Dr. Amrutha Viswanath is a physician by profession, and a musician by hobby. She learnt Carnatic music on the veena under Srimathi Kamala Natarajan, a distinguished traditional veena player in New Jersey, and has had some advanced training from flute maestro Shashank. She has given some solo performances as well as played for many dance performances in the tri-state area. She is passionate about music, and teaches veena when time permits.

Mrs. Bhuvana Kannan started learning veena at the age of 11 from Smt.SubadraRamadurai (disciple of Doraisamy iyengar) and advanced training fromTiruvarur Smt. Almelu Ammal and late Tiruvarur S.Balasubramanium(A grade artist Trichy) .Gave mini concert at Thiruvayaru in 1984 at the age of 17.Also she was selected by Tamil Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram, Tamilnadu as a veena artist and was sponsored for many concerts all over Tamilnadu. Also performed veena programs at many places in India, Dubai and USA.

Mrs. Nirupa Paramsothy Kumarasamy is from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. She learned the basics of veena in Sri Lanka and later went to Chennai, India. There, she successfully completed the Sangeetha Vidwan title and earned a Diploma in Music Teaching at Tamil Nadu Government Music College through a 4 year degree. In Sri Lanka, she learned veena under Chithamparam Krishnamoorthy Iyer and his student Mrs. Sarasa Srirajalingam. In India, she learned under Kalpakam Swaminathan, Rajalaksmi Narayanan, as well as, the late Saradha Sivanantham and Vedavalli Thevakotai Narayanan. In the U.S., when time permits, she studies with Professor Subbulakshmi, her daughter, Mrs. Kalyani Ramani and Dr. Bhavani Prakash Rao to further excel her Carnatic expertise. She has been performing as an accompanying artist for many leading artists and has performed several recitals for cultural programs. She is currently one of the Pancha Veena Artists.

Mrs. Sowmya Natarajan had her initial training under Smt. Jayalakshmi, a disciple of Shri Pichumani and later on under the direct guidance of Shri Chittibabu. Her vocal lessons have been from her mother Smt. Kamala Natarajan. Graduated in Chennai; currently an IT Engineer.

Mrs. Saraswathi Chandrashekaran, an ardent music lover had her vocal training from Mrs. Gomathi Sitaram and Sri. Swaminatha Iyer and veena training from Mrs. Shakunthala, Mrs. Kalyani Sharma and later from veena veterans Sri.Narayana Iyengar and Mr. K.S. Narayanaswamy in Bombay and advance lessons from her mother Mrs.Gowri Ramakrishnan in New Jersey. She has given performances in India, Dubai and USA.

Mr Akshay Anantapadmanabhan is performing as a Mridangam accompanist for the last several years in North America and Chennai. He has performed on the Mridangam in numerous concerts and programs in the Tri-state area. You can also visit his website: www.geocities.com/akshaylaya if you would like to listen to an audio or want any other information. He has performed at Sabhas such as Naradha Gana Sabha, Kalarasana, Sri Thyagaraja Brahma Gana Sabha, The Indian Fine Arts etc.

The admission fee

Members $10.00,

Non Members $12.00,

Students with ID $5.00

Venue

Food & Science Auditorium in Rutgers Cook Campus

Click here for Directions