Shruthi Rajasekar

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Shruthi Rajasekar is an American composer [1] [2] and singer [3] of contemporary Western classical and Carnatic music. [1] [4] [5] Rajasekar is a 2025 McKnight Fellow in Composition. [6]

Contents

Shruthi Rajasekar
ARNCM
BornNovember 1996 (age 28)
Minnesota, USA
Genres Carnatic, Western classical, experimental
Occupation(s)Composer, singer
Publishers Oxford University Press, Stainer & Bell, ABRSM, Voces8 Publishing, Murphy Music Press
Websitewww.shruthirajasekar.com

Background

Shruthi Rajasekar was born and raised in Minnesota, USA. [7] She is the daughter of Carnatic musician Nirmala Rajasekar [7] [8] and is of Indian Tamilian descent. [9] [10]

Education

Shruthi Rajasekar graduated from Princeton University, [11] [12] where she studied with Donnacha Dennehy, Barbara White, Juri Seo, Dan Trueman, and Gabriel Crouch. [11] [13] During this time, she also studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Patricia Rozario. [13]

Rajasekar went to the United Kingdom on a Marshall Scholarship. [12] She pursued a postgraduate degree in ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London with supervisor Richard Widdess. [14] She also received her master's degree in composition at the Royal Northern College of Music. [1] [15]

Career

Rajasekar has created new works for Seattle Pro Musica, [1] I Fagiolini, [16] the Yale Glee Club, [17] the Royal Academy of Music, [18] cellist Abel Selaocoe and The Hermes Experiment, [19] American Guild of Organists, [20] The Gesualdo Six, [21] and the BBC Singers. [22]

In 2020, BBC Music Magazine named Rajasekar a "Rising Star." [7] In 2023, Rajasekar was made an Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM) for her "exceptional contributions to the profession." [23] [9]

Composers Bob Chilcott, Shruthi Rajasekar, and Reena Esmail at the Oxford University Press exhibition booth, ACDA, Dallas, TX Bob Chilcott Shruthi Rajasekar Reena Esmail.jpg
Composers Bob Chilcott, Shruthi Rajasekar, and Reena Esmail at the Oxford University Press exhibition booth, ACDA, Dallas, TX

Rajasekar was a recipient of a 2023 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship. [24] She holds a 2025 Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowship in Composition from the McKnight Foundation and American Composers Forum. [6]

Sarojini

In 2021, Rajasekar created a multi-movement work called Sarojini on Sarojini Naidu and the Indian Independence Movement. [25] The work contains poetry and speeches by Naidu, including writings from "The Broken Wing" and a compilation of Naidu's texts edited by G.A. Natesan. [26] [27] Sarojini was premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus and conductor David Temple in 2022, in honor of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. [25] [28] In October 2025, American choir VocalEssence will perform the North American premiere of Sarojini. [29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "This composer combines South Indian classical music and Western choral tradition". The Seattle Times. 2022-12-07. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  2. ↑ Collon, Nicholas; Gardner, Edward; Hollingworth, Robert; Karabits, Kirill; Oramo, Sakari; Petrenko, Vasily; Rattle, Simon; Rouvali, Santtu-Matias; Vogt, Lars (2020-03-08). "Blistering and virtuosic, depth and wisdom... women composers we should listen to". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Composer Spotlight: Shruthi Rajasekar". www.yourclassical.org. 2021-03-16. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  4. ↑ Peacocke, Gemma (2019-04-16). "5 Questions to Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade and Shruthi Rajasekar (composers)". I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  5. ↑ "10 contemporary women composers to add to your music rotation". www.yourclassical.org. 2021-03-03. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  6. 1 2 LISTEN, I. CARE IF YOU (2025-02-04). "Announcing the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship and Visiting Residency Awardees". I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  7. 1 2 3 Hubbard, Rob (2024-02-13). "Shruthi Rajasekar performs her new work 'Parivaar' as part of the Schubert Club Mix". www.startribune.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  8. ↑ "Carnatic music master Nirmala Rajasekar passes on love for music". MPR News. 2012-11-14. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  9. 1 2 Nair, Sreelakshmi S. (2024-01-06). "Tunes of merit". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  10. ↑ Danish Raza, Star Tribune (2019-08-09). "Four artists from India who made their mark on Minnesota". www.startribune.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  11. 1 2 "Students have the power to expand culture and inclusion at Princeton". The Princetonian. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  12. 1 2 Valenti, Denise (4 December 2017). "Senior Rajasekar awarded Marshall Scholarship for graduate study in the UK". www.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  13. 1 2 MoreCanvas (2023-04-16). "Advisee Stories: Bridging Musical Worlds from Carnatic to Chamber Music". Department of Music at Princeton University. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  14. ↑ "Shruthi Rajasekar". Tusen Takk Foundation. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  15. ↑ "Shruthi Rajasekar | Interlochen Center for the Arts". www.interlochen.org. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  16. ↑ "Re-Wilding the Wasteland: I Fagiolini return to Live from London". Opera Today. 2021-04-24. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  17. ↑ Park, Jane (2023-11-16). "Yale-Harvard arts and performance groups collaborate for The Game". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 2025-03-17. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  18. ↑ "Royal Academy of Music 200 PIECES goes live. | Colin's Column". www.colinscolumn.com. Archived from the original on 2024-05-18. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  19. ↑ "Rajakesar, Selaocoe, The Hermes Experiment, Wigmore Hall review - a joyful, fascinating laboratory of noise". theartsdesk.com. 2024-11-25. Archived from the original on 2025-01-01. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  20. ↑ "Shruthi Rajasekar – 2026 AGO National Convention – St. Louis, Missouri" . Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  21. ↑ "The Gesualdo Six". Newport Classical. Archived from the original on 2025-06-18. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  22. ↑ "BBC Singers and National Youth Choir announce partnership to nurture next generation of singers". Gramophone. Archived from the original on 2024-11-03. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  23. ↑ "RNCM announces recipients of 2023 Honorary Awards - Royal Northern College of Music". RNCM. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  24. ↑ "Past Grantees". Jerome Foundation. 8 January 2025.
  25. 1 2 Hugill, Planet. "Sarojini: Shruthi Rajasekar's new piece, premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus, merges Western classical and Carnatic musical traditions" . Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  26. ↑ "New commission". Hertfordshire Chorus. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  27. ↑ Hertfordshire Chorus (2021-04-16). Hertfordshire Chorus TV - David Temple in conversation with Shruthi Rajasekar. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2025-06-17– via YouTube.
  28. ↑ "'Pandemic has taught us how valuable, and indeed precious, live music is,' says musician Shruthi Rajasekar | EasternEye". www.easterneye.biz. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  29. ↑ "Sarojini - Minnesota Orchestra". www.minnesotaorchestra.org. Archived from the original on 2025-06-23. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
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