Ramesh Gangolli

Musician, musicologist, mathematician and educator, Ramesh Gangolli has for decades been a pillar of the musical scene in Seattle, where he has taught mathematics as well as music at the University of Washington. He is also a primary motive force behind Ragamala, the organization which has organized performances of Indian classical music and dance in Seattle for over two decades.  Prof Gangolli started his initial training with Sharad Gadre in Seattle. Later he trained as a vocalist under the guidance of several well-known vocalists of India, including Late Pt. K.G. Ginde and Pt. Dinkar Kaikini of the Agra gharana. He has a deep interest in various compositions of Agra Gharana, especially by Pt. S.N. Ratanjankar and has several to his own credit. He has also been engaged in the study of the texts of the oral repertoire of the hereditary lineages of musicians of North India. He has given a number of recitals and lecture demonstrations in the US and in India relating to his work. He also teaches Indian music in the Ethnomusicology Program in the School of Music at the University of Washington.  A mathematician by profession, Prof Gangolli obtained his doctoral degree from MIT and started teaching at the University of Washington since 1962. He is currently a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and an Adjunct Professor of Music at UW.

Manisha Chainani is the force behind Liveanklets, a Kathak dance school in Redmond, WA. A Computer Science Engineer by training, Manisha left her job at Microsoft to work overtime for two infant bosses at home.

Manisha has learned many styles of dance but Flamenco, Modern Dance and Kathak are her favorites. Manisha started her Kathak training in Pune at Kala Chaya under the guidance of Prabha Marathe and Jayashree Ganjam.

After focussing on attaining her Computer Enginering degree, she resumed Kathak training in Seattle under Urmila Nagarji and Sujata Banerjee, a disciple of the legendary Pt. Birju Maharaj.

Manisha has performed at various events in Seattle but her most cherished performance was when she and her Liveanklets' students performed at the Pt. Birju Maharaj concert at Benaroya Hall, Seattle in the fall of 2006.

Sneha Deo

Sneha Deo has been studying Hindustani Classical Music (vocal and harmonium) with Smt. Vasu Sundarraj for the last five years. From an early age Sneha showed a strong inclination for music, pulling herself up to the piano to play. She started taking piano lessons when she was four, and has been exposed to an array of music ranging from Western and Indian classical to popular and world music. She loves creating music on the piano and says “music takes her to her happy place”. She has sung at school, in homes, and on stage on special occasions such as Republic Day and Independence Day. She is a sixth grader in Lakeside Middle School and loves ice-skating and working with young children. She also takes pleasure in writing poetry; and creating lyrics with friends.

Brought up in a musical environment, Raman Iyer has shown a deep interest in music and Violin in particular at a very early age. He began learning violin at the age of six under the tutelage of Sri. Nedumangad Shivanandan for nearly 10 years. Simultaneously he underwent vocal training primarily from his parents, Smt. Valli and Sri. Mahadeva Iyer. He underwent brief vocal training with Sri. Ochira Balakrishnan as well.  The turning point in his musical career came when he was fortunate to have a short stint with the violin virtuoso, Dr. L. Subramaniam during the mid-nineties. This has immensely helped Raman to refine his bowing and fingering techniques. With strong foundation in violin technique and music in general, Raman strives to create his own unique style imbibing the best from great masters. He continues to pursue his musical aesthetics and training and is currently guided by Smt. Sreevidhya Chandramouli, the great grand daughter of the Veena Maestro, Karaikudi Subbarama Iyer.

Nikita Jejurikar

Nikita Jejurikar is 13 years old and is an 8^th grader at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. Hindustani classical vocal has been part of her life since she was seven years old under the guidance of Mrs. Vasu Sundarraj. Nikita has participated and presented this form of singing at various occasions like IAWW (Indian Association of Western Washington) Diwali, Republic and Independence day celebrations. She has also performed at SMM (Seattle Maharashtra Mandal) Ganesh festival and with the Swarali group. Apart from singing Nikita has learnt classical Indian dance and plays the piano. She loves to participate in drama at her school and out of school. She is also part of her school choir. Nikita is delighted to share her performance and thanks her teacher, family and friends for all their help and support.

Meera Krishna is an accomplished Carnatic classical singer and Bharatanatyam dancer. She was initiated into music at the age of three by her mother and Guru, Smt. RadhaKrishna, who belongs to the Thyagaraja Shishya Parampara via the Alathur school. Smt. Radha trained under P.S Thirumalachariar, a student of Alathur Venkatesha Iyer, the Guru of the famous Alathur brothers. Meera’s first performance was at age 5 over All India Radio (AIR) Delhi, and since then, along with her intensive training in vocal music, she performed widely all over India. She received music scholarships, won numerous prizes in music competitions at State and National levels, performed regularly on AIR and Doordarshan, composed the music for a full length theater production, and recorded two CDs with T-Series. After moving to Seattle WA in 1998, Meera has given concerts in many major cities in the US, while continuing to perform annually at the Music and Dance festival in Chennai, India. 

Meera’s Bharatanatyam training was in the Pandanallur style under the guidance of PadmaVibhushan Smt. Sonal Mansingh. She has performed widely in India, both solo as well as with her Guru’s dance company. Meera also represented India as part of cultural delegations to many countries in South Asia and Europe. After her move to Seattle, she has performed locally for ISKCON, Northwest Folklife, Town Hall Seattle, People for Progress in India, and conducted music, dance and yoga workshops as part of Northwest Folklife’s program for children living in community shelters.  

Meera believes that music inspires emotive dance (abhinaya), and uses her intensive training in Carnatic music and abhinaya to make the interplay of music and dance very cohesive, as well as explore new territories for their collaboration. Her musical expertise also enables her to compose music for her new dance productions. Meera enjoys researching, practicing, performing and honing her twin passions. She also loves to teach and share her knowledge of these art forms with her enthusiastic and dedicated students. 

Brandon McIntosh began studying with Seattle-based Dhrupad musician Jeff Lewis in 1998. From 2001 to 2003, after completing a degree in Music from Central Washington University, he moved to Kolkata, India, to begin studies with sarod maestro Buddhadev Dasgupta of the Senia-Shahajahanpur gharana. In 2005 he completed a Masters degree in music composition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  In 2006, Brandon served as the co-director of Utsav, Seattle's annual festival of the performing arts of South Asia.  Brandon has been recognized with numerous awards and fellowships for his work in music, and has performed and collaborated extensively with organizations in Kolkata. He regularly travels to Kolkata to study under Buddhadev Dasgupta and recently has been accepted as a student at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, India. He has performed with such noteworthy artists as: Kathak dancer Sujata Banerjee, Dhrupad singer Arijit Mahalanabis, and tabla player Yogesh Samsi.
website: www.kaliproductions.org

Jaswinder Sethi received his initial training in the Lucknow Gharana or style of Tabla playing from Shri. Srisundar at The Swarmandal school of Music in Mumbai, India. The Lucknow Gharana is known for it's sweet and crisp 'bols' or sounds, highly influenced by the Katthak dance form. Jaswinder then received advanced training from the great maestro Ustad Alla Rakha Khan. Saheb. During this time, Jaswinder imbibed the more open bol or 'khullabaaz' style of the Punjab Gharana, tempered by the maestro's own characteristic melodic style. Jaswinder excels both as a solo artist and accompanying artist, and is a very promising and much sought after artist in the Seattle area. He enjoys Indian classical and light music, and loves to experiment. He also has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of Texas, Arlington and works as a software engineer at Expedia.