NCYCAC 2018: 9th Annual Music Festival

About Triangle Down Syndrome Network

Triangle Down Syndrome Network is a nonprofit support, resource and advocacy organization serving individuals, families and professionals. Our Mission is to empower, connect and support parents of children with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

Down Syndrome is a Chromosomal condition where a person possesses an extra copy of Chromosome 21. This alters one's course of development and one's physical and mental characteristics. The vision of TDSN is to empower individuals or families with children who have Down Syndrome and be a comprehensive resource on Down Syndrome for North Carolina. 

Saturday September 1st

Sunday September 2nd

           
Performance Accompanists Time
Smt. Geetha Ganesh School of Music Sriya Venkat - Violin
Siddharth Rajaraman - Mridangam 		10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
Ragasudha School - Vocal and Instrumental (Sri Palghat Sridhar) Krithin Visvesh - Mridangam 10:30 AM - 10:55 AM
Hrishikesh Ram Pranav Krishnakumar - Violin
Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam		 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Fundraising Pitch 11:15 AM - 11:25 AM
Shreyas Ashok Sharada Krishnan - Violin
Srikar Chittari - Mridangam		 11:25 AM - 12:25 PM
Lunch 12:25 PM - 12:55 PM
Sai Shruthi Laya Music School (Smt. Divya Jandhyala) Siddharth Rajaraman - Mridangam 12:55 PM - 1:10 PM
Namrata Rajaraman Srian Pedibhotla - Violin
Siddharth Gadepalli - Mridangam		 1:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Aishwarya Balaji Sriya Venkat - Violin
Kartik Nagaraj - Mridangam		 1:35 PM - 1:50 PM
Vishal Varadarajan Akhil Pramod - Violin
Siddharth Rajaraman - Mridangam		 1:55 PM - 2:02 PM
Ahana Chellamani Akhil Pramod - Violin
Krithin Visvesh - Mridangam		 2:03 PM - 2:10 PM
Srinath Iyer Akhil Pramod - Violin
Krithin Visvesh - Mridangam		 2:11 PM - 2:18 PM
Sanjana Sundhar (Keyboard) Krithin Visvesh - Mridangam 2:19 PM - 2:26 PM
Akhil Pramod (Violin) Krithin Visvesh - Mridangam 2:27 PM - 2:34 PM
Fundraising Pitch 2:34 PM - 2:40 PM
Prashanth Iyer Vinithra Sudhakar - Violin
Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam		 2:40 PM - 2:55 PM
Laasya School of Music
(Smt. Ranganayaki Rajan)		 Raj Krishnamurthy - Mridangam 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
Svetak Sundhar (Flute) Srian Pedibhotla - Violin
Nishant Sura - Mridangam		 3:20 PM - 3:35 PM
Smt. Vrinda Acharya Workshop Students Kartik Nagaraj - Mridangam 3:40 PM - 3:55 PM
Pranav Krishnakumar (Violin) Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam 4:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Sampoorna Fine Arts
(Smt. Subha Sundarajan)		Samarth Rao - Mridangam 4:20 PM - 4:45 PM
Sreeram Venkat Sanjith Narayanan - Violin
Kapil Ramanarayanan - Mridangam		 4:50 PM - 5:20 PM
Fundraising Pitch 5:20 PM - 5:25 PM
Apoorva Das Madhu Vadlamani - Violin
Visrut Sudhakar - Mridangam
Samarth Rao - Kanjira		 5:25 PM - 6:25 PM
Dinner 6:25 PM - 6:55 PM
SRK School of Music - Violin (Smt. Seetha and Ranjani Ramakrishnan) Visrut Sudhakar - Mridangam
Samyuktha Sreeram - Ghatam		 6:55 PM - 7:20 PM
Fundraising Pitch 7:20 PM - 7:30 PM
Shreyas Bharadwaj (Flute) Bhargav Tumkur - Violin
Vishvak Kumaran - Mridangam
Samyuktha Sreeram - Ghatam		 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
       
Performance Accompanists Time
Maadhurya School of Music
(Smt. Varuni Ravinder)		 Raj Krishnamurthy - Mridangam 10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
Smt. Mytreyi Shastri Aravind School of Music Samarth Rao - Mridangam 10:30 AM - 10:55 AM
Sriya Venkat Pranav Krishnakumar - Violin
Kartik Nagaraj - Mridangam		 11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
Gayathri Raghavendra Siddharth Gaddepalli - Mridangam
Samyuktha Sreeram - Ghatam		 11:20 AM - 11:50 AM
Fundraising Pitch 11:50 AM - 11:55 AM
Shreyaa SrinivasanBhargav Tumkur - Violin
Kapil Ramanarayanan - Mridangam		11:55 AM - 12:55 PM
Lunch 12:55 PM - 1:25 PM
Nadopasana School of Music
(Smt. Mathangi Shankar)		 Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam 1:25 PM - 1:50 PM
Siri Rao Srian Pedibhotla - Violin
Siddharth Gadepalli - Mridangam		 1:53 PM - 2:08 PM
Mahathi Sundarajan Sriya Venkat - Violin
Kartik Nagaraj - Mridangam		 2:11 PM - 2:18 PM
Nithya Indlamuri Sriya Venkat - Violin
Kartik Nagaraj - Mridangam		 2:19 PM - 2:26 PM
Saadhvi G. Mamidi Srian Pedibhotla - Violin
Nishant Sura - Mridangam		 2:27 PM - 2:34 PM
Sai Saranya Varanasi Srian Pedibhotla - Violin
Nishant Sura - Mridangam		 2:35 PM - 2:42 PM
Smriti Sridharan (Veena) Siddharth Gadepalli - Mridangam
 2:47 PM - 3:02 PM
Smt. Mallika Mantravadi School Nikhil Jayanty - Mridangam 3:05 PM - 3:15 PM
Vinithra Sudhakar (Violin) Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam
 3:20 PM - 3:35 PM
Natyarpana School of Music (Smt. Ramya Kapadia) Nishant Sura - Mridangam 3:40 PM - 3:50 PM
Shruthi and Shwetha Kunjur Sanjith Narayanan - Violin
Nikhil Sathyanathan - Mridangam		 3:52 PM - 4:22 PM
Divya Nataraj Vinithra Sudhakar - Violin
Samarth Rao - Mridangam		 4:27 PM - 4:42 PM
Manasi Krishnakumar Sanjith Narayanan - Violin
Visrut Sudhakar - Mridangam		 4:45 PM - 5:15 PM
Fundraising Pitch 5:15 PM - 5:20 PM
Madhu Vadlamani Srikar Chittari - Mridangam
Samyuktha Sreeram - Ghatam		 5:20 PM - 6:20 PM
Dinner 6:20 PM - 6:50 PM
Laya Sinchana School of Music
(Sri Sudhindra Rao)		 6:50 PM - 7:15 PM
Fundraising Pitch 7:15 PM - 7:25 PM
Sai Sisters Sharada Krishnan - Violin
Vishvak Kumaran - Mridangam 		7:25 PM - 8:25 PM
Vote of Thanks 8:25 PM - 8:30 PM

Meet our 2018 Artists

Artist Bio
Ahana Chellamani Ahana Chellamani is a rising 8th grader at Carnage Middle School. She has been learning Carnatic music for over 9 years under the tutelage of Smt Subha Sundararajan. Ahana is also augmenting her Carnatic music experience by being trained under Guru Shri K N Raghu. Apart from music, Ahana is also interested in sports, chorus and baking.
Aishwarya Balaji Aishwarya Balaji is a rising tenth grader and has been learning Carnatic Music since the tender age of four. She is classically trained by her guru Smt. Subha Sundar and by her guru's guru Sri K.N. Raghu. She has participated in several music programs such as NCYCAC, Swaralaya, and other local events. Apart from music, she is also learning Bharathanatyam.
Akhil Pramod Akhil is a 8th grader at Davis Drive Middle School. He has been learning Violin for the past 7 years. He has learnt from Sri. Vikram Raghukumar, and currently learning from Sri. Palghat Sridhar. Akhil has accompanied many singers in the local events and also performed at Detroit Marghazhi festival.
Apoorva Das Apoorva Das has been learning Carnatic Music since the age of 5, receiving advanced training from Vidushi Smt. Rajarajeshwary Bhat, Vidushi Smt. Shyamala Venkateshawran and Vidwan Sri Nagai Muralidharan. She has attended the Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival for the past 7 years and won several prizes, including the prestigious concert competition in 2016. She has performed widely across the USA, India, and Australia. In 2016, she was fortunate enough to perform at the Nada Neerajanam program at the Tirumala Tirpuati Devasthanam.
Divya Nataraj Divya Nataraj is a junior at Green Hope High School. Divya has been learning Carnatic music for 12 years. She is a student of Sampoorna Fine Arts where she learns from gurus Sri. K.N Raghu and Smt. Subha Sundarajan, and she has also learnt from guru Smt. Vatsala Sampathkumar of Bangalore. Divya has participated in the Sustaining Sampradaya program with Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, and has performed at events organized by NCYCAC, SIFAA, Swaralaya, and other local Raleigh events. Divya plays the violin in her school orchestra and also plays the piano.
Gayathri Raghavendra Gayathri Raghavendra is a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill. She started her Carnatic veena training under Smt. Subha Sridharan. She now learns from Smt. Kalyani Ganesan in Chennai. She has been learning Carnatic vocal and veena for the past 11 years and has performed extensively around the area and has won prizes at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana.
Hrishikesh Ram Hrishikesh Ram is a sophomore at Enloe High School. He initially learnt from Smt. Varuni Ravinder, and is currently a student of Vid. Sri BU Ganesh Prasad.
Kapil Ramanarayanan Kapil Ramanarayanan is a rising first-year at UNC Chapel Hill. He has been learning mridangam for almost 13 years and is currently under the tutelage of Vidwan Bangalore Sri Arjun Kumar. He has performed in India and around the US and has won multiple prizes at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana for both Percussion Solo and Accompaniment. He has also learned Western Violin for over 13 years and also beatboxes.
Kartik Nagaraj No bio provided
Kritin Visvesh Krithin, a rising 5th grader in Fuller has been learning mirudangam from Shri.Sudhindra Rao for about 4 years . He has played in NCYCAC, NC Tyagaraja aradhana, ICMDS, Swaralaya and layasinchana's concerts and percussion ensembles. With his guru's blessings, he looks forward for more such opportunities in the future.
Madhu Vadlamani Madhu (Ganesh) Vadlamani is a senior studying at UNC-Chapel Hill, pursuing a Major in Computer Science and Minor in Astronomy and Statistics. His initial training started in vocal from his aunt Smt. Sujana Parupalli at the age of 6. He later switched to violin and is currently under the tutelage of Smt. Seetha Ramakrishnan and Smt. Ranjani Ramakrishnan. He has won many prestigious awards at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and in India.
Mahathi Sundarajan Mahathi Sundarajan is a rising sixth grader at Sterling Montessori Academy and Charter School. She started learning music from her mother Smt. Subha Sundarajan at the age of four. She also plays the violin with her initial training under her grandfather Sri. K. N. Raghu and continues lessons from Smt. Padma Shankar. She is an avid reader and enjoys drawing and painting as well.
Maitreyi Sivaraman Maitreyi Sivaraman is a rising freshman at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She has been under the tutelage of Seetha Ramakrishnan and Ranjani Ramakrishnan for about 6 years. She has played for various events and programs locally and has participated in the Cleveland Aradhana as well.
Manasi Krishnakumar Manasi Krishnakumar is a rising senior at Panther Creek High School. She began her vocal training under the tutelage of Smt. Mathangi Shankar of Cary, NC. She is currently under the training of Smt. Chaitrra Sairam, disciple of Vidushri Bombay Jayashri and Ramya Kapadia of Natyarpana School of Music.
Namrata Rajaraman Namrata is from the Sampoorna Fine Arts school and has been learning Carnatic vocal with Smt Subha Sundar for 13 years. She has also been learning from Sri. K.N.Raghu for the past 4 years. She is a senior at Enloe High School.
Nikhil Jayanty No bio provided
Nikhil Sathyanathan Nikhil Sathyanathan is an incoming freshman at Naperville North High School. He was introduced to the art of playing the Mridangam, six years ago, by Guru Sri. Rajesh Salem of Illinois. Presently Nikhil continues his advance MridAngam training from Kalaimamani Sri Guruvayur Dorai. Nikhil has accompanied on the Mridangam in several music organizations and youth festivals such as Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana , Icarnatic etc. He recently received first prize in the Junior Mridangam accompaniment category at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. Nikhil also learns vocal music from Guru Sri V.K Arunkumar.
Nishant Sura Nishant Sura learnnig Mridangam from Sri Guru Sudhindra Rao (Layasinchana). Nishant also plays Kohl, Harmonium, Kartal.
Nithya Indlamuri Nithya Indlamuri is a 8th grader attending Cardinal Charter Academy. She is currently learning Carnatic music from Smt. Mathangi Shankar. Alongside music, she is passionate about art, poetry, tennis, playback singing and volunteering.
Pranav Krishnakumar Pranav is a Sophomore at Panther Creek High School. He started learning violin from Shri Vikram Ragukumar and currently learns from Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy. He also learns Western Violin and is a part of both the Duke Youth Symphony and the Philharmonic Association orchestras
Prashanth Iyer Prashanth Iyer is currently a student of Smt.Ranjani Ramakrishnan. He has been performing at NCYCAC for the past 7 years. In addition to Carnatic vocal music, he learns Western classical piano and guitar. He is very interested in the fusion of different genres of music. He is a junior at UNC Chapel-Hill and is pursuing a degree in Computer Science.
Raj Krishnamurthy Raj Krishnamurthy is an 8th grader at Carnage Middle School. He has been learning Mridangam since age 7 from Sudhindra Rao. Recently he has been blessed to also learn from J Saidath of Puttaparthi, disciple of Palghat Mani Iyer.
Saadhvi G. Mamidi Saadhvi Mamidi has been studying Carnatic music for a little over 9 years. She is currently being taught by guru Mathangi Shankar at Nadopasana school of Music. She has performed at NCYAC, local religious and cultural events at SV temple, basant bahar, etc. Saadhvi is part of swaranjali, a bhajan group at Chinmaya Mission.
Sai Saranya Varanasi Sai Saranya Varanasi is a 5th Grader at Jesse Wharton Elementary School in Greensboro, NC. Saranya was initiated into Carnatic Music by Smt. Mallika Manthravadi of Nadasudha School of Music in Greensboro, NC. Mallika is a disciple of the Late Sri Poruri Lakshmi Narasimharao and Smt. Manda Vijayakumari, and is currently continuing her tutelage under Sri Rangachari Venkataraman.
Sai Sisters Sai Sisters (Kiran and Nivi) are currently diciples of Sri. Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna, and “Sangeetha Seva Ratna” Dr. C. M. Venkatachalam. They are also layam disciples of “Nada Oli” Sri Melakkaveri K Balaji. They had the great privilege to be under the tutelage of “Sangeetha Shironmani” Smt. Gayathri Venkataraghavan for four years. Sai Sisters have given multiple concerts in USA and India in December Season.
Saketha Pantula Saketha Pantula is a young musician from Maryland. He learns vocal from Dr. Pantula Rama and violin from Sri MSN Murthy. He has performed in concerts around the US, Canada and India. He has won first place at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Concert Competition and is a freshman at University of Maryland.
Samarth Rao Samarth Rao started learning Mrudangam at very young age from his father Shri Sudhindra Rao and Khanjira from Vidwan.Shri. Bangalore N Amrit. Samarth has performed at iCarnatic Summer festival in Chicago & iCarnatic Margazhi Festival in Detroit. Also he has performed at Yuva Sangeetha Lahari and Brindavani, an annual youth festival at New Jersey. Samarth has been accompanying Junior and Senior artists on Khanjira at various Music sabhas in the US and Bangalore. Samarth Rao is a rising 10th grader at Enloe High school Raleigh NC.
Samyuktha Sreeram Samyuktha Sreeram is a rising 11th grader at Briar Woods High School in Virginia. She learns ghatam percussion from Sangita Kala Acharya Sri TH Subash Chandran and carnatic vocal music from Kalaimamani Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran. Samyu has won awards at Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and from the VVSF Foundation in Chennai. She was selected as an IndianRaga Fellow in 2017. Samyuktha is also on the board of Brindavani, a not-for-profit youth-run charity organization.
Sanjana Sundhar Sanjana Sundhar is a Junior at Green Hope High School. She is a student of the Western Piano for 9 years. She is currently learning Carnatic music on the keyboard from Mr. Hari Krishnan. In addition, she is a student of Carnatic Vocal and Bharatanatyam. Her accomplishments include - 2018 Finalist of the Indian Raga Fellowship program, Carnatic vocal solo performance at NC Raga Revival, Wake County PTA award for music composition.
Sharada Krishnan Sharada Krishnan has been playing the violin since the age of 5, and is a disciple of Sri Vittal Ramamurthy and Sri Lalgudi GJR Krishnan. She is the president and co-founder of Brindavani, a NJ-based nonprofit organization that strives to unite the Carnatic community under the values of musicianship, service, and societal engagement, and to provide opportunities for young North American musicians to perform, learn, interact, and take leadership. Originally from NJ, Sharada is a junior at the University of Southern California, where she is studying occupational therapy and education.
Shreyaa Srinivasan Shreyaa Srinivasan is a Junior in Montgomery High School. She has been learning Carnatic vocal from Smt. Kalyani Ramani, NJ for eight years. Presently she is learning under Smt. Suguna Varadachari. She has participated in several music competitions conducted by CMANA, NJ and Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, Some noteworthy awards are Junior Musician title from CMANA in 2016, Gaayika Yuva Bharathi award from Sringeri Vidya Bharathi Foundation in 2016 and Concert competition winner in 2017. She has been performing concerts in and around New Jersey and recently performed a few in Chennai last December. She is extremely grateful to her teachers for their dedicated guidance in shaping her up to this level.
Shreyas Ashok Shreyas is a junior at NC State University, studying Mechanical Engineering. He has been learning Carnatic music for over 13 years. Currently, he is a student of Gana Kala Vipanchi Sri. R Suryaprakash, and received initial training from Smt. Mathangi Shankar. Shreyas has performed in various music festivals across the US, including Margazhi in Detroit, SRGMPDN, and NCYCAC. He recently gave a performance in SIFAA as one of the 2017 Advanced Competition Winners.
Shreyas Bharadwaj Shreyas Bharadwaj began his flute journey under the tutelage of Shri Mohan Rangan Govindaraj, disciple of Sangeetha Kalaratna Vidwan Shri H.V. Krishnamurthy. He has won several prizes and awards including the Best Instrumentalist of North America, Yuva Sangeetha Samrat in 2015 and the Neelakantan Sivan Young Artist award in 2016. Shreyas performs regularly in various Sabhas across North America, Chennai, and Bangalore. He is a rising Senior at Monta Vista High school.
Shruthi and Shwetha Kunjur Shruthi and Shwetha Kunjur started learning carnatic vocal at a very young age from Smt.Varuni Ravinder and have been under the tutelage of Smt. Mytreyi Sastry Aravind for the past four years. They have performed at NCYCAC, Swaralaya and several local events in the Triangle area. Apart from carnatic vocal, they also learn piano and play violin in school orchestra.
Siddharth Gadepalli Siddharth is a freshman at NC State University studying Business Administration. He has been learning mridangam for the past ten years as a part of the Laya Sinchana School of Percussion under Shri Sudhindra Rao, and has recently started taking advanced lessons under Shri HS Sudhindra in Bangalore.
Siddharth Rajaraman Siddharth is a freshman at Enloe High School. He has been learning Mridangam under Sri Sudhindra Rao for the past 5 years with the Laya Sinchana School. He also has been learning Carnatic violin under Sri Palghat Sridhar for the past 3 years. He has performed in NCYCAC, Swaralaya, SIFAA and several other venues.
Siri Rao Siri Rao has been learning Carnatic vocal from a very young age from Smt. Varuni Ravinder and now she is taking advanced lessons from Vid. Smt. Sreeranjini Kodampally. She is also learning Violin from Shri. PK Sridhar and is learning Mridangam and Konnakol from her father Shri. Sudhindra Rao. Siri has given vocal performances at many Sabhas in the US and Bangalore. Siri is a 9th grader at Enloe High School.
Smriti Sridharan Smriti is a 10th grader at Raleigh Charter High School. She started learning the Veena from her mom, Smt.Subha Sridharan and now is under the tutelage of senior Vidushi Smt. Kalyani Ganesan. She also learns vocal lessons from Smt. Vrinda Acharya. Smriti is a winner at the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana competitions 2017 and 2018 for veena and won first place in Kriti and second place in alapana. She is also a first place winner at the 2017 SIFAA - NC carnatic music competitions in the advanced category. Smriti also plays western violin and is part of the Triangle Youth Symphony.
Sreeram Venkat Sreeram Venkat started learning Carnatic Vocal music from Smt. Shymala Krishna in Kansas and Smt. Geetha Ganesh in Cary. More recently, he has received advanced training from Sri Malladi Suribabu and Sri Madurai R. Sundar. Sreeram has performed at venues in the US and India. He is a 2017 US presidential scholar and is now studying mathematics and physics at NC State University.
Srinath Iyer Srinath Iyer is a 7th grader at Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill. Srinath started formal lessons in carnatic vocal when he was 4. He has been learning from Smt. Ranganayaki Rajan, and from Sri. O.S. Thiagarajan. Srinath has had the opportunity to participate in the Traingle Area and Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhanas, NCYCAC, and SIFAA..
Srian Pedibhotla Srian Pedibhotla started violin at a young age of 6 and has been learning violin under the tutilage of Sri Palghat Sridhar. He has also been learning vocal since he was 4 years old and has been learning under Sri B. U. Ganeshprasad. He has given many performances with Swaralaya, SIFAA, Cleveland & Chicago Tyagaraja and has won prizes in each. He is currently attending Enloe High School and is 10th grade.
Sriya Venkat Sriya Venkat is an 8th grader at Carnage Middle School. She has been learning carnatic vocal from Smt. Geetha Ganesh, and carnatic violin from Sri. Palghat Sridhar. Sriya has won prizes in the vocal and violin categories of the SIFAA Competition. She has performed in various local events.
Svetak Sundhar Svetak Sundhar is a rising senior studying at UNC Chapel Hill on the Dowd Music Scholarship. He learns the bamboo flute from Smt. Shanthala Subramanyam. Svetak has also played western violin for 16 years, and has performed with the National High School Honors Orchestra. He has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Esplanade in Singapore.
Vinithra Sudhakar Vinithra Sudhakar is a violinist from Cary, North Carolina under the tutelage of Smt. Seetha and Ranjani Ramakrishnan. Vinithra has performed as a soloist and accompanist at at various festivals and programs across North Carolina. She has also competed in and won prizes at carnatic music competitions. She also serves as a board member for NC Youth Classical Arts for Charity. Vinithra is currently a senior at Enloe High School.
Vishal Varadarajan Vishal is a rising eighth grader at Academy of Lincoln, Greensboro. He trained in Indian classical music ( vocal) since age 5 under Ranganayaki Rajan in Cary, NC and later with Divya Udaygirish when he moved to Greensboro . He has participated for last 3 years in Sangeetha Aaradhana at Triad Hindu temple. He also plays the Western Flute and Indian flute and has accompanied many artistes in the area.
Vishvak Kumaran Vishvak Kumaran is a student of Padma Vibushan Awardee Sangita Kalanidhi Mrudangam Legend Umayalpuram K Sivaraman
Visrut Sudhakar Visrut Sudhakar is an upcoming mridangam artist from Cary, North Carolina. A student of many styles, Visrut is currently under the tutelage of Sri. R. Sankaranarayanan. He is currently a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying Computer Science and Mathematics.