Jayanthi Kumaresh (born 1969) is an Indian classical musician best known for her mastery of the

Saraswati veena The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati veena) (, , , Malayalam: സരസ്വതി വീണ) is an ancient Indian plucked veena. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrume ...

. With a performing career of more than forty years, she has given concerts throughout India and abroad, recorded widely, and engaged in research and outreach dedicated to the instrument. Jayanthi holds a postgraduate degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and a doctorate from the

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

for her analytical study of veena playing styles. She is the youngest veena player to receive an A-Top grading from

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, the highest classification awarded to performing artists in India Her web series Cup O’ Carnatic (2016 – present) offers brief introductions to

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

s and compositional forms and has received several million views . A stage version of the series, combining music, animation, and storytelling, was presented in Bengaluru (2024) and Chennai (2025). Jayanthi received the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

’s

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

Award in 2022 and the Sangeet Shikhar Samman from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi, in 2019

Early life and education

Jayanthi represents the sixth generation of a family of musicians. She began formal study at age three with her mother, Lalgudi Rajalakshmi. At thirteen she entered the Gurukul of her aunt, Vidushi Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, remaining there for twenty-two years , and later studied with S. Balachander. She received further guidance from her maternal uncle, violinist

Lalgudi Jayaraman Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin trinity of Carnatic mu ...

, and from T. Brinda, T. R. Subramaniam, and Thanjavur Shankara Iyer. She is a researcher and holds a doctorate from the University of Mysore for her work on "styles and playing techniques of the

" and conducts

workshops Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

and

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

demonstrations around the world. She has founded the Indian National Orchestra, an ensemble that brings together artists from Carnatic and

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( English: /ˈhɪndustæn/ or /ˈhɪndustɑn/, ; ) was a historical region, polity, and a name for India, historically used simultaneously for northern Indian subcontinent and the entire subcontinent, used in the modern day ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

s. Her dissertation examines historical playing styles, references in classical treatises, and recent developments such as electronic Veenas. Portions of her research have been published in

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

s. She is married to Kumaresh Rajagopalan, the younger of the violinist duo Ganesh–Kumaresh.

Career

Since the early 1980s Jayanthi has toured extensively, appearing at venues such as the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

(London),

Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...

(Paris), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai), Lincoln Center (New York), and the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Festival appearances include the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

, Celtic Connections (Scotland), Bengal Classical Music Festival (Bangladesh),

WOMADelaide WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of music, arts and dance in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is an event that presents a diverse selection of music from artists around th ...

, and Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (Pune). In 2024 she performed at the Sydney Opera House with the trio Triveni, alongside Hindustani violinist Kala Ramnath and tabla player Zakir Hussain 5 The trio had previously completed an 18-city North American tour in 2022 6 Critics have praised her live performances for their technical clarity and emotive power, noting for instance that "Jayanthi’s Saraswathi Veena mesmerises" at the Dehradun Concert. Venues where Jayanthi was featured have included: *

, London, UK * Darbar Festival, London, UK *

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

, Scotland * Bengal Classical Music Festival, Bangladesh * Paris Festival of India, France *

Queensland Music Festival The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia, usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queens ...

, Australia * Darwin Music Festival, Australia * Sydney Music Festival, Australia * Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, USA * San Francisco Jazz Festival, USA *

, Australia & New Zealand * Humboldt Forum Museum, Berlin, Germany *

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

, Singapore *

Hong Kong Arts Festival The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), launched in 1973, is an international arts festival held in Hong Kong. It covers all genres of the performing arts as well as a diverse range of educational events in February and March each year. Histor ...

, Hong Kong *

Rikskonsertene Concerts Norway () was established in 1967 on the initiative of the Arts Council Norway (), with its main purpose described as follows: "Concerts Norway is to make living music of high artistic quality accessible to all people in the country." The ...

, Norway * Royal Festival Hall, London, UK *

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, Washington DC, USA *

* Irvine Barclay Theatre * The Grand Theatre,

Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) is a performing arts and multi-disciplinary cultural and exhibition space located in the city of Mumbai, India, that opened on 31 March 2023. The center was founded by Nita Ambani, philanthropist a ...

* Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, Pune * Shriram Shankarlal Music Festival * Bhavan Sangeet Samaroh

Collaborations and Global Endeavors

Jayanthi often collaborates across genres and traditions. Projects include: Indian National Orchestra (INO) - a 21-member ensemble presenting new compositions that combine Carnatic and Hindustani styles North-South Jugalbandhi Concerts - She has presented duet concerts with artists including

Ustad Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi (9March 195115December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Hussain was widely regarded as the g ...

Kala Ramnath Kala Ramnath is an Indian classical violinist. She belongs to the Mewati gharana, a lineage of musicians. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskaar in 2016, Rashtriya Kumar Gandharva Sanman in 2008 and the Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar ...

, Ronu Mazumdar, Purbayan Chatterjee, Rakesh Chaurasia and others. Triveni - Formed with Kala Ramnath (violin) and Zakir Hussain (tabla) in 2022, Triveni explores a confluence of Hindustani and Carnatic idioms . The ensemble has toured internationally, including an 18-city North American schedule and appearances at Sydney Opera House and other major venues. Collaborations with Indian Maestros - Duets with vocalists and instrumentalists; one recent example is a jugalbandi with Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri.. . Other selective examples include Shri Haridhwaramangalam A. K. Palanivel, Smt. Aruna Sairam, Smt. Sudha Ragunathan , Smt. Kaushiki Chakraborty , Shri.

Mysore Manjunath Mysore Manjunath (born in Mysore, India), is an Indian violinist. The son and disciple of violinist Vidwan S. Mahadevappa, Manjunath performed his first concert at the age of eight in Mysore as a child prodigy. He is one of the Mysore broth ...

, Smt. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, Smt. Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar and Ricky Kej. Universal Notes – a production curated for the Darbar Festival in London , where she collaborated with the British Philharmonic Orchestra and musicians from the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. Harmonies Across Continents - Joint programme with the Baroque ensemble Lautten Compagney at the Humboldt Forum, Berlin. Strings Attached - duet performances with violinist Kumaresh, featuring original and classical repertoire. Parallel Strings – concerts with pianist Anil Srinivasan that blend veena and piano

Discography

Jayanthi has released several albums with multiple themes and presentations, which includes 45 Ragas,{{Cite news , date=2024-05-27, title=Jayanthi Kumaresh, Interviewed (2024): The sound that heals and calms, language=en-IN , work=ChinmayaVishwaVidypeeth , url=https://www.elsewhere.co.nz/world-music/11135/jayanthi-kumaresh-interviewed-2024-the-sound-that-heals-and-calms/, access-date=2025-06-09 , issn= Jagruthi, Shankaram, Run with SA, Thillana Thillana, Timeless Tunes, The Singing Veena, Veena Saman, Veena Visions, Walking Together, and many others. Jayanthi composed and released the album "Mysterious Duality", in which the artist has played 7 different Veena tracks. This album has been hailed as a path breaker. Jayanthi has recorded for Labels Times Music, Music Today, Sa re ga ma, Sense World, and Home Records. {, class="wikitable" , + !Title !Date !Collaborators , - , The Singing Veena , , HMV , - , Jagruthi , 2000 , Music Today (solo) , - , Shankaram , 2003 , Music Today , - , December Season , 2007 , Charsur , -
Thillana thillana
, 2007 , Home Records , - , Walking together , 2007 , Navras Records, UK (Gaurav Majumdar Sitar) , -
Mandala
, 2008 , Sense World Music , -
Shastriya Syndicate – Syndicated
, 2008 , Sense World Music , - , Moving Melodies , , Charsur , -
Mysterious Duality
, 2010 , EarthSync , -
Flowers of Southern India
, 2012 , Centaur Records, USA , - , Strings Attached , 2012 , Home Records , - , Veena Saman , 2013 , Hansavedas Academy, USA , - , Vipanchi , 2014 , Dutta Peetam , - , Timeless Tunes , 2016 , Home Records , - , 45 Ragas , 2018 , Home Records , - , Run with Sa , 2023 , HomeRecords (FiddlingMonk Violin) , - , Sanmarga , , HomeRecords , - , Veena Seshanna Compositions , , , - , Veena Visions , 2024 , Home Records

Teaching and outreach

Jayanthi has worked with India’s Ministry of Culture and

on lecture series and masterclasses, delivered TED talks, and collaborated with

SPIC MACAY The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth, abbreviated as SPIC MACAY, is a voluntary youth movement which promotes intangible aspects of Indian cultural heritage by promoting Indian classical music, clas ...

to widen Carnatic music’s audience. At the

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

’s morning academic sessions she has presented papers on topics such as “Styles of Veena Playing” and “Tana and its Impact on Raga Grammar.” and "Tana and its impact on raga grammar"

Cup O' Carnatic

Her web series, Cup O' Carnatic (2016-present) offers concise explanations of Carnatic concepts. Later seasons linked ragas to popular melodies, produced episodes for children, and examined individual ragas in depth.Jayanthi has remarked that one goal of Cup O’ Carnatic was to remove the idea that Carnatic music is too complex for lay listeners{{Cite news , last=Govind , first=Ranjani , date=2021-07-11 , title=Cup O' Carnatic introduces classical music in short modules: Jayanthi Kumaresh to TNM, language=en-IN , work=TheNewsMinute , url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/features/cup-o-carnatic-introduces-classical-music-short-modules-jayanthi-kumaresh-tnm-152144, access-date=2025-05-13 , issn=.

Cup O' Carnatic season highlights

* Seasons 1–3: Covering fundamental Concepts of Carnatic Music * Season 4: "Season of Carnatic" - spanning 30 episodes, explores over 50 ragas, guiding rasikas to recognize and appreciate popular compositions within each raga * Season 5: "Fun Series" - Connecting Popular tunes/songs to Ragas in Carnatic Music. * Season 6: "Kids Series" - Musical Storytelling to young rasikas * Season 7: "Point of View" - One ragam is explored extensively in each episode, demonstrating a spectrum of emotions or Rasas achievable within that particular Ragam. * Season 8: "Nostalgia" – Jayanthi guides the audience through her musical journey, sharing intricate insights into her training and practices under her revered Gurus. Her latest production, Cup o' Carnatic, a live show, which premiered in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and later in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, is a blend of music, animation and

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

Jayanthi Kumaresh Academy for Veena

Founded in 2021, the academy provides online masterclasses aimed at widening access to veena instruction

Productions

As a composer Jayanthi has written scores for dance works (Krishna Bhakthi, Abbakarani, Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya), for the National South Asian Youth Orchestra (UK){{cite news , last1= , first1= , date= , title=Thriveni , url=https://fac.umass.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=ZakirArtists#:~:text=title%20of%20%E2%80%9CKalaimamani%E2%80%9D%20,bandhis , work=UMassAmherst , language=en-IN, and for single releases such as “Janani,” “Vasanthabhairavi,” and “A Thousand Stars.” Her stage concepts include Story in Concert., which combines narration, painting, and music, and the 45 Ragas Concert, a continuous garland of ragas without kritis or accompaniment. She also leads the fusion ensemble Indian Spice and has recorded therapeutic music for Times Now.IndianExpress hails her novel ideas thus: "Blending the traditional and the innovative in her music in terms of content, technique, virtuosity and expression, Jayanthi seeks to express the true voice of the veena, which transcends the boundaries of language and region."{{Cite news , last=Pillai , first=K , date=2019-12-27 , title=Veena luminary Janyanthi Kumaresh goes the digital route with a video series on YouTube , language=en , work=IndulgeExpress , url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/music/2019/Dec/27/veena-luminary-janyanthi-kumaresh-goes-the-digital-route-with-a-video-series-on-youtube-20978.html , access-date=2025-06-09 , issn=

Awards

* 2006: State award of

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

from Tamil Nadu Government * 2018: Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal - Chennai * 2019: Bhavan's Sangeet Shikhar Samman - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi * 2020: K.S. Narayanaswamy Award for Veena - Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Mumbai * 2022: Sangeetha Vedanta Dhurina - Bangalore * 2022: Sangeet Natak Academy{{Cite news , last=Janaki , first=S , date=2024-03-14, title=Sangeet Natak Akademi awards mark a milestone in artistes' lives, language=en-IN , work=TheHindu , url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/sangeet-natak-akademi-awards-mark-milestones-in-artistes-lives/article67942264.ece, access-date=2025-05-13 , issn=

References

{{Reflist {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaresh, Jayanthi Living people Indian women musicians Tamil musicians Saraswati veena players 1969 births