ABOUT THE TEAM
The current YSTCA members (Dvita Vivek, Lalit Kovvuri, Pranaya Rishi, Prayag Barath, Prisha Balan, Rajeev Devanath, and Vishaka Ashok) are all high schoolers who share a common passion for the Indian Classical Arts; each member is trained in multiple aspects. The team hopes to support deserving local organizations through their events.
CURRENT TEAM
Dvita Vivek is a rising sophomore at Irvington High School. She is a disciple of Sri. Hari Devanath of Sri Paduka Academy and has been learning vocal carnatic music for the past 8 years. Dvita has performed for various Bay Area organizations, such as CCC, Rasamanjari, etc, and has won prizes at competitions such as Saptami and the Papanasam Sivan competition. Dvita is also part of her school choir and plays competitive badminton. Dvita will be co-leading the effort related to the day-long fundraiser event.
DVITA VIVEK
LALIT KOVVURI
Lalit Kovvuri, a high schooler at Archbishop Mitty High School, is a dedicated and devoted student of Carnatic Music. He is currently undergoing advanced training in Mridangam under the tutelage of Vidwan Sri S. V. Ramani from Chennai. Over the past few years, he has performed in various sabhas in Chennai during the December Margazhi season and at a myriad of stages and festivals across the USA. He has also won several awards in various mridangam competitions nationally and internationally. Apart from mridangam, Lalit is also pursuing Carnatic vocal and violin under the tutelage of Vid Smt. Anuradha Sridhar. In his spare time, he loves playing basketball and biking with his friends. Lalit will be co-leading the effort related to out-reach events at various senior centers.
Pranaya Rishi is a rising junior at Irvington High School in Fremont. She has been learning Carnatic Vocal for the past 10 years from Sri. Hari Devanath. She has also been learning Veena for the last 4 years from Sri. Srikanth Chary. Pranaya is a part of her school’s Science Olympiad team and enjoys reading. Pranaya will be co-leading the effort related to the day-long fundraiser event.
PRANAYA RISHI
PRAYAG BARATH
Prayag Barath, is a rising sophomore at Saint Francis High School, Mountain View. He has been learning carnatic vocal music from Guru Sri Hari Devanath for the past 8 years. He has performed in established platforms like Carnatic Chamber Concerts, LOTUS, Paduka Chamber Concerts. Prayag has also participated and won awards in competitions including Papanasam Sivan Festival, Saptami. Prayag also has been learning mrudangam from Vidwan Sri Chennai Thyagarajan for the past 7 years and performs regularly in bay area events. Prayag plays basketball and tennis and is part of his school’s varsity team. Prayag will be co-leading the effort related to the day-long fundraiser event.
PRISHA BALAN
Prisha Balan has been learning Carnatic vocal music for the past 9 years under Guru Smt. Kasthuri Shivakumar (International Academy of Indian Music), who is a prime disciple of Neyveli Sri. R. Santhanagopalan. Prisha has performed solo concerts on several platforms in the USA including Carnatic Chamber Concerts, LOTUS Silicon Valley, SR Fine Arts, Saptami. She has performed concerts on international/FB-live platforms including Shishirotsavam Festival by VVSF/SaMaa Arts, Music of Madras and Music of Bombay. She has also participated in several events in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana including the Carnatic Epic Choir and Anvayam, a thematic production. Prisha has won prizes in various music competitions nationally and internationally including Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana (Varnam, Kriti, Viruttam), SaMaa Arts International Music Competition 2021, Saptami, Papanasam Festival, SAMPADA, Kala Aradhana, OSAAT. She is the chief co-editor of the Carnatic Chronicles magazine and is a recipient of the Gold Presidential Award for her community service in music. Prisha also learns Bharatanatyam under Smt. Mythili Kumar (Abhinaya Dance Company) and recently completed her Bharatanatyam Arangetram. She is a junior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA. Prisha will be co-leading the effort related to the day-long fundraiser event.
RAJEEV DEVANATH
Rajeev Devanath is a rising Junior at University Preparatory Academy, San Jose. He has been learning Carnatic Vocal Music from his father, Sri Hari Devanath for 13 years. Rajeev has also been learning mridangam for 5 years from Sri Ramesh Srinivasan, and for 6 years from Sri Chennai Thyagarajan and has won several awards in both vocal and mridangam competitions such as the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and Saptami. Rajeev also completed his mridangam arangetram in 2018. Rajeev also enjoys doing robotics and playing basketball with his friends in his free time. Rajeev will be co-leading the effort related to out-reach events at various senior centers.
VISHAKA ASHOK
Vishaka Ashok is a rising senior at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose, California. Vishaka has been a devoted student of Carnatic Music almost all of her life, learning vocal from Smt. Vasudha Ravi has been learning violin since she was four years old and has been learning violin since the age of five. She is currently under the tutelage of Smt. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi. Vishaka has won in both vocal and violin categories across many organizations like Cleveland, Saptami, Papanasam Sivan, etc., in addition to being a violin accompanist for several schools across the Bay Area. In her spare time, Vishaka devotes herself to other forms of art, like painting and Tanjore crafts, in addition to being an avid reader. Vishaka will be co-leading the effort related to out-reach events at various senior centers.
PRAHLAD SARAVANAPRIYAN
(YOUTH ADVISOR)
Prahlad Saravanapriyan, a rising senior at Washington High School, is a budding young Carnatic violinist and vocalist from the San Francisco (SFO) Bay Area. Prahlad is the son and disciple of Dr. Sri. Saravanapriyan Sriraman, and he also undergoes advanced training under Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. Lalgudi GJR Krishnan. Prahlad has participated and won several national-level prizes and recognition in various violin and vocal music competitions. He performs regularly throughout the USA, India, Malaysia, and in the Chennai Margazhi Season in various concerts, programs, and productions featured and hosted by prime music organizations. Prahlad was a youth leader of YSTCA in the previous term and has graciously offered to be an advisor and guide the current team.
OUR MENTOR
SMT. PADMA MOHAN
Smt. Padma Mohan, an IT professional-turned-art promoter, has been fostering Indian Classical art forms, especially Carnatic music in the Bay Area, since 2005. Padma has served in the cultural committees at Livermore temple, Fremont Hindu Temple, Carnatic Music Idol core team and has organized and hosted many concerts by budding and senior musicians. She founded Carnatic Chamber Concerts (CCC) in January 2009 which has become the pioneer platform for budding artists in the bay area with over 300+ music learning children currently enrolled and many on the waitlist. Under Padma's leadership, CCC, a registered nonprofit organization, has grown exponentially over the years and has enriched the musical growth of students learning music. Padma has been the adviser/mentor for the youth group Youth Services Through Cultural Arts (YSTCA) since its inception and under her mentorship, YSTCA has raised over $182,000 since 2012 for various local nonprofit organizations in the bay area.