About Musicians

Ajay Ravichandran had his initial training in mridangam under Sri V. Srinivasan, in Minneapolis. He went on to learn from Dr. P.K. Swaminathan and has been with Dr. Swaminathan for the last 9 years. Ajay collaborates frequently with jazz musicians, local producers, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi artists in the DC area, and collegiate dance teams. He recently graduated from UMBC with degrees in Biochemistry and Music, and plans to pursue medicine.

Janani Gururam has been learning vocal music from the Jayamangala School of Music since she was 5 years old and is currently under the tutelage of Sri Srikanth and Smt. Paavani Mallajosyula. Janani has also learned Bharathanatyam from Smt. Janaki Sivaraman of the Nrithyashala School of Dance and has participated in several music and dance events in the area. Janani is currently a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Preetha Narayanaswamy is a disciple of Smt. Kamala Aswaththama (Chennai) and has over 20 years of experience on the Veena. She has performed in major Sabhas in Chennai, on Doordarshan, All India Radio-Chennai, and in the US (including the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, Pittsburgh, New York, Phoenix, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in MD and Northern Virginia). She has won awards from several prestigious musical institutions in Chennai and scholarships from the Government of India.

Ranjani Atur is a recent graduate of Georgetown University and is a disciple of Smt. Usha Char and Smt. Sandhya Srinath. Ranjani has accompanied several local and visiting artists and given numerous solo performances across the US and India. She performs regularly in dance programs and Rangapraveshams and is a participant in Nadatarangini, Jayamangala, and Cleveland music festivals where she has won several prizes.

Srividya Sathiyamoorthy is a pathologist by profession and has been learning Indian Classical Carnatic music since the age of 7. She was a student of Mrs. Iyengar in Kolar Gold Fields. Since 2005, she has been a student of Mrs. Jaya Bala of the Jayamangala School of Music. She has attended music workshops with noted musicians and has accompanied Mrs. Jaya in several local performances. She currently is a private music instructor.