Orchestra

Guru Snigdha Venkataramani is an accomplished Carnatic vocalist and has undergone training under veteran vocalists Padmabhushan Guru Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, Sh. K. Vageesh and Smt. K. Sudha, Smt. Sarada Subramanian and Guru Smt Radhakrishna. She is currently training under the internationally-acclaimed Carnatica Brothers- Sh. K.N. Shashikiran and Chitravina P. Ganesh. She has released two music albums - “SAMARPANAM”, of Carnatic music compositions and “NATYA MANJARI”, which comprises a repertoire for Bharatanatyam dance. Snigdha is also an established Bharatanatyam dancer having trained under Padma Bhushan Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan. A highly sought after vocalist for dance having performed with several senior Gurus and promising youngsters, Snigdha has composed music for several dance productions to critical acclaim. Snigdha was awarded “Smaran Kala Spoorthi” for her years of contribution in multifarious ways to the Indian classical arts. Snigdha teaches Carnatic vocal and Bharatanatyam under her institution ‘Laya Dhwani Academy of Performing Arts’ and her students have won prizes in many prestigious regional and national competitions.

Guru Smt Vaishali Ramachandran is the Artistic Director of Dayananda Kalalayam & has been a Student and performer and teacher of Bharatanatyam for over 30 years. She began her training in Mumbai from Guru Smt Geeta Venkateshwar, then trained with Guru Dr. Padmaja Suresh in Bangalore under whose tutelage she presented her Arangetram. She has also been under the mentorship of Guru Mythili Kumar since 2019. Vaishali has performed in many major dance festivals in India,  Europe and USA and is a resident of Fremont California, USA. She has received appreciation for her performance and was given the title “Arsha Kala Ratna” by Pujiya Swami Dayananda Saraswati and “Kala Sreshta” from SIFA Bay Area. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Bharatanatyam and training in Nattuvangam from Sri D V Prasanna Kumar. 

Hailing from the well-known Embar family, Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan has been a performer for the last 43 years, having accompanied many leading musicians both in US and India, in both music and dance. He is one of the prime disciples of Vidwan Sri Neyveli Narayanan and founder/director of the percussion school Nadhopasana Academy of Fine Arts, where he nurtures the next generation of young talents. Ravi has been a recipient of awards such as the Sangeetha Seva Puraskar award by Kalalaya in 2017, the Prof. T.R. Subrahmanyam Award by the prestigious Cleveland Aradhana in 2023 for Best Teacher and from the Neelakanta Sivan Cultural Academy for his decades of service in propagating Carnatic music in the United States. He was awarded the title ‘Kala Shiromani’ from Kalaanjali Dance Company and Parampara Rakshak by VVS Foundation and Saa Maa Arts. Ravi enjoys bringing the music and dance communities together for various initiatives and many of them through his non- profit organization, Guruvaram Performing Arts.

Guru Vikram Ragukumar had his initial training under violinist Vidwan Guru H.V. Krishnamurthy at Vijaya College of Music, Bangalore. He later pursued intensive training under the able guidance of AIR A grade violinist Vidwan Guru Sri. B. Raghuram. Guru Vikram has performed extensively in India and the USA, as a solo violinist and as an accompanist for Classical music and dance performances. He is currently furthering his understanding of music by training under the guidance of Vidushi Guru Smt. Asha Ramesh. By day, he works as a software engineer in the Bay Area.

Guru Ashwin Krishnakumar is an accomplished classical flute artist who trained under several legendary gurus – Guru Sri A V. Prakash and Guru Sri B. N. Suresh. He was recognized with a scholarship from the Central Govt. Of India (CCRT) to pursue advanced training in the art form. He has performed extensively as a soloist and is a sought-after accompanist for various music and dance performances. He is furthering his musical interests under the guidance of Guru Dr. T. S. Sathyavathi – a renowned musicologist and prime disciple of flute legend Guru Sr. R. K. Srikanthan. Ashwin also teaches his art form to students in the Bay Area.