SwaraRagaLaya – the group will perform in St. Louis , Mo, under the aegis of Sangeetha on Feb 06, 2010 at The Mahatma Gandhi Center, Weidman Road, Ballwin, Mo select krithis from the great composer Swati Tirunal and krithis popularized by GN Balasubramanium ( GNB) to our member and invited audience.

‘SwaraRagaLaya ‘- is a unique team of talented children brought up in Midwestern United States, trained in the traditional rendition of Carnatic music by their respective Gurus as well as Sangeetha Vidwans in India. They have an extensive repertoire of kritis by many composers and have taken part in multiple group performance rendered in various Midwestern cities and the Chennai December Season. Members of the group were first introduced to each other through the Sustaining Sampradayam programs of the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. Many of them have been participating in these programs for the past several years and have continued to stay in touch and perform together. The children have established themselves individually as well, but the group has a chemistry which brings elements of passion and excitement in every performance they give, reflecting their strong belief that music is fun!

The artists include:

• Sudarshan Mohan (vocal) – Raleigh, North Carolina
• Anisha Gururaj (vocal) – St. Louis, MO
• Hariharan Ravi (vocal) – Chicago, Illinois
• Chitra Iyer (vocal) – Chicago, Illinois
• Janani Iyer from Aurora, IL
• Shruthi Subramaniam (flute) – Detroit, Michigan
• Shashank Subramaniam (flute) – Detroit, Michigan
• Arthi Nadhan (veena) – Chicago, Illinois
• Athrey Nadhan (mridangam) – Chicago, Illinois

Artistes Bios:

Sudarshan Mohan from Raleigh, North Carolina

Sudarshan, a junior in high school, learns Carnatic vocal music from Gana Kala Vipanchee Sri R. Suryaprakash. Sudarshan also plays Western violin in private string and chamber orchestra. At school he enjoys formal debate and speech. Playing tennis and cricket are his hobbies. Sudarshan aspires to pursue medical research as his career.

Anisha Gururaj from St. Louis, MO

Anisha Gururaj, a junior in St. Louis MO, started learning vocal music at the age of 5 in St. Louis from Smt. Vidya Anand, from whom she continues to learn today.  She also is currently under the tutelage of Smt. Nagamani Srinath and Smt. M.S. Sheela in Bangalore, India.  In St. Louis, Anisha plays the Western Violin in her high school’s advanced Symphonic Orchestra.  She is greatly interested in math and science, performing in math competitions and doing research, and wants to pursue music in addition to her career.

Hariharan Ravi from Naperville, Illinois

Hariharan, a freshman in high school, has been learning vocal music for 7 years. He started learning music at the age of 6 and is currently undergoing advanced training from B.U. Ganesh Prasad. Hariharan has also been learning piano for 8 years and violin for 5 years. He plays the violin in the Concert Strings at his high school. He passionately collects and listens to music by great stalwarts. Hariharan aspires to be a performing musician in addition to a regular career.

Chitra Iyer from Aurora, IL

Chitra Iyer , a junior in high school, was initiated into Carnatic music by Vasanthi Iyerat the age of 5. She continued her learning with Sri R. Suryaprakash and Vidushi S. Sowmya and is currently under the tutelage of the eminent musician, Sangeetha Kala acharya, Smt. Suguna Varadachari.  Chitra also learns Western Violin and was part of elite group in high school orchestra until last year.  She currently performs regularly as part of Protege Philharmonic orchestra, private orchestra in Chicago.  Chitra aspires to continue with her musical journey along with her career.

Janani Iyer from Aurora, IL

A fifth grader, Janani started learning Carnatic music from Vasanthi Iyer before she turned 5 years old. She is continuing her learning with a music professional from India, Sri Vaikam Jayachandran, a direct disciple of T M Tyagararajan. Simultaneously, she is honing her musical talents under the tutelage of Padmabhushan, Sangeetha Kala Acharya, Vidwan Sri P. S. Narayanaswamy. Janani is also part of the chorus group at her school.
She has been learning piano for the last 4 years and she participates in her school band as a flautist. Janani is at home, while performing on stage, and looks forward to being a performing musician.

Shruthi Subramaniam from Farmington Hills, Michigan

Shruthi started learning to play the flute at the age of 7 from Dr. Sunitha Grandhee, a disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. Sri N. Ramani. She is taking additional training from Sri Thiagarajan Ramani (son of Dr. Sri N. Ramani) and Smt. Jayalakshmi Sekhar. Shruthi is currently a sophomore at North Farmington High School, and is also a member of her school’s soccer team. In her spare time, she loves to read and do arts and crafts. Shruthi has always been very interested in math and the sciences, and enjoys being with younger children. Her ambition is to become a pediatrician.

Shashank Subramaniam from Farmington Hills, Michigan

Shashank, a sophomore at North Farmington High School in Michigan, has been learning the flute since the age of 7 from Dr.Sunitha Grandhee, a disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. Dr.  N.Ramani. He currently takes additional training from Sri.R.Thyagarajan (son of Sri. Dr. N. Ramani) and Smt. Jayalakshmi Sekhar. Shashank is on the school soccer team and also a member of various school clubs and committees. Besides soccer, he also plays cricket. Shashank is interested in the Math and Science fields and wishes to pursue a career in either Engineering or Medicine.

Arthi Nadhan from Naperville, IL

Seventh grader Arthi has been learning veenai for five years.  She started her lessons in Naperville and is currently undergoing advanced training under Smt. Jayalakshmy Sekhar and Smt. Karpagham Swaminathan.  Arthi, one of the instrumentalists in this group, supplements her Veena training with Carnatic vocal music training from Smt. Vasanthi Iyer in Chicago.  Arthi is also part of the Honors Chorus at the local middle school and takes piano and tennis lessons as well.  Arthi loves to be with little children and aspires to have a career in the teaching profession.

Athrey Nadhan from Naperville, IL

Athrey, a sophomore now, started learning the art of playing the Mridangam at the age of 5 in Naperville and is currently undergoing advanced training from Srimushnam V. Raja Rao in Chennai.  Athrey, the percussionist in this group, supplements his Mridangam training with Carnatic vocal music training from B.U. Ganesh Prasad.  Athrey plays the Clarinet in the Wind Symphony at the local High School and takes tennis lessons as well.  Athrey  has always been fascinated by the sciences while perceiving a close relationship between Music and Math.  He aspires to be a thought leader in this field.