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Vidhwan Dr. D. UmashankarSenior Carnatic VocalVidwan Dr. B.Umashankar is a renowned international Carnatic Vocalist, a music teacher, composer, music director, publisher, research scholar, and an event organizer. He is a disciple of Needamangalam (late) V.V.Subramaniam, 'Sangeetha Kalanidhi' Bombay sisters Smt. C.Saroja and Smt. C.Lalitha.
He holds a degree in commerce, and a Master's degree in Indian music. He is qualified as Lecturer in Indian Music by UGC - University Grants Commission. He has performed in USA, Canada, UK., France, Singapore, Nepal, Srilanka for his Music concerts, dance arangetrams, music workshops, LEC demonstrations, and is a regular performer at popular music festivals in Chennai and all over India for over 30 years. He has worked with several great international Bharathanatyam dancers including Adyar Sri. K. Lakshmanan, Smt. Chitra Visweswaran and many others, by singing and composing music, and penning lyrics for their dance programs. He also sings for Kuchpudi dance programs. He tuned more than 100 rare compositions of Purandaradasa, Muthuthandavar, Maarimuttha Pillai, Bharathiar, Annamayya, Abhangs, Bhajans, Divyaprabandam, etc. in beautiful ragas. He is conferred with Honorary Doctorate by Indian Virtual University, registered under Niti Aayog, Govt. of India, for propagating traditional Carnatic Music worldwide. He organized a grand Carnatic Music event Chaturvedhamum Sapthaswaramum with 125 leading popular Carnatic musicians at Music academy Chennai in connection with the 125th birthday celebrations of H.H. Sri Kanchi Shankaracharya Mahaperiyava for Sri Sankarapuram Vedic village project. He compiled a music book Abhyasa Gaana Bodhini with Sangeetha Vidwan P.B.Shrirangachari, with traditional voice practice lessons and new Geethams for Beginners of Carnatic music. Dr. B. Umashankar is currently accepting new students. |
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Smt. Usha PrabhuCARNATIC VOCALSmt Usha Prabhu Hungund is a Indian Classical Vocalist, composer and teacher with primary focus being Carnatic Music. She is currently pursuing her advanced training under the tutelage of Vidwan Sri Malladi Suribabu from Vijayawada, father of the famed Carnatic Vocalists Malladi brothers.
Her previous gurus are Vidushi Smt M.S.Sheela from Bangalore. Her initial training was under the guidance of Vidwan Sri Shringeri H.S.Nagaraj, Karnataka. She has received 1st rank from Karnataka Secondary Education board exams(Music) and was been Awarded by Sri. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna. She has recorded albums, self-produced one of which is a rare Tripadi poems “Guru Karuna Trividhi”. She conducts music classes and several devaranaama workshops in Bayarea. She has a repertoire in different genre of music like, Janapada, Vachanas, Bhaavageete and Abhangs. She has given several concerts in India and USA. Smt Usha Prabhu Hungund graduated from CLU, in Southern California with an MBA in Finance and accounting. She presently lives in Santa-Clara, CA USA. |
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Dr. Harish GanapathyCARNATIC VOCALDr. Harish Ganapathy has trained in carnatic vocal music for over three decades and is a senior disciple of Nada Yogi maestro Shri V. V. Subrahmanyam. Through his formative years, Harish trained under several Gurus including Vidushi Raji Gopalakrishnan, Shri Tanjore S. Sitaraman, Sangeeta Kala Acharya Shri P. S. Narayanaswami and Shri Madurai Sundar, each one of them having played an indelible role in his musical journey. Harish has also trained on the violin under Shri V. V. S. Murari.
Harish has performed at numerous venues around North America and India, including as part of the Chennai December Music Festival. Harish takes immense pleasure in exploring the spiritual realms of carnatic music, taking the listener with him so as to reach their inner depths, making his music a soul-filling experience. Harish has studied voice presentation techniques under Shri Karthik Ramalingam of Toronto and aspects of laya under his father Shri Tanjore S. Ganapathy (a senior disciple of Dr. T. K. Murthy). He actively incorporates these foundational elements in his teaching style. Harish holds an M.S. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. |
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Ms. Sushmetha MohanCARNATIC VOCALSmt. Sushmetha Mohan is a very accomplished Carnatic vocalist with a rich musical lineage. Her formal training in Carnatic vocal music began under the tutelage of Padma Bhushan Dr T.V.Gopalakrishnan during her formative years. Over the years, she has learnt from Smt. Radha Srinivasan and Smt. Uma Balasubramaniam in India. She is currently receiving training from Smt. Divya Venkateshwaran Iyer. She is also being mentored by Violin Maestro VVS Murari. She has performed in various music festivals in Chennai during the December season such as the “Swagatham festival” and “Vizhaavaendhan Maargazhi Isai Virundhu”.
Although she is a neuroscientist by profession, Sushmetha lives in two parallel worlds, one filled with science and the other filled with Music. To be creative and constantly evolve is the common currency in both her worlds. She is passionate and invested in creating a healthy and supportive learning experience for students of the art form. |
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Smt. Bharathy SubrahmanyamCARNATIC VOCALSmt. Indrakanti Bharathy Subrahmanyam, is a professional Carnatic vocalist and hails from a family of musicians from Hyderabad, India. She received training from Late Sri Ampolu Murali Krishna, a well-known violinist and vocalist. She received advanced training from Mahamahopadhyaya (Late) Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana and also completed her M.A. in Carnatic music under his tutelage.
She has given in-numerous performances over the last couple of decades across the world as well as on All India Radio where she is a graded artist. She has authored a book on Thyagaraja’s rare compositions titled, “Thyagaraja Swami Shatharaga Ratnamalika”. She is well noted for her capability to sing compositions in all South Indian languages (Telugu, Tamil, Kannada) with equal ease in the native diction. She is lauded for her exemplary teaching style that has turned musically amateurs to regularly performing talented artistes across the world. Her many students have passed advanced degrees in music and gone on to pass All India Radio auditions. |
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Smt. Yamini IndrakantiCARNATIC VOCALSmt. Yamini is one of the sought after teachers who has been teaching at Raaga School of Music for more than 4 years. Hailing from a family of musicians and music lovers who are deeply passionate about Carnatic Music, Smt. Yamini has been sharing her knowledge with students for the last few years.
She has been learning Classical Music for the last 14 years from Smt. Bharathy Subrahmanyam and continues to fine tune her skills even today. She continues to perform both here in the US as well as abroad. Apart from music, she loves art and is an art teacher too. |
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Ms. Mayuri VasanCARNATIC VOCALMayuri is a disciple of Sri Delhi P. Sunder Rajan. She started her initial training under Smt. Padma Kutty and during frequent visits to Chennai has also learned under Smt. S. Sowmya, Smt. Suguna Purushottaman, Smt. Suguna Varadachari, and Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan.
Mayuri has had the privilege of singing is such esteemed sabhas such as Narada Gana Sabha, Krishna Gana Sabha, Nada Sudha, Maarga Music Festival, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Sri Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha – Vani Mahal, Trinity Arts Festival, Kartik Fine Arts, Naadhaarpanam Festival/VVS Foundation, Carnatica Festival, Paddhathi Music Festival, Bhavan Cultural Festival, Madhuradhwani, Chennai Cultural Academy, and Neelakanta Sivan Sangeetha Sabha. Mayuri has also given a lecdem for Madhuradhwani and a panel discussion at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha moderated by Smt. Aruna Sairam. Both were on voice culture and training. Outside of Chennai, Mayuri has sung at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, South Indian Cultural Academy in Indore, Rajalakshmi Fine Arts in Coimbatore, Thennangur Panduranga Temple, Kalasagaram in Hyderabad, and South Indian Music Academy in Los Angeles. |
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Smt. SrirajalakshmiVEENA and CARNATIC VOCALSmt. Srirajalakshmi is an accomplished Carnatic Music teacher of both Veena and Vocal. She received her initial training under Vidwan Shri G. N. Dhandapani, a legendary vainika, who was from Tanjore school of Music and a graded AIR artiste. He has imparted a strong discipline and technical rigor into her learning.
For over a decade now, she continues her learning under world renowned violinist and vainika Vidhushi Smt. Lalgudi R. Rajalakshmi - an A grade artiste of AIR, a teacher par excellence, erudite and a holistic musician, a disciplinarian yet an affectionate Guru. Srirajalakshmi received distinction in her KSEEB exams and with blessings from her Guru, she is training students for the past 12 years, imparting what her Gurus have instilled in her. Year after year all her students are placed in distinction in KSEEB music exams, Karnataka. She has orchestrated thematic performances too, involving and training her students. Veena teachers have an unique approach in bringing out the Gamakas - a distinctive characteristic of Carnatic music, especially Veena , in their vocal students too. Srirajalakshmi is a sought after vocal teacher for the same reason. A passionate and a dedicated teacher with a vast repertoire of krithis, her strong foundation comes from the years of rigorous training under her Gurus. Though her passion and dedication is towards teaching, she also has performed and won accolades at cultural events, including at the prestigious Guru Utsava of Ranjani Fine Arts and at the Indian Institute of World Culture. |
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Smt. Sindhu NatarajanCARNATIC VOCALSindhu Natarajan is an accomplished Carnatic vocalist, composer and Bharatanatyam dancer. She hails from a family of musicians and started singing at a very young age. She initially had her Carnatic vocal training under her aunt, Smt. Vasanthi Kannan and later learned under her grandfather, late Sri P.V. Natarajan. She is currently receiving advanced training from her other aunt, Smt Raji Gopalakrishnan and she regularly performs Carnatic vocal concerts in the Bay Area.
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Vidushi Radha SrisailamCARNATIC VOCAL & VEENAVidushi Smt. Radha Srisailam, a distinguished Carnatic musician, has been active in the cultural scene at Mumbai, Mysore and Bangalore for over three decades, giving several veena and vocal concerts under the aegis of various forums and sabhas.
Hailing from a family with scholarly traditions, she was initiated into classical Carnatic vocal music at a very young age by her elder sister Smt Pushpa Srinivasan, a distinguished performer on concert platforms and also on the radio. After receiving sound training in vocal music, she developed a keen interest in Veena. She underwent rigorous training under distinguished gurus, Smt M.B. Padma, Vidwan Devakottai Narayana Iyengar, Smt Bhagawati Mani and Vidwan C.K. Shankaranarayan Rao, a distinguished teacher in the Veena Sheshanna tradition of Mysore. In Mysore, she underwent advanced training under Prof. R Visweswaran, a distinguished teacher, composer and Veena player who has innovated his own unique style of veena playing. Besides being a concert performer she is a very popular music teacher, having trained over a hundred students over the years. She is very passionate about re-introducing the children and youth of today to the ancient classical traditional music. Students are trained rigorously, yet in a manner that kindles their interest in music. Shlokas and mythical stories introduce cultural elements to younger kids. Her more older, more experienced students are trained by her for Karnataka Government Junior, Senior and Proficiency (Vidwat) examinations in Veena and Vocal. |
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Smt. Sreevidya PasumarthiCARNATIC VOCALSreevidya is a Carnatic musician based out of Seattle USA, with extensive experience in performing and teaching vocal music. She underwent initial training in Carnatic music at a tender age of 5 years from her father who was her first guru. Sreevidya later underwent formal Carnatic music training from Late Shri Vairamangalam LakshmiNarayanan (disciple of Mahavidwan TK Rangachari) and is one of his senior disciples. She later underwent advanced training from Dr.Rajshri Shripathy [HOD, Indian Music, UNOM] and Shri.Radha Parthsarathy (Disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi D.K. Jayaraman) from Chennai. She also had an opportunity to learn Telugu folk songs from Late Smt.Vinjamuri Seetha Devi a scholar of Telugu folk music. Sreevidya has a postgraduate in music from University of Madras.
Sreevidya hails from a family of musicians on both sides of the family. Her father Pasumarthi Venkataramana is an AIR graded flautist and a disciple of Prof Dr.Prapancham Sitaram. She is the granddaughter of Late Shri.Pasumarthi Viswanatha Rao who is also a renowned flautist and served as a staff artist at AIR, Chennai. Her younger brother Srivathsa Pasumarthi is an AIR B-High graded mridangam artist and belongs to the prestigious school of Guru Karaikkudi Mani and is also the seventh generation flautist in her family. Sreevidya’s mother is also a trained vocalist and teaches beginners and intermediate level singers in the Chennai area. Sreevidya has given various concerts and performed stage shows under famous sabhas like The Music Academy, VDS Arts Academy and Narada Gana Sabha to name a few. She has also toured Australia for a 4 month teaching assignment in 2013-2014. Sreevidya is highly passionate towards teaching music and passing her knowledge to the upcoming generation. She specializes in training all age groups and her repertoire includes Carnatic compositions from various composers. Some of her students have also participated in the Indian raga Music competitions in the USA and received top mentions and prizes. Besides learning Carnatic music, Sreevidya has learnt Bharatanatyam in the traditional manner for 11 years and performed her Arangetram in 2002 under Guru Shri. M Swaminathan (Disciple of Maestro Shri.Kunjithapatham Pillai). She has also been lending vocal support for Bharatanatyam concerts and arangetrams in and around Chennai and received many accolades |
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Smt. Sunandini RadhakrishnanCARNATIC VOCALSmt. Sunandini Radhakrishnan has been a Carnatic music disciple since the age of 6. She received her initial training from Smt Gowri and from the renowned violinist and vocalist, Smt Mayavaram Saraswathi, who has accompanied several leading performers on the violin. Later she came under the meticulous tutelage of Vidwan P. S. Thyagarajan, who is a disciple of the legend Sri.G.N.Balasubramaniam (GNB).
Sunandini comes from a family of music lovers and along with her sister Smt Shyamala Jayaraman, has given performances in Chennai, and after moving to the US, has continued to perform and teach carnatic music. She is a very enthusiastic and dedicated teacher, who enjoys bringing music into the lives of her pupils! |
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Smt. Pratyusha ChagantiCARNATIC VOCALPratyusha Chaganti is a Carnatic vocalist with more than two decades of training under her guru, Smt. Bharathy Subramanyam. In her childhood, Pratyusha’s musical sensibilities were heavily shaped by a noble soul, Late Smt. Padma Swaminathan, a freedom fighter, who also taught rare Kritis to the likes of D.K.Pattamal. She realized music was an expression of devotion towards god with-in oneself.
Later Smt. Bharathy imparted a strong discipline and technical rigor into her learning. Pratyusha eventually grew to be her apprentice, teaching dozens of her students across age groups. She earned a Diploma in Carnatic music with Distinction. She also performed and won accolades at several cultural events, including at the prestigious SICA, Hyderabad. An accomplished software engineer by profession, she has now fully committed herself to sharing her love of music as well as its rich history, vocal techniques, and performance experiences to other students across all levels from beginners to advanced learners and beyond. |
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Shambavi BhaskarCARNATIC VOCALShambavi Bhaskar is a Carnatic Vocalist trained in her art for 15 years. Her initial tutolage began with Smt. Vidya Seetharaman and continued with Smt. Gayathri Sathya.
She later began receiving instruction from Shri Balraj Balasubramaniam, a professor of Carnatic Music from Weslyan University. Currently she receieves advanced training from Smt. Sankari Krishnan under the pani of Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. She has competed and placed in various competitions around the Bay area such as the "Sangeeth Samrath" and "Bay Area Super Singer". Along with this, she has also participated in programs such as the "Sustaining Sampradhaya" that take place in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana as a way to further her musical prowess and has been a featured artist on IND TV's "Radio Googly". |
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Sri. Sasidhar MadugulaCARNATIC VIOLINSasidhar Madugula started his Carnatic violin training at the age of 8 under Sri Dinesh Narayan. He has been undergoing advanced training since 2006 from Kalaimamani Sri Vittal Ramamurthy of Chennai, a disciple of Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman. He has won recognition from several organizations, including the Chicago Thyagaraja Utsavam, the Sivan Fine Arts Academy, SAPNA, and Bharati Theertha. He regularly gives solo concerts, and accompanies many local and leading artists. Sasidhar is currently studying medicine at Stanford University.
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Sri. Siddharth AshokkumarCARNATIC VIOLINSiddharth Ashokkumar is an accomplished Carnatic violinist for the last 17 years. He has been learning from Sri Vittal Ramamurthy and more recently, from maestro Lalgudi Sri G.J.R. Krishnan. Having performed across US, India, and Canada, Siddharth is a sought after soloist and an accompanist for young talent as well as senior musicians from India including Sri Suryaprakash and Smt. C. Sukanya (daughter of DK Jayaraman).
Siddharth is the recipient of many awards from North American music festivals and competitions and has had the privilege of performing in the Chennai December Season. Siddharth brings the bhava-laden approach of the Lalgudi bani and multiple years of teaching experience to his classes |
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Parur MK AnanthlakshmiCARNATIC VIOLINAnanthlakshmi is the great-grandchild of violin legend Prof. Parur Sri A. Sundaram Iyer and the granddaughter of violin legend Prof. Parur M.S. Anantharaman and daughter of violin maestro Kalaimamani Parur M.A. Krishnaswamy, and Vocal Vidwan Smt. Lakshmi Krishnaswamy.
Ananthlakshmi played her maiden violin program at Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam when she was only 4 years old. She has won the appreciation of several vidwans including Kunnakudi Sri. R. Vaidyanathan. She is currently an All India Radio graded artist. |
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Sri. Ravi GutalaTABLARavi Gutala began learning the tabla in India at the age of 8. He continues to receive advanced training from Guru Swapan Chaudhuri, his guru for the past twenty years, at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music is San Rafael. Ravi was a 2010 participant in ACTA's Apprentice Program with apprentice Saurabh Davala. Their apprenticeship developed Saurabh’s technical proficiency in playing speed and clarity, skills to accompany vocals and instrumentation, and understanding of taals (rhythmic cycles), and improvisational ability, all within the Lucknow gharana (school or family) of tabla-playing.
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Smt. Rama Garimella teaches Tabla at The Raaga School
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Rama GarimellaTablaRama Garimella grew up in Chattisgarh, India. She started learning Tabla at an early age. Later she joined Kamala Devi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (affiliated to Indira Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh) and earned her B.Mus. in Tabla.
After coming to the US, Rama continued her training under Sri Ravi Gutala. At present, she is taking advanced lessons from Pandit Swapan Choudhuri at Ali Akbar College of Music, San Rafael, CA. Smt. Rama has performed on various platforms in India and US. She has been teaching kids and adults for more than 15 years in Bay Area. She prepares her students to perform on various platforms. Smt. Rama is currently accepting new students |
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Shri. Nikhil PandyaTABLAShri Nikhil Pandya, is a well-known figure within the Hindustani music community of the Bay Area. Nikhil has been entertaining audiences for over 25 years. He accompanies senior artists visiting from India as well as the upcoming talented youngsters.
Nikhil has a unique ability to relate and communicate with other musicians on stage which helps create memorable concerts. Nikhil’s training under Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri has given him a strong foundation in the subject of tabla. While Nikhil is comfortable in the tabla solo format, he is also equally at ease providing accompaniment. He has had the priviledge of performing with some senior musicians such as Late Shri Kashinath Bodas, Bhikhubhai Bhavsar, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Krishna Mohan Bhatt and so on. Nikhil has also collaborated with western muscians and other performers of non-classical Indian music, making him a versatile performer. |
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Smt. Lalita SharmaHindustani VocalLalita Sharma was born in Kolkata, India. She started her training in the intricacies of South Indian classical Carnatic Music at the age of eight, under the able guidance of her Guru Padma Narasimhan of Calcutta, for eight years. She later studied at the Government Music College, Adyar, Chennai and passed the Sangeeta Vidwan title course with a distinction in 1986. Following her graduation she obtained her Diploma in Music Teaching from Govt. Music College Chennai in 1988. She strengthened her knowledge by completing her B.A. (Music) from University of Madras in 1990. She also underwent rigorous training under Prof. V.R. Krishnan the noted disciple of Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer for 3 years.
In 1993 her interest in North Indian classical music peaked and since 1993 she was blessed to train under the great Maestro Sangeet Marthand, Padma Vibhushan, Pandit Jasraj, one of the greatest luminaries of Indian classical music. Lalita Sharma is a well known exponent of the Mewati Gharana of Hindustani classical music. She has several performances, recordings and compositions to her credit. Lalita is also very experienced in composing music and has given vocal support to famous Odissi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam dancers in India. She has also collaborated with Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra the famous Odissi Dance Maestro in the composition of the famous musical ballet Abhignana Shakuntalam, and other famous ballets namely Baansi, Navarasa-Nayika, Aanya Aami etc. She regularly records dance music for all top classical dance companies in India. Special Presentations: She has been regularly performing Hindustani classical music in the Chennai December festival since 2012. She was recently invited to give a TEDX talk in Caterpillar, on the therapeutic effects of classical music on the human psyche. |
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Shri. Bruce HammSitar and SarodBruce Hamm is ‘gandabandha shishya’ of the revered Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He performs all over the world and has been for many years a respected teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bruce began learning from Khansahib at the Ali Akbar College in 1974 and pursued an intense and continuous study of instrumental and vocal music with his Guru for 35 years. He began teaching at the Ali Akbar College of Music in 1982, at first assisting beginning students in understanding the music, the compositions and the technique of their instruments. Later his role expanded, and he was one of only a handful of disciples asked to continue teaching at the AACM after Khansahib's death in 2009. Bruce had the rare opportunity on several occasions to perform onstage with his Guru. He performs regularly in India and has played with many of India's leading tabla players, including Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. |
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Sri Anirudh BharadwajCarnatic Flute and VocalSri Anirudh Bharadwaj is a disciple of Sri Delhi P Sunder Rajan. He had his initial training under Smt. Akhila Krishnan and Shri PN Krishnan, eminent musicians from Delhi. He has also learnt from Ranjani-Gayatri. He had his training in hindustani flute under Pandit Kailash Sharma in Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. He is an All India Radio graded artist.
Sri Bharadwaj received the Best Instrumentalist Prize in the year 2014 for his performance in the Spirit of Youth series conducted by the Madras Music Academy. He also performed in the HCL monthly concert series in November, 2015. He performed at venues such as Madras Music Academy, Shanmukhananda Sabha (Mumbai), Mylapore Fine Arts, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, and Indian Fine Arts Society, among others. He was selected by Ministry of Youth Affairs, Govt. of India, to participate in the Youth Cultural Exchange Programme in China. He also received the Junior Scholarship from CCRT, Department of Culture, Govt. of India and the Senior Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. |