PADMAJA KELAM

Director, Choreographer, Nattuvangam

A visionary choreographer and devoted teacher, Guru Padmaja has spent decades bringing the sacred art of Bharatanatyam to life through celebrated productions including Samarpayami, Navavidha Bhakthi, Krishna Smaranam, Omkaram, Drishti, and Fusion 2 the Future.

Her unique gift lies in blending tradition with innovation — crafting performances that are nothing short of poetry in motion. But her greatest masterpiece? Her students.

With deep love, nurturance, and an uncompromising passion for perfection, she has guided 73 disciples through their Arangetrams — each one a testament to her extraordinary legacy as a Guru.

Music Composer, Singer

ASHA RAMESH

Asha Ramesh, a celebrated vocalist from San Jose, California, is renowned for her versatility and mastery of Carnatic music. A devoted disciple of the legendary Sangeeta Kalanidhi Sri. D. K. Jayaraman and Nanganallur V. Ramanathan, Asha has earned widespread recognition through numerous prestigious awards, including the Rajaji Memorial Tambura Award, the Swaminatha Pillai Memorial Gold Medal, and the Vijayalakshmi Memorial Award for Best Vocalist from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in India. Gana Kala Ratnam, Gana Kala Bhooshani, Mathura Isai Vani and Isai Arasi are some of the titles that Asha has been awarded over the past years for her contributions to the world of music.
Asha is also an accomplished composer, having created music for a vast range of dance productions and collaborated with artists globally. Her body of work includes over 35 thillanas and many bhajans and abhangs. She also composed and performed all the songs for her Tamil album, Thenum Thinaiyum. Asha teamed up with her son, Rohith Jayaraman, an accomplished musician in his own right, to release Manam, an original album that confronts contemporary social issues through music.

Most recently, Asha presented Yatra, a concert featuring her own original compositions as a fundraiser for Community Seva.

As the founder and artistic director of the Ragamalika School of Music, established in 1992, Asha has been a cornerstone of the San Jose Bay Area’s music community, nurturing the next generation of musicians for over three decades.

Percussions

SANTOSH CHANDRU

One of the foremost disciples of Guru Sri T. S. Nandakumar, Santosh has been playing the Mridangam since the age of 11. He has been accompanying various leading artists in the fields of both dance and music. He is a graded All India Radio artist, and is equally proficient with the Ghatam and the Thavil. Santosh has been a part of numerous Thaala Vaadya Katcheris (percussion ensembles) along with his Guru, including performances at the prestigious Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana festival. He is a regular accompaniment for Padma Vibhushan Dr. K. J. Yesudas during his classical concerts in the United States. He has accompanied various other prominent artists such as A. Kanyakumari, Vittal Ramamurthy, Guitar Prasanna, TNS Krishna, Mahanadhi Shobana, Sankaran Namboothiri, Flute G S Rajan to name a few.

Santosh has been training students in the Atlanta metro area for several years and many of his students have started to perform full fledged professional concerts.

PRANAVI SRINIVASA

Violin

Pranavi Srinivasa began learning violin 8 years ago under the tutelage of Sri. Lakshminarayanan V Pisupati. She recently also started learning from Vid. Charumathi. Raghuraman. Pranavi also receives vocal training from Sri. Prashanth Krishnamoorthy and Vidushi Amritha Murali. Pranavi has won awards at several competitions for violin and vocal categories, including the Tambura prize for Guruguhaamrta, RAGA-RHYTHM Global Competition, SaMaa Arts Global Competition, Papanasam Sivan competition, Sapthami, and more.

Pranavi is a recent graduate from the University of Georgia, where she co-founded “Sadhana”, the college’s first Indian Classical music organization. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Computer Science at Georgia Tech.

PRASHANTH KALLUR

Flute

Prashanth Kallur was initiated to learn flute from Vidwan Sri A.V.Prakash, Mysore, at a very young age by his parents who noticed their child deep interest towards music . Prashanth Kallur learnt the techniques and nuances of flute playing very quickly and started performing solo concerts by the age of 10. Prashanth has been awarded the prestigious "Centre for Cultural Resource and Traininng"( C C R T ), Delhi Scholarship from Government of India . Prashanth has represented Karnataka in flute Category for a special program called "Unity in Diversity" held at Hyderabad conducted by Government of India.Prashanth has won several awards and some of the notable ones are Bala Pratibhae Award , Kishora Pratibhae award, AIR district level winner.Prashanth has toured USA extensively and has performed many concerts and accompaniesd various bharthanatyam and kuchupudi arangetrams. Continuing his musical journey ,with his imaginative and artistic nature ,he has been successful in fascinating the audiences by his performances.While music is more than a hobby for Prashanth, he is a Senior Deep Learning Architect at Amazon .

SIDDARTH KELAM

Producer, Nattuvangam

Guru Siddarth Kelam comes from a rich background in dance and music, having begun his Bharatanatyam training under his father, Sudershan Kelam, and continuing under his mother, Padmaja Kelam. He has also trained extensively in Carnatic vocal music with Gurus Savitha Namuduri and Srinath Kalavichirathil, and in mridangam under Gurus Subramaniam Vishwanathan, Bharadan, and Santosh Chandru. Currently serving as Co-Director of Kalaivani Dance and Music Academy, he contributes to choreography and nattuvangam while performing at major events such as ATA 2000 and the TAMA Silver Jubilee, and collaborating with Shakthi Dance Company under Smt. Viji Prakash. Throughout his career, he has learned from renowned gurus including C.V. Chandrashekar, Vasundhara Doraiswamy, Kalanidhi Narayanan, Priyadarshini Govind, Madurai Muralidharan, and Pasumarthy Ramalinga Shastry, performing for diverse audiences worldwide. Expanding his artistic pursuits, Siddarth studied audio engineering at SAE Atlanta, graduating as salutatorian, and went on to work as a studio manager at Bravo Ocean Studios while training in pop and EDM production. A self-taught cinematographer, he has collaborated with major brands such as Netflix, Rolling Stone, Mercedes-Benz, Puma, Chai Box, Amazon Music, HBO, and Bravo Ocean Studios, and is also a music producer, DJ, and founder of his own lighting and AV production company, SKV Productions.

Recording, Mixing & Mastering

After a combined dedication spanning two decades, catering to luminaries like Future, Lil Uzi Vert, K Michelle, Queen Naija, and Halle Bailey, a dynamic duo of Atlanta's vanguard engineers unite to birth Society Sound. The collaborative genius of Bryan Anzel and Esco has not only yielded an unrivaled auditory experience but also adorned their repertoire with multiple platinum records and a Grammy nomination. Proficient in capturing an array of vocal expressions, Society Sound Studios emerges as the quintessential destination for recording genres as diverse as Latin, Afro, Island, World Music, Country, Rap, Hip Hop, and R&B. Nestled strategically within one of Atlanta's most accessible enclaves, Society Sound stands as a sonic haven, a seamless drive away from every corner of Metro Atlanta.