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Vidwan Dr. Cherthala K.N. Renganatha Sharma (born 1966) hails from Kerala and is the son of Sangeeta Acharya Cherthala K. Narayana Iyer belonging to the “Semmangudi tradition” of Carnatic music. He has performed extensively in India and abroad and is ranked as an ‘A Top’ Grade artiste of All India Radio. He has a Ph D. degree in music and has worked as Principal, Associate Professor and research guide at the famed Sri Sadguru Sangeetha Vidyalayam, Madurai.

Accompaniments: Edapally Ajith,Violin; Palladom Ravi, Mridangam; Tripunithura Kannan, Ghatam

Vidushi Dr. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (born 1960) is an acclaimed exponent of the “Jaipur-Atrauli” Khayal Gayaki school of Hindustani Music. She learnt music from Pt. Narayanrao Datar and her mother Smt. Manik Bhide. Smt. Bhide-Deshpande is equally at home with lighter varieties like Thumri-Dadra and Bhajans/Abhangs. She has received several high honors including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 2014 and “Rashtriya Kaalidas Samman” in 2016. Besides music, she has pursued high level academic pursuits in science, earning a Doctoral Degree for her research in Biochemistry from the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

Vidwan Sangita Kalanidhi Mysore V. Doreswamy Iyengar (1920-1997) was a veena maestro from Karnataka. He was trained by his father Vidwan Sri. Venkatesh Iyengar and later by Sri. Venkatagiriyappaa, veena exponent and composer in the court of the Mysore royals. The Mysore style veena players pluck the strings with their nails rather than using a metal ring and this produces soft tones that mimic vocal music. In addition to the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1971, Sri. Doreswamy Iyengar also received the “Padma Bhushan” honor from the Government of India in 1983.

Maestro Ilaiyaraja (born 1943) is a composer, conductor, singer, lyricist and instrumentalist for over 1000 Indian films.

Kamal Hassan (born 1954) is an acclaimed actor, movie and television star, producer, writer, dancer, and playback singer across various languages of India. He has won innumerable awards for his contributions to Indian cinema.

Smt. S. Janaki (born 1938) is a playback singer for who has recorded over 48, 000 film songs.

Vidwan Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan (born 1968) is a leading vocalist from Tamil Nadu. He learnt music from several gurus including Sri. V. Lakshminarayana, Smt. Rukmini Rajagopalan, Sr. Calcutta K. S. Krishnamurti and Nadaswaram Sembanarkoil S R D Vaidyanathan. As the foremost exponent of Carnatic music, he is widely regarded as the most intellectually curious musician and much sought after performer today.

Dr. T. M. Soundararajan (1922 - 2013), pictured on the left, was a playback singer for over sixty years in Indian cinema. Trained as a Carnatic musician, he recorded over ten thousand songs for various South Indian language films. He won numerous awards in the film industry for his singing. The Indian Government released a postage stamp under the series "Legendary Singers of India" in his honor.

Sri. K. V. Mahadevan (1918 -2001) composed music for over 600 Indian films, spanning four decades. He brought into film music his strengths in Carnatic and folk music as well his exceptional sense of rhythm.

Ms. Lata Mangeshkar ((1929 – 2022), considered the greatest playback singer of Indian cinema, recorded more than 50,000 film songs across 14 languages during a career spanning eight decades. Trained by her father Dinanath Mangeshkar in classical music, Lata was known for perfect pitch, exceptional range and clarity of her voice. She was awarded India’s highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna in 2001.

Ghulam Muhammad (1903 -1968) learnt music from his father Tabla maestro Nabi Baksh. He worked in music composition for over 35 Indian films. He was awarded the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the film Mirza Ghalib.

Sitar maestro Pandit Nikhil Banerjee (1931 – 1986) was an exponent of Maihar Gharana of Hindustani music. He trained under Ustad Allauddin Khan (along with Pandit Ravi Shankar) and subsequently under Allaudin Khan’s son Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Known worldwide as a musician’s musician, he was posthumously given one of the Indian government's highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan.

Maestro Lalgudi G Jayaraman (1930 – 2013) was a Carnatic violinist, composer, vocalist and Guru. Born as a direct descendant of a disciple of composer Tyagaraja, “Lalgudi” went on to create his unique style of violin playing in a career spanning seven decades. Known for his national and international collaborations with Hindustani and Western classical musicians, he was honored with "Padma Bhushan" by the Indian Government and with a Special Lifetime Achievement award by the Madras Music Academy.

Accompaniments: Karaikudi R. Mani, Mridangam; T. H. Vinayakram, Ghatam

Hindustani vocalist Padma Vibushan Pandit Kumar Gandharva (1924 – 1992) was born in Belgaum, Karnataka and given the name Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkali. He received early musical training under Guru B.R. Deodhar and his prodigious talent quickly earned him the title of “Gandharva” (“Divine Minstrel”). He is well known for his unique vocal style and for his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any one gharana (school in Hindustani music).

The popular Carnatic duo vocalists from Andhra Pradesh, Vidwans D. Raghavachari and D. Seshachari are known as the Hyderabad Brothers. They were initially trained by their father Vidwan Daroor Ratnamacharyulu and their mother Vidushi D Sulochana Devi. Known for their strict adherence to tradition, and singing style that eschews showmanship, the brothers have won several honors including best vocalist prizes from the Madras Music Academy and the Sangeet Natak Academy award.

Born in 1930 to Telugu speaking parents, film playback singer Ms. P. Susheela has recorded over 40, 000 songs across several Indian language films. She received the “Padma Bhushan” and “Kalaimamani” honors form the Government of India and Government of the state of Tamil Nadu respectively.

Sri. S. Rajeswara Rao (1922 – 1999) was an Indian composer, instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and music producer known primarily for his works in South Indian cinema.

Male Voice Accompaniment: Ghantasala

Carnatic vocalist Jon Higgins (1939 – 1984), born in Andover, Massachusetts, received advanced degrees in Music and Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. At Wesleyan, he studied under Mridangam Vidwan T. Ranganthan and Professor Robert E Brown. He subsequently learnt from other luminaries such as flautist Vidwan Sangita Kalanidhi T. Viswanathan and Bharata Natyam danseuse Sangita Kalanidhi T. Balasaraswati. He also studied under and founded the Indian music studies program at York University, Toronto with Mridangam Vidwan Sangita Kalanidhi Trichy Sankaran.

Vidwan Higgins was so passionate about Carnatic music that within a short span of time, he rose to the level of singing in the Tiruvaiyaru Thyagaraja Aradhana and gained a lot of appreciation from stalwarts and scholars.

One of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history, Ms. Asha Bhosle (born 1932) has recorded over 10,000 songs for over 800 movies. She was trained by her father in classical music along with her sister, legendary playback singer Ms. Lata Mangeshkar. Although every class of song was within Asha’s vocal range, her specialty was in sensual songs or Western styled songs.

Omkar Prasad Nayyar (1926 - 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician who scored music for over seventy films. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music di

Ms. S Janaki (born 1938), pictured right, is a film playback singer who has recorded over 48,000 songs including solos, duets, choruses, and title tracks in 17 languages of India.

Maestro Ilaiyaraja (born 1943) is an acclaimed composer for Indian Cinema who has scored music for over 1000 films.

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam (1946 – 2020), affectionately referred to as SPB or Balu was an Indian musician, playback singer, music director, actor, dubbing artist and film producer who sang over 40,000 film songs in as many as 16 languages. He won numerous awards and honored by the Central and State Governments in India as well.

Iconic Carnatic vocalist of India, philanthropist and actress, Vidushi Sangita Kalanidhi M. S. Subbalakshmi ((1916 – 2004) was the recipient of Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor and the Ramon Magsaysay award. Gifted with a singing voice of incomparable purity, she imbued her music with deep intellect as well as devotion. She was adored by leaders of India such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru while also being revered as the Queen of Indian Classical Music by the masses.