Veena Sitar Jugalbandhi

Dr. Manjula Surendra is a distinguished veena performer and musicologist with over 35 years of performance and teaching experience. Initiated at age seven by Vidushi Gyanambal, she trained under Vidwan Mysore C. Krishnamurthy with Karnataka State and Government of India scholarships, and continues advanced mentorship with Vidwan D. Balakrishna. An A-Grade All India Radio and Doordarshan artiste, she has performed across India and abroad. She holds a PhD (Bangalore University), MPhil (Jain University), and Master’s (University of Madras), and previously taught postgraduate students at Bangalore University.

Based at Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) since 2019, she serves as Academy Coordinator and Master Tutor, teaching veena and vocal to more than 60 students, leading curriculum design, exams, and parent engagement. Her portfolio spans composing, productions, research, pedagogy, thematic performances, workshops and community outreach.

Kolkata-born sitarist Susanta Chowdhury began training with his father Sri Bhupendra Nath Chowdhury, and later studied under Sri Shyamal Chattopadhyay before becoming a disciple of the famed Padmabhushan Pandit Debu Chaudhuri.

A Gold Medallist with an MA in Music from Delhi University, he is an A-grade artiste of All-India Radio and has performed widely on TV. He is also an empanelled artiste of ICCR and has performed in India, USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Indonesia, China and Singapore, having accompanied Padmabhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj, Saswati Sen, Bhaswati, Krishnamohan Maharaj, Rammohan Maharaj, Ranjana Gawhar, Reela Hota and many others.

Guru Susanta served at SIFAS from 1999–2003, and rejoined in 2011.

Ramanan began learning the mridangam at the age of 12 with the late Sri R. Thangavelu in Kuala Lumpur. In 1981, he joined SIFAS and studied under Sri Karaikudi R. Krishnamurthy, passing his mridangam final examination with distinction in 1984 and receiving a Certificate of Merit. That year, he performed his mridangam arangetram during a concert by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan. Over four decades, Ramanan has performed with numerous accomplished musicians and dancers both locally and internationally, accompanying over 400 bharatanatyam arangetrams.

Born into a musical family, Supriyo received his training from his father, the late Ganapati Banerjee, and since 1991 under tabla maestro Pandit Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay.

He has taught at theSakhri Begum Memorial Trust and received an honorary position before he was recruited as a tabla teacher at Belur Math Veda Vidyalaya.

A recipient of the Government of India’s National Scholarship (2007), Supriyo has accompanied Ustad Rashid Khan, a youth icon of Indian classical music, and has performed at venues including the Golpark Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, Belur Math, and internationally in Singapore, Malaysia and Germany.

He is an accomplished tabla player, equally adept as a soloist and accompanist across hindustani, carnatic, commercial, and fusion music, and has a unique style of playing which blends multiple gharanas.