Navaneeth Unnikrishnan - Vocal
Manav Khurana - Tabla
Srikar Ayyalasomayajula - Harmonium
Come join us at the Chhandayan Center for a vocal performance by the promising young singer Navaneeth Unnikrishnan. The performance will also be streamed online.
Navaneeth Unnikrishnan
Navaneeth Unnikrishnan was born and raised in Chandler, Arizona, and is now based in New York City. Navaneeth’s parents identified his musical talent when he was around 1. By age two, he could remember and sing thousands of different Malayalam, Hindi, and Tamil compositions, even identifying some of the associated ragas. Navaneeth never formally learned piano/harmonium, but by age 6-7, he started to play different film compositions solely by hearing them. Navaneeth has performed at various musical venues in the US and India alongside many eminent musicians in Kerala, with many of his online videos going viral. In addition, he has received different awards/honors for his vocal performances, including being selected as a Rising Star by the Indian Academy of Performing Arts and receiving both the Mewati Pradeept and Deepak awards from the Pandit Jasraj Institute of Music (PJIM). Navaneeth also recently received a Young Musician’s award from Kerala. He has been learning Hindustani Classical Music for the last 14 years under Dr. Vijayshree Sharma and Pt. Ramesh Narayan of the Mewati Gharana, and alongside that Carnatic Vocal Music for the last 4-5 years under Trivandrum Krishnakumar, a senior disciple of M. Balamuralikrishna. Aside from his musical pursuits, Navaneeth is a sophomore at New York University studying Data Science.
Manav Khurana
Manav Khurana is a talented young tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana. His musical inclination became apparent at an early age, and his parents encouraged him to learn Dholak, Piano and other instruments. As a teenager he was initiated into the world of tabla by his dholak Guru, Shri Roger Sookraj. He soon continued his study of tabla under Shri Kumar Raj Gandharva and Sabir Hussain of the Punjab Gharana. Subsequently he began his serious training with Shri Dibyarka Chatterjee at the age of 14. In 2023 he became an initiated disciple (shishya) of tabla maestro Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Manav has already performed with some notable performers of Indian Classical Music including, Shri Biplap Mukherjee, Pandit Hindol Chattopadhyay, Pandit Sugato Nag, and his Guru Pandit Samir Chatterjee. Outside of music, he is currently pursuing his Bachelors degree in Finance.
Srikar Ayyalasomayajula
Srikar grew up in central New Jersey and currently lives in Brooklyn. He has learnt Harmonium from Guru Sri Hemant Kulkarni in New Jersey for over ten years. Srikar has performed harmonium solo pieces in a number of concerts and competitions in harmonium growing up, including winning first prize in national competitions conducted by Marathi Vishwa, Academy of Indian Music and Fine Arts, Bharat Sevashram, etc. Apart from solo performances, Srikar has also provided dynamic as energetic Harmonium saath to artists from around the world regularly for over a decade. Srikar was also the Music Chair of Michigan Sahana, the premier Indian Classical Music and Dance Organization at the University of Michigan and had been organizing and performing in their concerts throughout his time at the university. After graduating, Srikar had been continuing to be a part of both classical accompaniment and fusion collaborations across the country. Apart from music, Srikar currently works at Google as a Software Engineer in New York City.