Nisha Rajagopalan
An exciting Carnatic vocalist with a golden voice, Nisha Rajagopalan commenced training with mother Smt Vasundhra Rajagopal, received expert guidance from gurus Shri TR Subramaniam, Shri PS Narayanaswamy and Smt Suguna Varadachari. Winner of Yuva Puraskar (Sangeet Naatak Akademi) Isai Peroli (Kartik Fine Arts), Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial and the Hindu-Saregama MS Subbulakshmi Awards, Nisha grips the audience with her bhava-soaked singing, laya control and perfect fidelity to sruti even as she remains true to her classicist calling. An A-Grade artiste of All India Radio, she has sung for theatre as well as lent her voice for dance productions.
Brindha Manickavasakan
Brindha Manickavasakan is a Carnatic Music vocalist, among the foremost, popular young performing Carnatic musicians in India. She is currently learning from Vidushi Suguna Varadachari. She has been performing for the past 22 years, from the age of 10. She also plays the Veena and has learnt Bharatanatyam under Melattur Sri S Natarajan. She is known for her rich voice and the bhava, sensitivity, variety, creativity in her music.
A recipient of the V Subrahmaniam Young Talent Award from Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer Golden Jubilee Foundation, the title “Ilam Rasika Kala Bharathi” from Rasika Fine Arts, “Papanasam Sivan Award” from Narada Gana Sabha, “Best Vocalist” award of the Rising Stars series and M S Subbulakshmi fellowship award from Sri Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai, she has won many prizes, awards and accolades from various organizations. She has released several music albums, such as ‘Tyagaraja Vandanam’ for Giri Trading. Brindha is an ‘A’ graded vocal artist of All India Radio. She has a Master’s degree in Biostatistics from Georgetown University, USA, a Master’s degree in Music and is a PhD candidate in Music from Madras University with a thesis on the contribution of Tañjāvūr K Poṉṉayyā Piḷḷai. She is a constant feature in all the major sabha-s in Chennai, and performs regularly in other places within the country and abroad.
Ranjani Sivakumar
Ranjani Sivakumar, is a classical musician whose music draws attention – for its aesthetics, quality of voice, finely calibrated style and a truthful expression with it. Music, has been her best teacher and she is thankful for having had the opportunity to travel far and wide with it, thereby enriching her life experience. Ranjani believes that, “Breadth, adds as much zest to life as does depth.” She has sung soulful melodies, for cinemas like Pelli Choopulu, Mental Madilo, and Thippara Meesam. Her collaborative projects includes:
- “raga and yoga” – a detox for the five senses
- “tana bana”-
- “Triobroma” – storytelling and music
have received a lot attention and appreciation. She engages with children, musically, by being a part of an outdoor camp called “Cast Away”. She also teaches at the Jiddu Krishnamoorti school -” Shibumi” in Bengaluru and Amar Chitra Katha in Hyderabad. A former techie from Tata Consulting Services, she has had the opportunity to combine her software skills and music to work with Apple, Inc. on their iTunes platform.
Sai Shiv
Sai Shiv is a Professional Mridangam artist and the Disciple of world-renowned Mridangam Maestro Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani. He is also an A-grade artist with All India Radio (Chennai), which he achieved in the shortest amount of time. He received the Best Mridangam Artiste of the Year 2015 from Sruthi Laya Kendra Of the late Karaikudi R Mani He was the first artist in Mysore to start an organization exclusively for promoting Rhythmic ideas. He currently performs both as a solo percussionist and accompanying artist. He has been an accompanying many top artists and is a part of many percussion ensembles of his Guru. He is an independent Composer with many albums in the fusion genre to his credit, which are available on streaming platforms. He has scored the background score for many movies, dramas, and documentaries.
Sriram Satagopan
Sriram Satagopan hails from a family of musicians and is fortunate to have learnt Mridangam from multiple gurus including Nanganallur Sri. Sriram. Sri. Vinod Seetharaman, Tiruvarur Shri. Vaidyanathan, Kutralam Sri. Viswanatha Iyer, Sri. Madhusoodhanan, Sri. Gandeeravan. His primary playing style is reflective of Guru Sri. Karaikkudi Mani sir’s bAni. Sriram has participated and won prizes in several music competitions and performances and has been part of music groups at IIT-Bombay, Lincoln, Nebraska, Columbus, Ohio, and the greater Philadelphia area, including the state of Delaware. He was recognized as the “Teacher of the year” in the year 2019, by Vindhya Cultural Association in Columbus, Ohio. He is actively engaged in providing basic Mridangam training to students and participating in workshops that are aimed at introducing Indian classical music to the North American audience. With a passion to promote Carnatic music and support performing musicians, Sriram currently volunteers for Sruti, The India Music and Dance Society (Philadelphia), as a Director of Resources and Development. He also provides accompaniment for music concerts and dance performances. Professionally, he holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is currently a Global R&D Scientist at FMC Corporation in Newark, Delaware.
