury completed her Secondary School Certificate

Secondary School Certificate

The Secondary School Certificate, also known as SSC, is a public examination taken by students in Bangladesh, Pakistan and in the states of Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa in India after successfully completing at least ten years of schooling. It is followed...

 and then in 1985, she attended Sylhet Academy of Fine Arts and gained a diploma in Folk Songs. Sylhet Shilpakala Academy was where she studied next, and here she got a Diploma in Music as well as her Higher School Certificate

Higher Secondary (School) Certificate

The Higher Secondary Certificate, also known as HSC, is a public examination taken by students in Bangladesh, Pakistan and in the states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Goa in India after successfully completing at least twelve years of schooling, that is two years...

. She continued her education and went to Chittagong University in 1988, where she studied Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

.

Career

After finishing her education, Choudhury came to the UK and started to work from 1989. She has worked as a Bengali Music Teacher in various London schools. She has in the past also volunteered as a Women’s Development Officer for Bangladesh Welfare Association where she helped develop Asian women’s skills and talents. She has recorded four cassettes and two CDs, one of Hindi music and one of Bengali music. She also appeared on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

From 1999 till 2001, the show was hosted by the brothers Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan.After that, Shaan started hosting the show. Later, the name "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" became known as the "brand name" of the series and completely changed the concept of the show to include public interaction through...

 a music show broadcasted on Zee TV

Zee TV

Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...

.

Awards and recognition

She has won many Best Singer’ awards, from Bangla TV

Bangla TV

Bangla TV is a UK-based satellite television channel targeting the Bengali speaking people in the United Kingdom, and in Europe.-History:Launched in 1999, Bangla TV was the first Bengali language television channel in the UK...

 in 2004, BIMA 2004, ATN Bangla

ATN Bangla

ATN Bangla is a Bengali language digital cable television channel. It transmits from its studio in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The channel is transmitted in South Asia, the Middle-east, Europe, and North America. The channel offers a wide variety of programming including news, movies, dramas, talk shows,...

 in 2005 and the community award for ‘Best Singer’ from Channel S

Channel S

Channel S is a UK-based, free-to-air television channel targeting the British Bangladeshi community. The channel was established on 16 December 2004, by Mahee Ferdous Jalil - a Bangladeshi businessman in London. On Sky it had a timesharing deal with ATN Global, and then in 2005 it started to...

 in 2006. In 2002, she also won the ‘Best Performance Award’ after being asked by Zee TV to perform on their show Antaksari. She also appeared on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

From 1999 till 2001, the show was hosted by the brothers Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan.After that, Shaan started hosting the show. Later, the name "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" became known as the "brand name" of the series and completely changed the concept of the show to include public interaction through...

 a music show broadcasted on Zee TV.

External links

• Anwarul Hoque hears from Singer Gouri Choudhury. BBC Asian Network
  BBC Asian Network
  BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London...
  
  . Sun, 22 May 2011