Geetanjali

Adarsh Karnati is in 5th grade and has been learning violin for the past 4 years with Karin Islip in Sammamish. He plays violin for the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra and clarinet for his school band. Adarsh loves outdoor activities, especially skiing, and has been competitively swim-ming for the past 4 years. He likes to spend his free time building Lego and playing video games.

Akshaya Venkat is a junior at Skyline High School who has been playing violin for the past 7 years. She plays for her school orchestra and has won the “most inspirational player” for two consecutive years. Akshaya was nominated by her director to perform as a guest player for the Sam-mamish Symphony Orchestra. She has lettered in orchestra twice. In addition, she participates in her high school’s music festivals, concerts and plays. Apart from her music, she played basketball and softball for her high school. She volunteers in her free time.

Anand Nambakam has been learning violin for the past 4 years from Carolyn Willis in Bellevue. He is a member of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. His favorite sports include snowboarding, tennis, and soccer. He got his black belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 8. Anand loves to read and enjoys creating comic strips with his little brother, Arvind. He attends 5th grade in Samantha Smith Elementary School in Sammamish, WA.

Dylon Rajah just turned 10. he has been playing violin from the age of 4 and Saxophone from the age of 5. He presently studies Violin from Bianna Atwell, Saxophone from Galen Green, Guitar from Dean Werner and Piano from Wanda Griffin. He plays in a Brass Band and a String Orchestra with his brother Derek.

Derek Rajah has been playing violin from the age of 4 from various teachers. Presently he takes Violin lessons from Brianna Atwel, Saxophone from Galen Green and Guitar from Dean Werner. He plays Wii in his spare time and enjoys roller skating.

Meena Sethuraman has been playing violin for the past seven years. She started learning violin at the age of 6 using the Suzuki method under Mrs. Rochelle Pearson in Issaquah. She played violin for Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra during 2006-2007. She was the recipient of the Tonkonogui Award for Chamber Music in 2008. She is part of her school band and plays the flute. She also tries playing the alto saxophone once in a while. Meena enjoys classical music besides reading, bicycling, video games, and spending time on her computer. She does martial arts, too, and currently holds a brown belt.

Nalini Krishnan started learning Carnatic music at the age of 4 from Swapna and Immaneni Ashok. She is currently learning Carnatic music from Smt. Lalitha Sivakumar in Chennai and Hindustani Music from Vasu Sunderraj. She is also a Soprano in her school choir and was chosen to perform in the Northwest Treble.

Naveen Janarthanan is 13 yrs old and is a 7th grader in Heatherwood Middle School in Everett. Naveen loves to ski, go mountain biking, and play soccer and tennis. He plays select soccer for Snohomish United Soccer Club. Naveen plays the saxophone for his school band and has been playing piano since he was seven.

Prithvi Addepalli is a 10th grader at Skyline High School and has been a Geethanjali vocalist since 2005. She has been learning Carnatic music for 5 years now and is an avid musician in her school, having been invited to the All State Choir convention in Spokane. Prithvi is extremely grateful to be part of Geethanjali and enjoys doing everything she can to support the community.

Ravishankar Madhu is 12 years old and is studying in 6th grade in Crystal Springs Elementary in Bothell. Ravi is studying violin in western style from Mr. Fred Chu for last 6 years and this is his 2nd year performance in Geetanjali show. He also learns Carnatic music from his father. Ravi loves to read, do math, play video games and eat great indian food from his mom.

Samhita Karnati is a 7th grader at Redmond Junior High School. She has been learning violin for the past 5 years with Karin Islip in Sammamish and is a member of her school orchestra.Samhita has been learning carnatic music since the age of 7, initially with Meera Krishna, now with Ashok Kumara’s Sadhana School of Arts. Her other interest is swim-ming, which she has been doing competitively for the past 6 years.

Shabina Rayan has had a great interest in the violin once she started playing. She has been playing for about three years and loves the music the instrument conducts. At first, Shabina started out in the fourth grade orchestra to give the instrument a try. After getting more into the violin, Shabina signed up for private lessons with Rochelle Pearson. She is still taking lessons from Rochelle today and is learning for the Suzuki Learning Books. Violin has become one of Shabina’s main priorities because the instrument gives her a great musical interest. She is glad to have started learning the violin and plans to play and achieve it throughout her life.

Tony attends the 7th grade at Beaver Lake Middle School. He has been studying violin for 2 years under Rochelle Pearson in Issaquah and also plays the piano. In his free time he plays soccer with his brother, listens to music, and plays video games.