Artists

Visalini is a unique combination of a keen dancer and musician from the diaspora. Her Bharatanatyam training began in 1996 at the age of 5 under the tutelage of Guru Ramya Harishankar. Since her arangetram in 2014 she has performed in the US and India, and currently performs solo and with ADC. She is also the primary dance teacher at ADC. She was initiated into Carnatic music by Guru Padma Kutty at the age of 5 and has had the privilege of learning music with Sri Palai Ramachandran. Throughout her teens, her maternal grandfather, late Sri Palakkad Seshamani Iyer (disciple of the legendary G.N. Balasubramaniam) furthered her understanding of the art form. She hails from a family of musicians and dancers, and her maternal great grandfather is the late Sri Palakkad Rama Bhagavatar.

Visalini was placed first at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Music Competition in 2007 and has been teaching Carnatic music in Southern California for the last 15 years. This year, she has received the ACTA Master/Apprenticeship grant to work on a program combining both her talents.

Shubha, a highly sought-after mridangist in Southern California, is one of only a handful of performing female mridangam artists in the world. She has been giving mridangam accompaniment to several well-known musicians and dancers around the US, Canada, and India. Having been a Bharatanatyam dancer herself with ADC as well as an accomplished Carnatic vocalist, Shubha’s unique accompanying style incorporates her Bharatanatyam and vocal training to

deliver a scintillating musical experience. An MBA graduate from Boston University, Shubha currently resides in Los Angeles and works in Strategic Planning & Finance.

Kiran began his violin training at the age of 9 with Sri. Krishna Kutty and is currently a disciple of violin Maestro Sri Delhi P. Sunderrajan. He began learning vocals with his grandmother Smt. Vatsala Parthasarathy and continued with Smt. Padma Kutty for a couple years before he began his violin training. He has accompanied many vocalists, given solo performances, and has played for numerous Arangetrams in the US and India. A recipient of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) scholarship in 2008, Kiran was recognized by 12th Council District City of Los Angeles 2016 for promoting the Arts. Kiran has a MPH from University of Southern California and currently works at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

A composer, producer, and keyboardist based out of Los Angeles, CA, Aashray's musical foundations lie in Carnatic music, which he learned on the keyboard under the guidance of guru Sri N. Muralikrishnan. As a pianist/composer, he has performed with the jazz collective ‘In the Works’ and reggae-rock band ‘Light Warriors’ while he earned his B.A. in Music & Technology from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, in 2018. More recently, he completed his MFA as a Performer-Composer at CalArts in Valencia, CA. He continues to strive for innovation in the art of creating immersive experiences through audiovisual media. His current endeavors seek to utilize the full potential of a new experimental keyboard, the ROLI Seaboard, intersecting it with his cultural background and with new music and sound creation.

Ankith started learning Carnatic flute at the age of 9 from Prof. K. R. Subramanyam and later from Smt. Bhagyalakshmi - both senior disciples of Carnatic flute legend Maestro Sri. N. Ramani. He had the privilege of learning from the legendary Sri. Ramani himself over 2 summers. Ankith is learning Carnatic saxophone under the guidance of Sri G Ramanathan, a senior disciple of Saxophone legend Sri Kadri S. Gopalanath. He performed his arangetram in Carnatic flute and saxophone in 2016 and continues to accompany Phoenix valley musicians and dancers. He is also an accomplished guitarist and has accompanied established musicians on major events around the USA. Ankith has a Master’s degree in cyber security from Arizona State University and currently works at Intel as an Information Security Engineer.