Voices and instruments ensemble
Vocals, Veena, Mridangam, Ghatam, Khanjeera, Morsing
Ananya Ashok
Violinist TBA
Rohan Krishnamurthy
Balaji Chandran
Ananya Ashok is a Carnatic vocalist who is now training with Sangita Kalanidhi Madurai TN Seshagopalan. She initially trained with the violinist Set Anuradha Sridhar, the daughter and disciple of Lalgudi Srimathi Brahmanandam. With the guidance of her gurus, Ananya has performed in major venues in India and abroad. He has been featured in Doordarshan and Podhigai TV. An A-graded artist of All India Radio, Ananya has also studied Hindustani vocal music from the violinist Set. Kala Ramnath. Ananya is an accomplished vainika and is a graded artist in Veena at All India Radio Chennai. She is a recipient of the ACTA music fellowship instituted by the state of California for Veena study.
Indian-American drummer and composer Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy imagines new artistic intersections to bridge diverse cultures and traditions. Acclaimed a “musical ambassador” by The Times of India, Rohan received mridangam training from maestro Sri. Guruvayur Dorai in India. Rohan’s prolific artistry also explores the intersections of Indian percussion and drum set. He studied drum set with Alan Hall at the California Jazz Conservatory. Rohan has performed internationally with the leading artists of Indian classical music and led numerous cross-genre collaborations. His latest crossover work is The Alaya Project, which bridges the worlds of Carnatic music and contemporary jazz and funk. Rohan received a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music in New York. He has taught at renowned institutions, including Eastman, Harvard, Berklee College of Music, A.R. Rehman’s K.M. Conservatory of Music, Munich Conservatory, Kyoto University, and Percussive Arts Society. He directs the RohanRhythm Percussion Studio, which has attracted dozens of students from around the globe. Rohan recently received grants to study tabla with maestro Pt. Swapan Chaudhuri at the Ali Akbar College of Music and explore the crossover between the techniques and repertoire of the mridangam and tabla. An innovator, he patented the RohanRhythm drum tuning system, which is available worldwide.
Balaji Chandran started his Carnatic percussion studies in Mridhangam under Sri.Kovai Mani and Sri. Kadayanallur Narayana Iyer. He is a disciple of Sri.Ghatam V.Suresh from whom he learns Ghatam. He brings with him an energetic style of playing the Ghatam bestowed upon him by his guru. He has provided his percussive support to many artists in America, Canada and in India. He has performed in prestigious venues like Music Academy – Chennai, Naradha Ghana Sabha, and other illustrious venues. He considers himself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to lend support to stalwarts and stars of current generation. He has been part of the Cleveland Aradhana festivities and Thyagaraja Aradhana celebrations in Minnesota, USA for the past 14 years. He has been featured in TPT Television and KFAI Radio. He has collaborated with St.Olaf Collage Jazz band and “Brass Kings” an American Blue Grass Jazz band. He is also adept in playing the Kanjira and Morsing. He has also lent percussive support to many Bharathanatyam Arengetrams and dance productions.
