Vocal - Asha Ramesh

Asha Ramesh, a resident of San Jose, CA, is a highly accomplished vocalist. She is a disciple of Sangeeta Kalanidhi Sri. D. K. Jayaraman and Nanganallur V. Ramanathan. Asha has won several awards in recognition of her immense talent including the Rajaji Memorial Tambura award and the Swaminatha Pillai Memorial Gold Medal. She has composed music for numerous dance productions and for the documentary film “The Visitor” (1997). The titles bestowed upon her include Gana Kala Bhushani, Gana Kala Ratnam, Mathura Isai Vani and Isai Arasi. Asha is also an accomplished Hindustani Bhajan singer. She is one of the few vocalists who excel in both Carnatic and Dance music and has provided vocal support to several Bharathanatyam and Kathak dancers. During the Music Festival of Chennai, 2010, Asha was awarded the Vijayalakshmi Memorial Award for Best Vocalist for Dance by the prestigious Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai.

As a concert musician she has performed frequently in the USA, Canada, India, UK and the Netherlands. Asha is the founder and artistic director of Ragamalika School of Music in San Jose, California since 1992.

Mridangam - Subrahmanyam Sudhakar

Subrahmanyam Sudhakar had his mridangam tutelage from Sri Kumbakonam Narayanaswamy Iyer and then with the Late Sri M.N. Kandaswamy Pillai of the Palani School. He has also trained under Kalaimamani Sri Guruvayur Dorai and Ambathur Babu.

Sudhakar has accompanied several leading musicians and dancers for more than two decades now. Not just a classical percussionist, he is also a Jazz and Rock drummer. He is the founding member of the music group Sonoran Masala, with his wife, Sheila Sudhakar, blending many different musical styles.

Violin - Krishna Kumar

Krishna Kumar was born and brought up in the US and has been playing Carnatic violin for over 35 years. At age 13, he began his initial training with V. Lakshminarayan, father of renowned violinist L. Subramaniam.

Later he continued his advanced training with Viji Krishnan, daughter of Padmabushan T.N. Krishnan. Since 1986, Krishna has accompanied numerous musicians and dancers in California and abroad. His fluency and love for the music is eloquently displayed in his proficiency of playing violin.

Flute - Srivathsa Pasumarthi

Srivathsa Pasumarthi is a seventh generation flautist in his family. His father Pasumarthi Venkataramana and grandfather Late Pasumarthi Viswanatha Rao were flautists and hails from five generations of flautists and flute makers before that. Srivathsa was mostly self taught in the early years and later had his formal initial training from his father. He is currently undergoing advanced training from Sri.J.B.Sruthi Sagar from Chennai, who is adept in playing the instrument in a vocalized fashion. Following his Guru's footsteps, Srivathsa believes in vocalizing flute playing and emphasizes on the importance of sahithya(lyrics). For over a decade, Srivathsa has given many solo performances and has accompanied several dance recitals in India and in the US. Srivathsa is also an AIR B-High graded Mridangam artist and belongs to the prestigious school of Guru Karaikkudi Mani. He is currently working as a research scientist for a Healthcare startup in the Bay area.

Veena - Sheila Sudhakar

Sheila Sudhakar is a disciple of the late Smt. Geetha Bennett. Sheila is also a dancer in her own right, having learnt Bharatanatyam under the late Swamimalai Rajaratnam Pillai of the Vazhuvoor school, in Chennai and also under Mrs. Ramya Harishankar, in Irvine, CA. While maintaining her traditionality, she also likes to explore and experiment with various genres of world music and is a founder member of the music group, Sonoran Masala. On her day job, Sheila is an Internal medicine physician.

Lighting - Bri Pattillo

Bri Pattillo is an International Theater artist and maker, working primarily as a Lighting Designer for themed entertainment and performance.

Bri designed “Fatwa! The Musical”, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, for HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. CalArts Center for New Performance productions include "Try/Step/Trip" and "Rueda" (Havana, Cuba). Bri has designed for Angels Vocal Arts, Padua Playwrights, Chase What Flies, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Diagnostic Theatre Company, 2Cents Theatre Group, The Los Angeles Ballet Academy, Rubicon Theatre Company, and Prospect House Entertainment. Bri has designed concert lighting for Adam Pascal, Jefferson Starship, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Jo Dee Messina, Rosanne Cash, Robby Kreiger of ‘The Doors’, and Lee Rocker of ‘Stray Cats’.

Bri is an Associate Lighting Designer for Six Flags Magic Mountain’s "Fright Fest" and "Holiday in the Park" events. Bri has assisted award-winning Lighting Designers Anne Militello, James F. Ingalls, and Ken Booth, and for Center Theatre Group. Bri interned as an Assistant Lighting Designer on the National Tour of ‘Hamilton’ in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre in 2017.

About Raaga

Hailing from a family of artists and art lovers, dance and music has always been a part of Raaga. Watching her mother and aunt dance, Raaga was eager to learn Bharatanatyam at a very young age. She started her training under her aunt Divya Prabhakar in Bengaluru when she was 4. Raaga began training under Guru Viji Prakash at the age of 6. Shakti instantly felt like home, and Viji Aunty challenged and inspired her to become the dancer she is today. As a part of Shakti Dance Company, Raaga has performed at numerous venues and was fortunate to be a part of the 2019 production 'Meera - Baavari'.

Raaga has also performed extensively with her mother and aunt in both the US and India.

Along with her passion for Bharatanatyam, Raaga also enjoys singing and painting. She learns Carnatic vocal music under Guru Babu Parameswaran. She is also a member of her high school's advanced mixed choir, Irvine Singers. Painting gives her great joy and she loves to dabble in different mediums.

Raaga is a junior at Irvine High School. She plans to study psychology and neuroscience in the future.