Background
Sudha Raghunathan was born in a Tamil Brahmin family in Bangalore, Karnataka. Sudha Raghunathan received her initial training in Carnatic music from her mother V. Choodamani.
Sudha Raghunathan was born in a Tamil Brahmin family in Bangalore, Karnataka. Sudha Raghunathan received her initial training in Carnatic music from her mother V. Choodamani.
She studied at Ethiraj College, and obtained a postgraduate degree in Economics. Participant of her duties involved the accompaniment on the tanpura of her teacher during concerts, and occasionally singing the higher registers.
In 1977, her family moved to Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Training
Her tutelage continued under B. V. Lakshman. In 1977, she received an Indian government scholarship to study music under a doyenne of Carnatic music, Doctor M.L Vasantha Kumari, whose student she remained for thirteen years.
The early years of her training under Doctor Master of Laws Vasanthakumari involved considerable amounts of listening to the teacher and other practitioners to absorb their style and oeuvre.
As of January 2015, she is preparing to debut in Kollywood as a music director with the upcoming Tamil film "Thanneer" based on a Novel published in 2009 by Ashoka Mitran. Performances and Critical reception
Sudha Raghunathan has performed at the Madras Music Season, the most distinguished venue for Carnatic music, every year since 1990, when her teacher Vasanthakumari died.
She is considered among the top rank of Carnatic performers. Indeed, with the award in 2013 of the Sangita Kalanidhi of the Madras Music Academy, her importance as one of India"s finest classical musicians has been firmly established.
She recently was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India"s third-highest civilian honor in January 2015.
Other Music
Besides the Carnatic repertoire, Sudha Raghunathan has also explored the world music scene, in particular fusion music She has performed as a playback singer in the Tamil cinema as well. Teaching
Following other stalwarts of Carnatic music, Sudha Raghunathan in turn has also taught the tradition to her students.