Shashank Subramaniam began his Carnatic music training on the bamboo flute under Smt. Dr. Sunitha Grandhee, disciple of the legendary flute maestro Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. Dr. N. Ramani. Shashank has been learning flute alongside his twin sister, Shruthi since the age of 7, and they currently takes advanced lessons from flute vidwan Sri R. Thiagarajan, son of Dr. N. Ramani. Shashank has been giving solo, duet, and ‘Veena Venu Violin’ concerts since 2007 at venues across the United States and Canada, as well as in various temples and sabhas in Tamil Nadu. Shashank’s passion for performing and collaborating with other like-minded musicians led him to be a founding member of youth ensemble SwaraRagaLaya in 2010, and the group has traveled and performed for many youth festivals and fund raising events. Shashank is also a member of the University of Michigan student Carnatic music ensemble, Sahana. Shashank is in his fourth year as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, where he is pursuing a dual degree in Chemical and Electrical Engineering. In his spare time, Shashank works on his University’s Hybrid Vehicle racing team, plays chess, soccer, and basketball, and reads books.
“gAna pravINa” Sai Sisters (SaiKiran & SaiNivedita)
Kiran and Nivi are Carnatic vocal disciples of “Sangeetha Seva Ratna” Dr.C.M. Venkatachalam, “Sangeetha Shironmani” Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan and layam disciple of “Nada Oli” Sri Melakkaveri K Balaji.
They are finalists of Carnatic Music Idol USA in year 2012.They have also won first prizes in Kriti, Neraval ,Alapana , Viruttham & Pallavi categories in the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana competitions. They also participated in the Margazhi festival in Detroit -2014 organized by iCarnatic .
They have given many concerts in the west coast region. They are finalists in the Carnatic premier league " Sangeeth Samraat" in duo category. They have given concerts in Chennai during the music season in December -2015. Both Kiran & Nivi are recipients of the prestigious Indian Raga Fellowship.
Kiran and Nivi are Carnatic vocal disciples of “Sangeetha Seva Ratna” Dr.C.M. Venkatachalam, “Sangeetha Shironmani” Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan and layam disciple of “Nada Oli” Sri Melakkaveri K Balaji.
They are finalists of Carnatic Music Idol USA in year 2012.They have also won first prizes in Kriti, Neraval ,Alapana , Viruttham & Pallavi categories in the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana competitions. They also participated in the Margazhi festival in Detroit -2014 organized by iCarnatic .
They have given many concerts in the west coast region. They are finalists in the Carnatic premier league " Sangeeth Samraat" in duo category. They have given concerts in Chennai during the music season in December -2015. Both Kiran & Nivi are recipients of the prestigious Indian Raga Fellowship.
Sharada Krishnan completed her initial violin training from Smt. Radhika Devrajan of New Jersey. She has been under the tutelage of Vidwan Sri Vittal Ramamurthy since 2008 and Vidwan Sri Lalgudi GJR Krishnan since 2014.
Sharada has won many prizes from Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and CMANA competitions. She has performed as both a soloist and accompanist all around the United States and India, and she has been blessed to accompany her guru, Sri Vittal Ramamurthy, many times in India. Sharada was also selected as an IndianRaga Fellow in 2014.
Sharada is the president and co-founder of Brindavani, a New Jersey based youth-run nonprofit organization that aims to promote Carnatic music, provide a platform for the youth of North America to perform, and encourage them to give back to the community. She also works actively as a part of the Avartan Foundation, and on Darbari Magazine, America's first Indian classical performing arts e-magazine.
Sharada is a freshman at the University of Southern California, where she is a part of the Bachelor’s to Master’s 5-year Occupational Therapy program.
Sharada has won many prizes from Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and CMANA competitions. She has performed as both a soloist and accompanist all around the United States and India, and she has been blessed to accompany her guru, Sri Vittal Ramamurthy, many times in India. Sharada was also selected as an IndianRaga Fellow in 2014.
Sharada is the president and co-founder of Brindavani, a New Jersey based youth-run nonprofit organization that aims to promote Carnatic music, provide a platform for the youth of North America to perform, and encourage them to give back to the community. She also works actively as a part of the Avartan Foundation, and on Darbari Magazine, America's first Indian classical performing arts e-magazine.
Sharada is a freshman at the University of Southern California, where she is a part of the Bachelor’s to Master’s 5-year Occupational Therapy program.
Naveen Basavanhally began his mridangam training at the age of ten under the tutelage of Sri Ramachandran Suresh of New Jersey. Since 2008, Naveen has received advanced training from mridangam maestro Kalaimamani Sri Guruvayur Dorai of Chennai. Naveen has had the privilege of performing at prestigious venues such as Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and several leading sabhas during the Chennai December music season. He has accompanied various leading musicians, including Sri VK Raman, Smt. Alamelu Mani, Sri AS Murali, and Sri Sankaran Namboodhiri, to name a few. Naveen is currently pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of California, San Diego.
Vivek Chellappa began learning mridangam at the age of six from Sri R. Kannan, who hails from the style of Sri Palani Subramania Pillai. He has also taken lessons from Sri. Anoor Dattatreya Sharama of Bangalore, Sri Srinath Bala of Jayamangala and Kalaimamani Guruvayur Sri Dorai.Vivek has won prizes in the percussion competition at the Cleveland Aradhana, including first place in the Senior mridangam category in 2005. Since his arrengetram in 2004 with Smt M.S. Sheela , Vivek has been regularly performing in mridangam and kanjira, including concerts since 2004 in Nadatarangini and concerts for five years at the Cleveland Aradhana.He has had the privilege of accompanying leading musicians from India, including Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sri D. Seshachari, Sri R.K. Sriramkumar, Smt. MS Sheela, Mysore Brothers, Dr. Pantula Rama, Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan, and Sri Jayaraaj and Smt. Jaysri, and Smt Vasuda Keshav.Vivek is a resident physician at UCLA in Anesthesiology, and a graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University School of Medicine.
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