28 Facts About Aruna Sairam

Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer.

Aruna Sairam is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022.

In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London.

Aruna Sairam is the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel.

Vidhushi Aruna Sairam was born in Mumbai into a Tamil musical family.

Aruna Sairam received vocal training from her mother Rajalakshmi Sethuraman, who was a student of the Alathur Brothers and Thanjavoor Sankara Iyer.

Aruna Sairam's father Shri Sethuraman was a music connoisseur who hosted musicians and dancers in the family home.

At one of these gatherings, Aruna Sairam met Sangita Kalanidhi Smt.

Aruna Sairam was influenced by film, western and Hindustani classical music.

Prof T R Subramanyam, an acclaimed music professor at Delhi University, taught Aruna Sairam to sing and spontaneously compose within ragam-tanam-pallavi.

Aruna Sairam met German voice maestro Eugene Rabine, who helped her discover and apply a new sound and emotion to her voice.

Aruna Sairam later took advice and guidance from Carnatic singer M Balamuralikrishna.

Aruna Sairam has performed across the country at venues including The Music Academy in Chennai, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai, Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi, and at seminars and the festival held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, the Music Forum in Mumbai, and the Kolkata's Sangeet Research Academy.

Aruna Sairam worked as a visiting professor at a German music conservatory where she taught South Indian music.

Aruna Sairam was intrigued at the lack of awareness of her art form outside the subcontinent.

Aruna Sairam performed at the BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Aruna Sairam has performed at New York's Carnegie Hall, Paris's Theatre de la Ville and Morocco's Fes Festival of World Sacred Music.

Aruna Sairam has collaborated with many artists across the globe.

Aruna Sairam has won many national and international awards, including the Padma Shri and the US Congress Proclamation of Excellence.

Aruna Sairam received Chevalier Award by French Government on November 5,2022.

Aruna Sairam has collaborated with artists including French artistry Dominque Vellard and Christian Bollman of Germany, as well as with eminent Hindustani musicians.

Aruna Sairam has released "Aruna: Thousand Names of the Divine Mother", an album containing sacred chants from the Lalitha Sahasaranamam.

Aruna Sairam has undertaken various mentoring programmes, notably the 2011 BBC World Routes Academy Project by BBC Radio 3, in which she tutored the British-born, South Asian veena player Hari Sivanesan.

Aruna Sairam tutored a French singer of medieval chant Marco Horvat under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme.

Aruna Sairam has taught at Harvard Sangeet, a workshop on Carnatic Music for students of Harvard University, US.

Aruna Sairam was appointed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu as an advisor to the Department of Culture, Tamil Nadu, on Musical Education between 2007 and 2011.

Aruna Sairam has written a detailed thesis about voice training and she tutors young artists in this subject.

Aruna Sairam has been well received by overseas publications across her performances.