Nirmala Rajasekar and Group: Saraswathi Veena and Vocal Recital

Nirmala Rajasekar will be performing at Drive East 2018. Catch her live at Drive East on Aug 18th, 8.30 PM DRIVE EAST: Drive East (driveeastnyc.org) is an expansive Indian dance and music festival that features 30+ concerts in just two week. In its sixth year, our week long festival will be in New York from August 13 - 19 and San Francisco from August 22 - 26. It is a festival that regularly features some of the best artists of the year from all over the globe(last year The New York Times mentioned two Drive East artists as the top 10 of 2017) and is an immersive experience into the world of Indian classical arts. Whether you are a seasoned patron or interested in learning more, there is an experience for everyone in this extraordinary festival. Nirmala Rajasekar is an Indian Saraswati veena player and vocalist in the Carnatic music style. Nirmala Rajasekar began her training in Veena at age 6 in Chennai from well known practitioners such as Sri Deva Kottai Narayana Iyengar and Smt. Kamala Aswathama. After moving to Bangalore, she learned at the Gana Mandira School in Basavangudi Smt. G Chennama and Smt. E. P. Alamelu. Later in Chennai, she was guided by the revered veena vidushi the late Smt.Kalpakam Swaminathan. Nirmala has trained with her for nearly 30 years.Her vocal Gurus are Sri B.Sitarama Sarma and Prof T.R. Subramanyam. She is the artistic director of the school Naadha Rasa (Essence of Tone), Center for Music. Performances of her ensemble have been seen and heard at many venues in the USA and on radio and television. Nirmala has released a variety of albums and recordings including Melodic Expressions, Song of the Veena, Into the Raga and Sudha Saagara. She is currently working on a collaborative album called Maithree Several awards and honors-including the Bush Fellowship2, McKnight Fellowship3, and the Vocational Excellence Award from Rotary Club International4-have been given to Nirmala as recognition for her many contributions to the music world and passionate spreading of the veena and Carnatic music. Drive East 2018 Featuring: Arushi Mudgal (odissi), Shijith N Parvathy (Bharatanatyam), Shruthi Kezhakepuram Purushotham (Mohiniyattam), Dr. Anwesa Mahanta (Sattriya), Mesma S. Belsare (Bharatanatyam), Sujit Vaidya and group (Contemporary), Kiran Rajagopalan (Contemporary), Navatman Dance (Bharatanatyam), Anuj Mishra and group (Kathak), Sandip Mallick and Group (Kathak), Preeti and Piyush (Kathak), Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose (Bharatanatyam), Prabal Gupta (Kathakali), Dr. Ragunath Manet, Nehaa Mondal Chakravarty (Bharatanatyam), Bhavana Reddy (Kuchipudi), Alam Khan (Sarode), Vishal Vaid (Ghazals), Vinay Desai (Santoor), Navatman Music Collective (Carnatic Vocal Choir), Nirmala Rajasekar and Group (Saraswati Veena), Flute Raman Trio, Pt. Rattan Mohan Sharma