Chandramouli Narayanan

Born in a family of teachers, Chandramouli represents the ninth generation from the Karaikudi Vina Tradition. He learnt vina from his mother Lakshmi Ammal, daughter of Karaikudi Subbarama Iyer, the elder of the illustrious Karaikudi Vina Brothers. Music was part of growing up in the family and Chandramouli supported his mother in teaching vina. He was tutored by his father, a middle school teacher, in the Montessori methodology. Chandramouli's passion to teach developed from this background. He continues to teach vina in the northwest. He is also teaching Tamil through Dhvani.

A Software Engineer by profession, Chandramouli firmly believes that Arts & Science are central to the development of individuals from childhood. He greatly enjoys teaching children.

Chandramouli has produced recordings of the Karaikudi Vina Tradition under the label SonicSoul Acoustics. He works on recording & archiving musics of master musician-teachers.

As one of the founding members, he is deeply involved in every aspect of Dhvani.

Sreevidhya Chandramouli

Daughter of Smt. Rajeshwari Padmanabhan, Sreevidhya is a tenth generation vina player in the Karaikudi Vina tradition. She started learning vina from her mother at the age of four, began performing at the age of nine, and gave her first solo performance at the age of sixteen.

In addition to this traditional background, she pursued music academically and holds a Masters Degree in music from the University of Madras. Sreevidhya was a visiting artist at the University of Washington in 1993-95, where she also did graduate work in ethnomusicology and cultural anthropology.

A regular performer on All India Radio and Indian Doordarshan (TV) for the last two decades, Sreevidhya has performed for various prestigious organizations in India, Europe and North America. She has been teaching and performing in the Pacific Northwest since 1990. She offers regular lecture- demonstrations at the University of Washington, University of Oregon and Lewis & Clark College.

In addition to music, she is a professional painter and disciple of the musician-teacher- painter Sri S. Rajam.

Sudha Radhakrishnan

A Physics graduate, Sudha is a self-taught software programmer. A mother of two boys herself, she firmly believes in endowing children with an in depth knowledge and understanding of Indian culture and traditions. Her insistence on the commitment to authenticity that is required in learning any art form is an asset that she brings to Dhvani. Sudha shares with Dhvani her own knowledge of the Tamil language supporting Chandramouli Narayanan at the Dhvani Tamil classes every week.

Hema Balasubramanian

A Masters graduate in Computer Applications, Hema is a lover of music, be it vocal or instrumental, classical or light music. As a mother of two daughters, she strongly believes that it is all the more important for US immigrants like herself to inculcate Indian traditions and culture at home. She looks to Dhvani as a source to provide cultural enrichment to the first generation America born Indian children so that they'll be able to carry on the traditions for generations to come.

Sivakumar Visweswaran

Sivakumar hails from a traditional family with origins in Tanjore, South India. Having worked in Technology/Program Management for over 10 years, he completed Master's in Business Administration at the University of Chicago, and is currently pursuing a career in Company Strategy/Finance. Sivakumar is taking vocal Carnatic music lessons from Mrs.(Dr.) Sreevidhya Chandramouli. 

Music invokes a profound emotional response, be it Carnatic or Western. The devotional lyric weaved in with melodic ornamentation in Carnatic music stimulates both the intellect and spirituality. Today as we are struggling to deal with a more materialistic society which has immense competition, Sivakumar believes that involvement in music and other forms of arts will help strike the right balance. This balance is more relevant for kids who will make it well in tomorrow's world. 

It is quintessential that this be inculcated in children right from their early developmental age and all through their formative years. Dhvani through its activities can reach out to both parents and children to enhance individual development and progressively enable community development.