My Story

“Just as an engineer connects places with bridges, I see myself connecting people to a zone of sublime musical experiences. My own personal satisfaction is in sharing the indescribable joy of music with music-lovers.”

My musical odyssey began in the quaint city of Ottawa where my parents inferred my interest in music when I had to be pulled away from mikes! I began lessons with Smt. Geeta Ramachandran, and later trained under Sangita Kala Acharya Smt. Seetha Rajan of the “Semmangudi bani” in the traditional, immersive Gurukula-like (apprenticeship) environment.

At 18, I won the Sangeeta Shri title from the RR Sabha (Trichy) after a grueling 3-day competition with advanced manodharma (improvisation) – this title that had not been awarded to any contestants in preceding years’ competitions by the uncompromising judges! At 22, I was awarded an AIR A-grade as a rare double-promotion when I applied for a B-High. The 'Outstanding Vocalist' award at the prestigious Music Academy's Annual Music Conference was another accolade that followed. These recognitions bolstered my belief – and concretised my dreams of performing concerts at a professional level.

Inspired by eminent scholars like Prof N Ramanathan, I pursued an MA in music, where I graduated as a Gold medalist. I subsequently pursued a PhD in Sanskrit and Musicology, interpreting ancient music texts and manuscripts. I currently split my time between the USA and India, balancing my time between performance, research, teaching, writing, and atypical Carnatic music projects. I founded the ‘Muktakantha’ school of music in 2022 and teach a very promising set of students, to carry the musical heritage forward in the next generation.

Short Profile - Performance

Dr. Padma Sugavanam is an A-graded (All India Radio/Prasar Bharati) Carnatic vocalist and academic with a PhD in Sanskrit and Music from the Madras University. Highly sought after on the performance circuits across India, USA, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Padma balances her concert performances alongside a vibrant academic career. She is presently a Professor at University of Silicon Andhra (California) and previously held faculty positions at the Cleveland State University (Ohio) and Sri Venkateswara College, Tirupati.

After initial training under Smt Geetha Ramachandran, Padma trained for over 20 years in an immersive Gurukula (apprenticeship) environment with Sangita Kala Acharya Smt Seetha Rajan of the Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer bani. Padma had the rare honor of a double-promotion A-grade awarded by Prasar Bharati (All India Radio) when she was just 22 years old. She also received a gold medal in her MA degree around the same time. Padma was awarded the Outstanding Vocalist award in her category by the prestigious
Madras Music Academy.

Aspiring for academic scholarship alongside performing excellence, Padma pursued a PhD along with a faculty position in the SV college, Tirupati. She has also published several academic research papers,
while simultaneously balancing her performing career.

Padma has performed in most major sabhas in India, and has also done seven international concert tours beginning with a 17-concert tour of US in Spring season 2016. Padma was awarded the Outstanding Vocalist award in her category in 2014, at the prestigious Madras Music Academy, and was
subsequently promoted to the sub-senior category.

She has presented academic presentations and lecture-demonstrations at prestigious venues like the Madras Music Academy and the Ivy League institution, the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).
Padma founded the ‘Muktakantha’ school of music in 2022, with a view to carry the musical heritage forward in the next generation. She now teaches a very promising set of students around the world.

Embark on a melodic journey with me, download my CV to explore the milestones and soul-stirring performances that have shaped my musical odyssey.

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Music and Aesthetic Values

I believe that music must not be pulled down for populism , instead the audiences should be elevated through higher musical experience. Deep rooted in my values, are the tenets of pursuing excellence over adulation as an artist. This enables me to present music that is true to my aesthetics - a traditional and weighty Pathantara in consonance with the pristine raga-bhava.

I am particular about appreciating and aesthetically rendering the poetic lyrics, the nuanced emotion behind them, and the composer’s intent. In each of my concerts, I love to embrace the grandeur and majesty of slow-paced renditions by singing vilamba-kala items, cherishing their profound beauty. My musical ethos is to favor restraint over razzmatazz, and sublimity over showmanship.

Pt Ravi Shankar's iconic Woodstock concert exemplified his commitment to classicism without compromise. I am inspired by him and believe that we should aspire to take our music to such elevated heights, that it intuitively appeals to the uninitiated, even before it intellectually appeals to the scholar.

My childhood memories of her as my senior at St Johns English School and then at Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School are vivid. She was a brilliant student who won every academic proficiency prize there was, year after year.

Interview

Meet Dr Padma Sugavanam, an A-grade artist with All India Radio, who trained under the gurukulam environment with guru Seetha Rajan. A winner of the ‘’Most Outstanding Vocalist’’ award in the junior category of the Music Academy in 2014

Interview

Dr. Padma Sugavanam is a young musician from India, who represents a rare combination of a performing Carnatic musician and academic researcher. Padma’s musical abilities were recognized very early, when she won some of the toughest competitions

Interview