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Sai Sewa Singing Idol Competition 24 -  Judges

Judges from Milwaukee

       Dhivyashree Senthil Murugan

She is a Student at UW - Milwaukee. She studied Carnatic music under Sahana music academy. Her teacher was Santa Shantaprakash who came from the lineage of TN Seshagopalan, a renowned Carnatic musicians who performed at various venues around the world.

She performed at temples and kept trying to get better with each performance. She has performed at Ekanta Seva at HTW couple of times.

She has also performed at Thyagaraja Aradhana's at Milwaukee, Michigan and Chicago. She specializes in vocal (singing) music.

Reema Banerjee

She is currently Teaching Hindustani Classical Vocals( Klasekel Academy) and math/ physics ( Public education). 

She specializes in Vocals and studied from Sangeet Prabhakar ( PSS Allahabad University) under the tutelage of Late Smt T Chabraborty and learnt critical musical nuances from veteran singer Late Begum Rehmatullah from B'desh. She has won Sangeet Prabhakar/ Visharath and multiple music awards through state wide vocal competitions organized by Steel Authority of India Limited and inter school and university competitions.

She has performed in India ( Orissa) as well as in Milwaukee ( United States) in various cultural shows organized by BCSM, MTA, HTW, WISS, SEWA etc.

Ratish Namboothiry

He is a Vice President - Sustainability at Legrand.

He learnt basics of Carnatic Classical vocal in early ages and subsequently was a formally trained guitar player for close to a decade on Guitar and music theory. He has won first place at All India music & Dance competitions multiple times hosted by Swar Sadhna Samiti for Guitar performances.

He has also performed in All India Radio several times, numerous stage performances as a vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player.

As a life long music learner and musician, He loves listening and playing all kinds of music (light, western fusion, classical, etc).

Lochan Pandya

He is a Software Development Director and running Tabla Academy in Milwaukee for 10+ years.

He has studied music from Guru Akhilesh ji Maharaj at Kumbha Kala Kendra, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

He has won multiple awards such as Urdu Ghazal Rawani Award, Udaipur; Best singer Lake City Award, Udaipur; Music Lover’s Club Special Recognition. Cover Page mention on the Falls Magazine, FM Radio PaniPuri Chicago Singer, Mr. & Mrs. Wisconsin award during IndiaFest; Dhol Tasha group composer, Maharashtra Mandal, Milwaukee, percussion group member, Milwaukee.

He has performed with Pr.Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s Disciple.

He specializes in playing Tabla and Singing.

Dr. Nisha Pandya

She is an accomplished academic, cultural leader, and writer with a Ph.D. in Vallabh Sampradaya, specializing in music and Hindi literature.

She holds prestigious certifications such as Sangeet Bhushan and Sangeet Visharad.

With over 15 years of experience as a broadcaster and announcer for All India Radio and Doordarshan, she has also excelled in cultural leadership as President of the Women’s Poetry Forum (Wisconsin) and Cultural Minister of the Hindi Club of Illinois (Chicago).

Dr. Pandya is also a published author of several works, including the poetry collection "Main Aur Mere Aas Paas" and a research thesis on Pushtimargiya music, "Contribution of Kumbhandas in the Pushtimargiya Music Tradition." Her contributions to music, literature, and culture have earned her numerous awards and honors in both India and the USA.

Shruthi Suryakumar

She is a Homemaker currently.

She studied Carnatic music in India under the esteemed guidance of Guru Shri. Mahesh, disciple of Shri. K.J. Yesudas, and Guru Smt. Geetha Seshagopalan W/o T.N. Seshagoplan and hindustani under Guru Smt. Tanushree.

She had the privilege of receiving a prestigious award from the Governor of Tamil Nadu, India. Title winner of Sun/Gemini Nakshatram television competition by Radaan Productions, India. Earned multiple accolades across various categories and genres at the Wisconsin Singing Idol 2019.

She possess extensive experience performing in light music, symphony orchestras, devotional singing at temple events, corporate shows, fundraisers, and live concerts across India and the USA. She has also had the privilege to contribute as a playback singer for a few  films.

She specializes in vocal and veena.

She is dedicated to community service and teaching shlokas to preserve and pass them on to future generations.

She has taught Vishnu Sahasranamam to over 3,500 students, including adults, children, and vision-impaired students using Braille documents, and my teaching journey continues to this day.

Additionally, She had the blessed opportunity to impart sacred chants such as Annapurnashtakam, Mahishasura Mardini, Kanakadhara Stotram, and currently, Ganesha Pancharatnam to the Wisconsin community for mass chanting at the local temple.

She is actively engaged in devotional/bhajan singing at temples and hospitals in India, with a special focus on promoting patient well-being through music.

Banu Arasada

She is a Business Analyst. She learned music from Bandaru Kameshwari garu, India.

She is 2nd Runner Up in TANA 2009 and 1st Runner up in NATS 2018

She performed with a famous telugu singer Sunitha Upadrashta TANA 2023, Philadelphia.

Rajesh Namboothiry

He is an executive who has learnt singing from Mumbai, India.

He has been performing for various events within Greater Milwaukee area and is very well known and sought after singer.

Judges from Racine/Kenosha

Sesha Bhavana Kallakuri

She works as a Toxicologist for SC Johnson conducting human health risk assessment for personal care products.

She is a trained Carnatic vocalist for over 15 years under the able guidance of "Sangeeta Amani" Vizianagaram D. Vardhani Garu.

She has passed with distinction in the Certificate course examination from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University.

Judges from Appleton/Green Bay

Nila D Vaishnav 

She is a IT Product Manager in India and the US - Shreemayee Kar in the US and a Guru (no longer) in India. 

She has won 2nd prize in the singing competition in Appleton and she specializes in Singing mainly. 

She is passionate about music. Have a good "ear" and She has taught classical music to a student here in Appleton for a few years.

Shreekant Shah 

He is a retired engineer and has learned Sitar, Semi professional Sitar player Learning with Pt. Kushal Das in India.

He has performed at Chicago Music Festival and At Lawrence University.

He mainly specializes in Sitar and Singing.

Dilip Tannan 

He is a physician and self taught singer.

He specializes in singing and harmonium.

Judges from Madison

Deepthi Kamath 

She is a software professional. She studied singing from Smt.Sudhamani for 4 years and also from Sri Raghavendra Rao for 3 years in Mangalore and Bangalore. She has participated, Won and Conducted several Carnatic music, Patriotic music and Movie songs. 

She has performed for Radio, And TV for local channels in Mangalore.

She has learnt Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam. Finished Karnataka state level exams and performed arangetram in dance in Madison.

She has always been passionate about music dance and arts.

Akila Rangarajan

She is a Carnatic music teacher. She learnt Carnatic music initially from Shri Kannan of Kovai Kannan Brothers and my advanced training from Guru Shri Chitravina Narasimhan. 

She runs a music school, Nādōpāsanā Music School in Madison, WI. She mainly specializes in Carnatic music.

Gopal Krishnan

 He is a Biotechnology science professional who has learnt music in India and continuing in US. His mentors include Smt. Padma Sundaresan (Chennai), Akila Rangarajan.

He had received several awards at school, college level as well as community competition level in Madison.

He has performed in college band and also has been a lead singer in his research institute band (National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi), and he is also a performing member of Sangamam music group in Madison WI.

He specializes in Vocal music ( Carnatic, patriotic songs and film songs from Tamil, Telugu and Hindi).

He describes himself as a music enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge in Carnatic classical and film songs of different genre.

Note: This is not a complete list, we are working on finalizing judges and adding their profile information to this pages. Please stay tuned.