Founder and Artistic Director – Shobana Raghavan

Gurus
Shobana Raghavan was fortunate to undergo training in Indian Carnatic classical vocal music in Chennai, India from renowned Gurus including Nanganallur Shri Ramanathan and Smt.Visalakshi Ramachandran of the Semmangudi school of music in her formative years. She took advanced training from the esteemed Guru Smt. Suguna Varadachari, Senior Professor at the Madras University, India.

Shobana has also trained in Indian classical dance, violin, mridangam and konnakkol (vocal percussion) techniques that add strength to her creativity and musicianship. For vocal percussion, she is a student of the world renowned percussionist V. Selvaganesh.

Vocal Performer
Shobana has performed in over seven hundred concerts in India and abroad, both as a soloist and as vocal accompaniment for Indian classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi. at many prestigious festivals and venues including the Ellora caves festival, the Music festival in Chennai, the Haryana Palace festival, the Tokyo relations program in Japan, the Kalasri events in Switzerland, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan event in London, The Lincoln center’s OOD festival, at the Joyce SOHO in Manhattan and for an Off-Broadway production at the New Victory theater in New York.

Dancer
Shobana has under her belt several years of Kuchipudi training from the renowned guru Dr. Vempatti Chinna Satyam and Bharatnatyam from esteemed gurus including Smt. Revathi Ramachandran, Pandanallur Srinivasa Pillai and Smt. Suba Parmar, founder of Shubanjali School of Performing Arts

Shobana has performed with Shubanjali School of Performing Arts on several occasions and has taught dance under Sanskriti – an organization for Bharatanatyam in NY for over 4 years. She also ran the Manhattan wing of Shubanjali School of Performing Arts.

Composer
As a composer, she has been singer songwriter for ‘Amrutha Varshini’ produced by Bamba productions, available on iTunes and her original song “In the Air’ premiered at World café live, Philadelphia and at the LePoisson Rouge in New York, along with competent violinist Kristin Lee, commissioned by the Lincoln center’s Chamber music society. Shobana’s new arrangements for a cappella thillanas titled ‘SAMBHAV – possibilities in Carnatic music’ premiered in Brooklyn in March 2017 and received wide acclaim.

Awards
Shobana has been awarded the title of ‘Best vocalist’ by the Indian Fine Arts society in 1999 and the ‘Best vocalist for dance’ by the Krishna Gaana sabha, Chennai in 2000,

Teacher
With 20+ years of teaching experience, Shobana has taught in India and New York, and is currently teaching in Singapore and online. Her students have performed with merit at reputed venues including the Hindu temple in Flushing,The Amherst college, Sruthilaya, the Cleveland Thyagaraja festival, the Annual Bharathi festival in NJ and have won accolades during the Annual music competitions held by the Carnatic Music Association of North America(CMANA) in NJ. Shobana has conducted workshops at NYU, Bard University, the Bloomingdale School of Music, the Brooklyn music school, Lotus studios in Manhattan and the City College of New York.