Carnatic musician, guru & writer
Kiranavali is an award-winning performer, teacher and writer
Award winning Carnatic musician Kiranavali Vidyasankar has charted out a unique identity for herself as a performer, scholar, teacher and writer. Her excellent pedigree and her impeccable musical lineage, starting with her grandfather Gotuvadyam Sri. Narayana Iyengar and her brilliant father and guru, Chitravina Sri. Narasimhan, allowed her to be introduced to the music world as a toddler of two, when she could identify over 200 ragas and 175 talas. Under her father’s watchful guidance, she embarked on her vocal career at the age of five. With additional training from her illustrious brother Chitravina Sri. Ravikiran and the late Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. T. Brinda, and years of committed hard work, Kiranavali has established herself firmly as passionate musician with a distinct voice and scholarship.
Her career as a performer has taken her to many renowned centers across India, USA, Canada and Europe such as the National Center for Performing Arts (Mumbai), India International Center (New Delhi), India Habitat Center (New Delhi), The Music Academy (Chennai), Cleveland Tyagaraja Festival (Ohio), Bharati Kala Manram (Toronto), Ethnological Museum (Hamburg) and Reitberg Museum (Zurich). She has also been invited to present talks, lec-dems and workshops on various topics pertaining to Carnatic music.
Kiranavali is a gifted teacher with a rich and vast experience of over twenty-five years. Since 2002, she has made a significant difference to the Carnatic music and cultural landscape across the United States, touching cities as widespread as Philadelphia, Buffalo and San Diego. Through her recent initiative, the Lofty Heights Series, Kiranavali has been reaching out to newer audiences besides helping foster greater interest and awareness among students and music lovers.
As a distinguished writer, she has contributed numerous articles on music to various newspapers, journals, websites and magazines. She has also served as the editor for www.carnatica.com, and the book, Ragas at a Glance and is currently working on a book on her guru, T. Brinda.
She recently became the first Carnatic musician to win prestigious project and educator grants from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in Philadelphia (2014) and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2014 & 2016). She was invited by the University of Pennsylvania to spearhead a Carnatic music performance course and has been a Professional Associate there since Spring 2016.