Gaayatri Kaundinya

Eleven year old Gaayatri Kaundinya has studied with Ali Akbar Khan for 7 years. Gaayatri is a dedicated and very bright vocal student of Dr. Khan. She was in initiated into music by Khansahib when she was 4 years old. Gayaatri was exposed to classical music at an early age by her grandfather Mr. Venkata Rao. She used to sing along with the tapes while listening. Noticing her interest, her family moved from Colorado to the Bay area to send her to music school. Her strong command of compositions and technique lend a depth and beauty to her performances that reflect the teachings of her Guru.

She has made tremendous progress tackling the challenging edifice of classical north Indian vocal music and shows tremendous promise as an artist and scholar. Gayaatri has performed in student concerts at the College, at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for the 2nd Annual Youth World Music Showcase, part of the 5th Annual San Francisco World Music Festival. She has also performed at public schools in Marin under the AACM Performing Artists in the Schools program.