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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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Sri. Harish GanapathyCARNATIC VOCALSri Harish Ganapathy is a very accomplished Carnatic Vocal singer. He has more than 30 years of training in Carnatic music. He is a senior disciple of Prof. V. V. Subrahmanyam and has also learnt from gurus Shri Tanjore S. Sitaraman, Shri P. S. Narayanaswami, Shri Madurai Sundar and Smt. Raji Gopalakrishnan. He has performed at various venues in North America and India
He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas, Austin. He is currently a Software Engineer at Google |
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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. 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. 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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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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Sruthi SarathyCARNATIC VIOLINSruti Sarathy is a violinist trained in the Lalgudi bani under Guru Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, director of Trinity Center for Music in the Bay Area. She has performed as a soloist and accompanist in major venues in India and abroad. Sruti has won many prestigious prizes, awards and scholarships, including "Best Violinist" from Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, the “Best Violinist” award at the Spirit of Youth festival conducted by the Madras Music Academy and the title "Yuva Pratibha" from Naadhaarpana, Chennai in 2016. She regularly accompanies many upcoming as well as senior musicians. Sruti is a 2016 recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue research in violin. She is a graduate of Stanford University.
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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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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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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. Amrita RaoAmrita Rao, a native of the picturesque town of Sirsi nestled in the Uttara Kannada district (India), began her tryst with Hindustani classical music at the tender age of eight. Even as a child, she demonstrated remarkable prowess and interest in music, fostered under the gentle yet watchful eye of Mrs. Lalitha Hegde.
As the child stepped out of her chrysalis, she sought the tutelage of renowned artiste and Guru Pandit Parameshwar Hegde. He sculpted and refined her vocal abilities; she seeks his expert guidance to this very day. Amrita has received awards and has performed in prestigious platforms in many cities in India, captivating patrons with her melodious voice. She is a high graded artiste of All India Radio in both North Indian classical music and light music genres and has performed for Yuva Vani on Amritavarshini, a classical music radio channel She aims to increase awareness in classical music and hence, continues to conduct music classes at the Raaga School in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. In 2012, Amrita’s debut classical Album ‘Aagam’ featuring ragas Gurjari Todi & Maru bihag was released and has been well received by music connoisseurs and general public. |
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Mousumi DasMousumi Das is a prominent vocal singer in Hindustani Classical Vocal, semi-classical Vocal, Prayers, Bhajans, Bengali Tagore songs, Bollywood songs, and Regional Folk music.
She is professionally trained in various Gharanas by eminent Gurus. In Maihar Gaharana, she is groomed by Pt. Prabir Bhattacharya, a disciple of famous Pt Deepak Choudhury who in turn is a disciple of world renowned Pt Ravishankar. In Patiala Gharana, Mousumi has taken lessons in advanced Hindustani Music from Shri Iman Das, disciple of Pt. Ajay Chakravarty. In Benaras Gharana, she is trained by Chandramouli Rao, disciple of Dr. N. Rajam. Mousumi is experienced music teacher, Sangeet Visharad in Hindustani classical vocals, performed in various live concerts and assisted great musicians on stage. She is enthusiastic and passionate about all types of music including Bengali Tagore songs, regional folks. |
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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. |