Details
A musical event featuring Vignesh Thyagarajan on Violin, Ajay Gopi on Mridangam, Sindhu Natarajan on Carnatic Vocals, Saneyee Purandare Bhattacharjee on Hindustani Vocals, Narendra Joshi on Harmonium, and Amod Dandawate on Tabla.
Sindhu Natarajan
To is a vocalist and composer, who hails from a distinguished musical lineage. She began her formal training in Carnatic music under the tutelage of her aunts, Vasanthi Kannan and Raji Gopalakrishnan, and her grandfather, P.V. Natarajan. Additionally, she studied Bharatanatyam under Mythili Kumar of Abhinaya Dance Company in San Jose.
Over the past fifteen years, Sindhu has enthralled Bay Area audiences with her captivating vocal performances. Beyond her solo endeavors, she has composed music for and collaborated with prominent South Asian dance companies and choreographers nationwide. Sindhu is also a prolific independent composer, passionately creating music that seamlessly blends the intricate nuances of Carnatic music with various genres.
A dedicated advocate for immigrant artists, Sindhu serves on the advisory board of The Immigrant Artist Network, where she helps foster a sense of community and empowers fellow creatives to share their unique perspectives. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.
Mridangam: Ajay Gopi
Ajay is a disciple of his father Sri Gopi Lakshminarayanan and Sri Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar, frequently accompanies both young and seasoned musicians in renowned organizations across the USA and India on the mridangam. In addition to accompaniment, Ajay also gives Carnatic Vocal concerts and he is currently under the guidance of Sri. Kolkata Vijayaraghavan. Ajay is a graduate of UC Berkeley and is a founder of Laya of Berkeley and RagaN, organizations with a focus on spreading appreciation for Carnatic Music to a wider audience.
Violin: Vignesh Thyagarajan
Vignesh Thyagarajan– He is a disciple of Vidwan Delhi Sri P. Sunderrajan and has been under the tutelage of his Guru for 17 years. He had his initial training under his mother Smt. Rama Thyagarajan and Sri Susheela Narasimhan.
Vignesh is a direct B-High grade artist of All India Radio (AIR), Chennai, India. He has regularly accompanied in the Chennai December Music season concerts since 2012 in leading sabhas including in the prestigious Madras Music Academy from 2016.
He has performed widely throughout the USA and India, in various states for chamber concerts and festivals. Vignesh has performed numerous solos and provided violin accompaniment to many USA artists and visiting artists from India. He has been giving Violin Duets with his sister Aparna Thyagarajan across USA, India and online social media platforms. Vignesh has had the privilege of accompanying his Guru, Vidwan Delhi Sri P. Sunderrajan, in multiple concerts as violin support and violin accompaniment.
Hindustani Vocalist: Sanayee Purandare
Saneyee Purandare Bhattacharjee began her musical education at the age of six under the tutelage of Smt. Prabha Bakshi in Pune. After moving to America at the age of 16, she continued learning with Smt. Usha Sathe for a few years and then with Pt. Arun Dravid for a short while in Orange County. In 2011 she became a disciple of Vidushi Padma Talwalkar and has been under her guidance, and then the guidance of her senior disciple Yashaswi Sirpotdar since 2016. She also seeks guidance from Shri Srijan Deshpande and Smt. Shambhavi Dandekar.
In 2013 she founded the Swaraswati School of Music in the Bay Area, California, to spread and nurture the love for Indian Classical Music among students. She teaches a thriving community of students, organizes Baithaks of upcoming and established artists, and workshops by visiting Gurus.
As a performer, Saneyee has been featured in several public and private events in India and USA, like the San Jose-Pune Sister Cities Foundation, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, concerts by the India Community center, Rangmanch Theater with a Cause, the BMM 2024 convention in San Jose, to name a few.
She regularly composes musical pieces for Kathak artists and accompanies them on stage, like with Shambhavi’s international school of Kathak, and the Chitresh Das Institute. She has also been featured on Bolly 92.3 fm in a segment on semi classical film music.
Along with nurturing classical traditions, Saneyee also enjoys collaborating with other world musicians to create an eclectic fusion of music.
Saneyee holds a degree in journalism, and also enjoys writing. She lives in Dublin, California with her husband and two kids.
Tabla: Amod Dandawate
Amod Dandawate's training has primarily been in the Farrukhabad style of Tabla playing. Before migrating to the USA, he was in Hyderabad, India where he was groomed by his father Dr. Vasantrao Dandawate, a disciple of the legendary Maestro Ustad Amir Hussain Khan. He received further guidance and encouragement from Shafaat Khan as an accompanist and then spent some time taking lessons from Ustad Zakir Hussain. He has been receiving advanced training, since 2001, as a disciple of Pt. Samir Chatterjee, a well known maestro of the Farrukhabad gharana. Besides performing solo Tabla, Amod has accompanied several eminent artists and keeps a busy performance schedule. Amod also hold a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.
Harmonium: Narendra Joshi
Narendra Joshi was initiated into music (and Harmonium) by his Mother, in his early childhood. After that, he honed his Harmonium skills by himself. He was greatly influenced by Harmonium playing and performance of Dr. Vidhadhar Oak, a well-known Harmonium player from Mumbai.
Narendra has accompanied several classical vocal artistes in Bay area and in India: Suparna Dangi, Saneyee Purandare, Nachiketa Sharma, Shubhangi Sakhalkar, Madhuvanti Bhide, Sandeep Ranade and Suruchi Herlekar to name a few. He provides accompaniment for Ghazal and light vocal concerts as well.