Lavanya Sundararaman is a

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

ian. She received initial training from Poornapragya Rao, and went on to receive further training from her family of musicians.

Early life and family

Lavanya was born to Gayathri and Dr. R. Sundararaman. She is the great-granddaughter of the prominent

vocalist, D. K. Pattammal. She is also the great-granddaughter of

Palghat Mani Iyer Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are ...

, who was a mridangam maestro. Lavanya received music lessons during her childhood from her great-grandmother D. K. Pattammal. She is a disciple of her grandmother and noted singer Lalitha Sivakumar, her mother Gayathri Sundararaman, and is a niece and disciple of renowned singer Nithyasree Mahadevan. Lavanya has completed her post-graduate and undergraduate studies in Music at

Queen Mary's College, Chennai Queen Mary's College is a government-run college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1914, it is the first women's college in the city and the third oldest women's college in India and second oldest in South India after Sarah Tucker College. Th ...

and is pursuing her Ph.D. in Music under the guidance of Dr. M. A. Bhageerathi.

Musical career

Touring

Lavanya has performed at major sabhas in India, particularly during the annual December music festival in Chennai. She has also presented songs and concerts in

the United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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, Sri Lanka, and other destinations. Notable performances by Lavanya have included: * Concert with great-grandmother D. K. Pattammal, grandmother Lalitha Sivakumar, grandfather I. Sivakumar, and aunt Nithyasree Mahadevan at the

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

in September 2000. * Thematic concert for Mangalam Ganapathy Trust in February 2008. * Concerts with aunt Nithyasree Mahadevan entitled ''Triveni Sangamam'' and ''Vellithirai Ragangal'' featuring

Film songs A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

in 2009. * Concert with grandmother Lalitha Sivakumar and aunt Nithyasree Mahadevan in tribute to great-grandmother D. K. Pattammal in 2010 to conclude 25th anniversary celebration for Youth Association for Carnatic Music. * Concerts in Mumbai in July 2011.

Television works

Lavanya has appeared in various television music programs to perform, including: * The ''Ragamalika'' music show on

Jaya TV Jaya TV HD is a Tamil language satellite television channel based in Chennai, India. Jaya TV HD is also broadcast to the expatriate Tamil community via various media partnerships. Hemant Sahai of HSA had Jaya TV HD as his first client. Jaya TV ...

in 2004 for a special Tamil New Year program. * A special Diwali program telecast in 2009 on Raj TV. * Season 2 of

Airtel Super Singer Junior Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...

for their Karthigai Special program in November 2009 on

Vijay TV Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly Star India), a subsidiary of Asianet Star Communications. The channel's headquarters is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Star Vijay chang ...

. * The ''Theanamudhu'' music program on Makkal TV telecast in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 2013, 2014 and 2015. * ''Navarathiri Nayagiyar'' special music program telecast on

during the

Navarathri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

Festival in the year 2015

Discography

Lavanya has sung songs in

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

devotional and other-genre music albums, including: * ''Sai Lavanya Lahari'' for Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Prashanthinilayam, Puttaparthi. * ''Karunai Deivame'' for Giri Trading Agency. * ''Madurakali Amman'' for Mangalam Ganapathy Trust. * ''Triveni Sangamam'' DVD for Giri Trading Agency.

Titles, awards, and recognition

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundararaman, Lavanya Singers from Chennai Living people Performers of Hindu music Indian women classical singers Women Carnatic singers Carnatic singers 1992 births Women musicians from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers