Nivedita ShivRaj is a talented carnatic music professional and hails from a family of musicians. She is the great-granddaughter of Puducherry Rangaswami Iyer, a great music composer honored by the King of Venkatagiri.

Nivedita ShivRaj was initiated in Carnatic music by her maternal grandmother, Smt. A. Saraswathi a vocalist and a violinist. Her paternal grandmother Smt. Kokilamba was also a talented vocalist. Nivedita started learning Veena when she was five years. She is the disciple of renowned musicians Shri. Thanjavur Lakshmanan and Shri. V.Raghavan. She has also taken advanced lessons from Dr.Chittibabu.

She has been performing for more than 20 years, in various sabhas, temples and cultural organizations in India and USA. She was an All India Radio artiste. She has won many medals and prizes in various competitions. She was the first Indian musician to be featured in the Spiral Music series of the Rubin Museum of Arts, New York.

She has conducted workshops on carnatic music in the New York City Public Schools organized by Carnegie Hall. In these workshops she discussed the important aspects of carnatic music and also the distinct features of the South Indian string instrument, the Veena. She teaches Vocal and Veena in New York.

Nivedita ShivRaj is also a trained Bharathanatyam dancer. She provides Vocal and Veena support for Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi dance performances and dance productions. She provides vocal and veena support for the dance productions of New York based choreographer Sridhar Shanmugham regularly.

She has created two unique productions ?Veena Melodies? and ?Veena Isai Thendral? blending classical music with western rhythms and modern technology. Her music on the veena is accompanied by a live vocal chorus which is unique in carnatic music.

Official Web Site: www.ragachitra.org

Veena Isai Thendral

Veena Melodies