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Ensemble Profile

                      

Mridangam: Vid. Shri. Sanjeev Palamand
Nattuvanga: Guru. Smt. Vidyalatha Jeerage
Singer: Vid. Shruthi Aravindan
Violin: Vid. Shri. Susheela Narasimhan
Flute: Vid. Shri. Tejasvi Chakravarthy
Rhythms: Vid. Shri. Akshara Raghu
 

Shruthi Aravindan (Singer)

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Shruthi Aravindan has studied Carnatic music for over 20 years and has performed multiple full-length concerts and kutcheris in the US and in India. Shruthi has provided vocal support for many dance arangetrams and rangepravesams, in addition to multiple productions and programs.
 
Shruthi has also pursued Bharathanatyam dance training for over 20 years. She successfully completed her Bharathanatyam arangetram in August 2008 at the age of 10. Since then, she has been an ardent performer, instructor, and budding composer. Shruthi’s expertise in dance, music, and rhythm gives her a unique vantage point to synthesize these multiple disciplines in her creative explorations.
 
Shruthi is the founder and artistic director of Akruthi Performing Arts, a Carnatic Vocal and Bharathanatyam school based in San Jose, California. Shruthi currently works as a Senior Systems Engineer at Guardant Health.

Sanjeev Palamand (Mridanga)

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Susheela Narasimhan ( Violin)

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Tejasvi Chakravarthy (Flute)

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Akshara Raghu

Akshara Raghu

"Sanjeev Palamand hails from a family with rich cultural heritage in Bengaluru, India and currently resides in the SF Bay Area. He is a disciple of world renowned maestro Guru Shri Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma and was initiated into the art form by Shri Chintalapalli Ashwathnarayan.

 

A regular performer on the Mridanga, Sanjeev is a sought-after musician for music concerts, dance recitals, recordings and jugalbandis. He has performed at many prestigious venues with eminent artists in India and North America. Alongside the Mridanga, Sanjeev is also well adept with the Konnakkol, Khanjira, World Percussion and Keyboard.He is a music composer and has arranged music for ensembles, concerts, TV shows, live theater and short films. In 2023, his album ‘Anubhavam’ was featured in the San Francisco Public Library music charts and he is the first Indian artist to be featured in it.

Sanjeev works as a Software Engineer in a cyber security firm and balances out his passion for both music and tech.”


 
Mr Narasimhan learnt violin from Sri H.K. Venkatram in Shimoga for about a year and later on from Sri H.K. Narasimha Murthy for about 6-7 years in Mysore. He has played for many concerts in the bay area.  He also teaches violin in the Bay area and has produced good students who are now playing for concerts in the Bay area.  He has composed many Pallavis on Lord Raghavendra Swamy and runs a Melakartha Pallavi Concert Series.  He has also given lecture demonstrations on California Arts Association Television on violin playing.  He has composed many Thillanas ,Pallavis , Jathiswarams and Varnams.  He has also developed new ragas like KarunaPriya, PADMA , etc .   He has a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering and works as a Lead Thermal Engineer for Nvidia.


Tejasvi Chakravarthy is one of the most sought-after flautists in the vibrant Bay Area music scene. His performances have made him a cherished collaborator among musicians and a regular presence in prestigious dance recitals throughout the Bay Area, Pacific Northwest, and various cities across the USA and Canada.
Guided by Smt. Madhura and Shri S.A. Shashidhar during his initial training, Tejasvi's passion for his craft led him to pursue advanced instruction from  Shri V.K. Raman, who is a well known figure in the Carnatic style of flute playing.
In addition to Flute, Tejasvi’s thirst for exploring various instruments  has helped him learn a bit about the art of drumming and honing his skills on the saxophone.
Currently serving as a Hardware Systems Engineer at Meta platforms, he combines his passion for music with his interests in technology.


Akshara Raghu is a Drummer and a Percussionist from Bengaluru and has recently moved to the Bay Area. He started learning Mridangam under the tutelage of Vid. Dr. HS Venkatesh and Drums under Sri Babu Sukumar. He is currently getting advanced training from Vid. Sri Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma and Vid. Arun Kumar. He has completed 8 Grades in Drum Kit from Trinity college of music, London and has performed hundreds of live concerts across India in various genres of music such as Carnatic Classical, Fusion, Folk and Film music. He has graced the stage alongside renowned artists including Vijayprakash, Hariharan, Mani Sharma, Sunitha Upadhrastha, Ajay Warriar and Shamita Malnad to name a few.
He is currently working as a Solutions Specialist and continues to perform for live concerts, dance rangapraveshas and recordings in the US.

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