June 2026 LIVE concertS

We have three concerts this month including a 75-min concert. Please attend, encourage the artists and enjoy the concerts.

DATE: Saturday, June 20th, 2026

TIME: 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM

VENUE: SANATHANA DHARMA KENDRA, 3102 Landess Ave, San Jose, CA 95132

Dhruva Kotikalapudi  (Vocal)

Dhruva Kotikalapudi is a rising senior at Santa Clara High School and an accomplished Karṇāṭik musician, training in vocal music under Śmt. Akila Shankar and Śmt. Geeta Shankar since the age of five, and in vīṇā under Śrī Srikanth Chary. He completed his Karṇāṭaka vocal Araṅgēṭram in 2025 and has performed extensively as a soloist and ensemble artist across the Bay Area.

Dhruva has earned awards at the Cleveland Tyāgarāja Ārādhanā, Kaḷā Ārādhanā, OSAAT, Kaḷā Utsavam, and other music competitions. Beyond Indian classical music, he is an accomplished violinist, having served as concertmaster in middle school and been named a Junior Finalist in the 2022 Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. 

He is also a graduate of Silicon Andhra’s Manabaḍi program and a former teacher’s assistant at its Santa Clara center. Outside academics and music, Dhruva competes in swimming for both his high school team and the Santa Clara Swim Club. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors.

Akshara Sridhar (Veena)

Akshara has been an avid practitioner of Karnataka Sangeetham for over a decade. She is privileged to learn Veena from Guru Sri. Srikanth Chary (Disciple of Padma Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman).  She is also blessed to learn Vocal from Guru Sri. Ragavan Manian (Disciple of Padma Vibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna).

Akshara has been regularly presenting Veena and Vocal concerts for globally renowned organizations/ festivals in the US and in India, including the coveted Chennai Margazhi Music Season, TTD, ISKCON, VVS Foundation, SRFA, SAC Valley Margazhi, Yuva Sangeetha Lahari (NJ), iCarnatic.org (Detroit), etc.  She has also earned recognition at numerous regional, national and global competitions, including the prestigious “2023 Carnatic Star” title at Nadotsavam, awarded to the grand prize winner of a Carnatic music pentathlon.  

A recent graduate of Washington High School in Fremont, Akshara is also an active Western flute player and served as President of the jazz club. She is excited to begin the next chapter of her journey at UC Santa Cruz, where she will be pursuing the BMB (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) program on the Doctor of Pharmacy track.

Anirudh Suresh (Mridangam)

Anirudh has been learning mridangam for the past 11 years from Sri. Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan. He has also been learning vocal music for the past 7 years and currently learns from Sri. TN Arunagiri. 

In May 2024, he had his mridangam arangetram accompanying Sri. Bharat Sundar. He has played in the December Margazhi season in various sabhas and is a regular accompanist in the Bay Area and has supported various concerts organized by many different schools. He has also won prizes in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival, Sivan competitions, OSAAT, Bay Area Kala Utsavam, and many more. Notably, he placed second in SIFA’s Laya Shresta competition in 2025. Additionally, in 2024, Anirudh was blessed to have been inducted into the prestigious “Hall of Fame” by Life4You. 

Anirudh is a rising senior at Milpitas High School, and enjoys listening to music, and playing sports in his free time.

Janani Jeganathan (Vocal)

Janani Jeganathan is a 7th grader at Thornton Middle School, has been learning Carnatic music under the esteemed tutelage of Smt. Akila Iyer and Smt. Geeta Shankar for 7 years.

Her profound commitment to the art form is reflected in an extensive performance history. Janani has delivered notable solo performances for Carnatic Chamber Concerts (CCC) and Lotus, and has been featured in prestigious cultural events such as the CCC Sphatikothsavam 15th Anniversary, the Dikshitar 250th Anniversary, and the EPIC and Swararohanam showcases at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. She also did her first Margazhi concert for 90 mins last December.

Beyond the stage, Janani is a compassionate artist who uses her music to give back to the community. She has supported numerous charitable organizations, including Tamizh Isai Amudam, the Margam series, SIFA, and Aim for Seva. Furthermore, she is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Youth Foundation of Classical Arts (YFCA), which raises funds for cancer research and patient assistance.

Amulya Gayathri Akkenepalli (Violin)

Amulya Gayathri Akkenepalli is a 7th grader at Lawson Middle school and has been learning violin from Guru Smt. Sandhya Srinath for about 6 years.

Amulya has been performing in thematic ensembles by Vaadhya Vidhyaalaya. She has been blessed to perform at various Music organizations such as LOTUS, Cleveland Aradhana, CCC, Rasamanjari, OSAAT, etc. She has been accompanying various Bay Area music schools and dance schools .

Amulya is a disciple of Guru Late Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan and was learning vocal music from her. Amulya also learns Bharatanatyam from Guru Smt. Roopa Anand. 

Abhay Mukunda Akkenepalli (Mridangam)

Abhay Mukunda Akkenepalli is a 7th grader at Lawson Middle School and has been learning mridangam from Kalaimamani Guru Ramesh Srinivasan for about six years.

Abhay has been fortunate to perform in several thematic Tala vaadya programs by SPAC. He has been blessed to perform at various Music organizations such as LOTUS, Cleveland Aradhana, CCC, Rasamanjari, OSAAT, etc.

He has been accompanying various Bay Area music schools and Dance Schools.

Abhay is a disciple of Guru Late Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan and was learning vocal music from her. Abhay also attended Bharatanatyam dance classes at Guru Smt. Roopa Anand for few years. 

Sanchitha Kannabran (Vocal)

Sanchitha Kannabran is a recent UC Berkeley graduate and has been learning Carnatic music under the guidance of Smt. Kasthuri Shivakumar and Dr. Sri. Shivakumar Bhat for the past 7 years. She has participated in and won awards at several Bay Area events and competitions. In September 2025, she completed her vocal arangetram and continues to stay involved in music.

Roopa Rajagopalan (Violin)

Roopa is a violin and vocal disciple of Smt. Lavanya Kothandaraman. She also learns vocal music from Sri. Kaushik Lakshminarayanan. Roopa is a Senior at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.

Varun Rao (Mridangam)

Varun Rao has learned mrudangam from Shri Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan for over 10 years. Varun is currently undergoing advanced training under his paramaguru Kalaimamani Vidwan Shri Neyveli R. Narayanan. He performs regularly in the Bay Area for organizations like Carnatic Chamber Concerts, SR Fine Arts, South India Fine Arts, Live4You, Rasamanjari, and LOTUS and has won awards at competitions such as the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. In May 2025, Varun successfully completed his arangetram accompanying Vidwan Shri Kalyanapuram S Aravind, Vidushi Sruti Sarathy, and Vidwan Shri G Chandrasekara Sharma. He has performed in the Chennai Margazhi season for prestigious organizations like Narada Gana Sabha, Maarga, Nada Sudha, and VVS foundation. He is a freshman studying engineering at UC Berkeley.