ABOUT

Priya Purushothaman is a Hindustani classical vocalist based in Mumbai, India. She specializes in the style of the Agra gharana, characterized by its robustness, vibrancy, and playfulness. She is a disciple of Vidushi Aditi Kaikini Upadhya and Pandit Sudhindra Bhaumik, and receives guidance from Smt Shashikala Kaikini. She has also had the opportunity to study under the late stalwart Pandit Dinkar Kaikini - a musician who belonged to a rich lineage of inquiry, scholarship, composition, and performance.
 
Priya has performed extensively in India, the United States and Europe at venues and festivals such as the Barbican Centre (London); the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series (NYC); MIT Heritage Arts of South Asia (Boston); the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai); First Edition Arts (Mumbai); Dadar Matunga Cultural Centre (Mumbai); Kalakshetra (Chennai); Shanmukhananda Hall (Mumbai); Jaganmohan Palace Auditorium (Mysore); India International Centre (Delhi); among others. She is an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and a graded artist of All India Radio. 
 
She has collaborated across genres with artists including Grammy-award winning composer, Osvaldo Golijov, in his opera Ainadamar; with British electronic musician, Actress in the "Different Trains 1947" project; and has toured with Dutch Jazz ensemble, Spinifex. In 2019, Priya was selected as an artist-in-residence for the Bagh Sound Lab in Rajasthan, for which she researched the compositional aesthetics of scholar-composer Pandit S.N. Ratanjankar.

Prior to her 15 years of training in Hindustani music, Priya trained and performed in South Indian Carnatic vocal music and Western classical violin for 12 years.

As a writer on music, Priya has worked in diverse mediums to create innovative content on Hindustani music. She is the creator of Music & Masti, an original educational podcast for children on Hindustani music. She has also published the book "Living Music: Conversations with Pandit Dinkar Kaikini," which recounts the musical philosophy of her Guru, as well as articles on music in Indian newspapers such as The Hindu and the Deccan Herald.