About us

Kanchana Shree Lakshminarayana Music Academy Trust®
(A Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Karnataka Music)

Kanchana Shree Lakshminarayana Music Academy Trust® is a non-profit institution devoted to the propagation and promotion of Karnataka (Carnatic) music. For nearly a century, the Trust has selflessly nurtured this divine art form, preserving its rich traditions while inspiring new generations of musicians.

Recognized and respected in Bengaluru as well as its native town Kanchana, the Academy is deeply passionate about teaching Carnatic music and organizing cultural initiatives such as Kanchanotsava and Gurukula Workshops. These events foster enthusiasm, creativity, and a deep love for learning among students.

Embracing the best of both tradition and technology, the Academy has also launched Kanchana Online Music Classes, enabling learners across the world to access high-quality, traditional music education from the comfort of their homes.

Leadership Team

Kanchana Music Academy Trust is currently led by
  • Smt. Rohini Subbarathnam (wife of Late Shri Kanchana Subbarathnam)
  • K.U.Jayachandra Rao
  • Kanchana Sisters - Shriranjani and Shruthiranjani (daughters of Late Shri Kanchana Subbarathnam)

Upholding decades of tradition and dedication to students, the trust continues to provide rigorous training in Karnataka sangeetha music including Vocal, Mridangam, Violin, Konnakol, and Tabla

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Our Team

  • Padmavibhushana Rajarshi Dr.D Veerendra Heggade

    President

  • Sri. K U Jayachandra Rao

    Vice President

  • Smt. K. Rohini Subbarathnam

    Secretary

  • Smt. Kanchana S Shriranjani

    Treasurer

  • Poojya D. Harshendra Kumar

    Member

  • Smt. Kanchana S Shruthiranjani

    Member

  • Smt. Veena Srinivas

    Member

News and Events

Gallery

Thyagaraja Pancharathna Goshti Gayana, Kanchanothsava 2015
60th Kanchanothsava
L Subrahmaniam and Ambi Subrahmaniam playing Samayamide at 60th Kanchanothsava
Raga Thodi (Todi) - Endu Daginado - L. Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam (Part 1)


Raga Thodi (Todi) - Endu Daginado - L. Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam (Part 2)
Raga Thodi (Todi) - Endu Daginado - L. Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam (Part 3)
VADYAPANCHAKAM || KANCHANOTSAVA 2018
Janani Ninnuvina ll Reetigowla ll HK Venkatram ll Kanchanotsava 2018


Kamboji Atta Tala Varnam ll Ravichandra Kulur ll Kanchanotsava 2012
Merusamaana ll Ramakrishnan Murthy ll Kanchanotsava 2012
Sri Maha Ganapati l Amith Nadig l Kanchanotsava 2015
Siddhi Vinayakam l Akkarai Sisters l Kanchanotsava 2015


Dinamani Vamsha l S Shankar l Kanchanotsava 2016
Abhishek Raghuram l Kanchanotsava 2013 l Shahana Varnam l
The Luster of Nalinakanti
Kanchana Sriranjani and Kanchana Shrutiranjani SimhanandaTala Avadhana Pallavi


Hanuma Bheema - Kanchana Sisters
Kanchanotsava 2016, Ramachandra Raghuveera - Bhajan - Musical Procession
Founder of Kanchana Music Academy - Karnataka Kala shri Kanchana V Subbarathnam- Abhogi Varnam
Kanchanothsava 2021

Kanchana-Gurukulam Online

Kanchana Shree Lakshminarayana Music Academy trust® is a non-profit trust dedicated for the propagation and promotion of Indian classical music. The trust has worked selflessly towards this cause for nearly 100 years.

In the early 1930s, a Veena artist and Leg harmonium player named Smt. Kanchana Anandalakshmi Ammal started Sree Lakshminarayana school of music and Arts in Dakshina Kannada. The institution was primarily set up to bring performances and training for the benefit of the local audience by the legends such as Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, G N Balasubramaniam, Chakrakodi Narayana Shastri and such others.

The first disciple of this institute – Anandalakshmi Ammal's son – Sangeeta Ratna Kanchana Venkatasubramaniam, an incredible vocalist and composer - inspired by his mother's services transformed the institute during the 1950s into a “gurukula system” music school that provided free music lessons, free accommodation, free food, clothing, medicine and basic amenities. During those years, this gurukula housed more than 150 pupils from many parts of Dakshina Karnataka.

Under the guidance of Kanchana Venkatasubramaniam and his son Karnataka Kalasri Kanchana Subbarathnam (well known violinist, composer, vocalist and teacher) the institution gained prominence with regular monthly stage practice concerts for students, thematic concerts based on prominent carnatic music composers such as Thayagaraja, Dikshitar, Shyamashastri, Purandara dasa etc. In 1954, Sree Kanchana Lakshminarayana Music Academy Trust was registered and recognized by the government.

The institution today is lead by Smt Rohini Subbarathnam (w/o Shri Kanchana Subbarathnam), Kanchana sisters - Smt Shriranjani and Smt Shruthiranjani and Shri K U Jayachandra Rao. Keeping up years of tradition and relentless service to the students of music, the institution is committed to impart rigorous training in carnatic and hindustani music in the Vocal, Mrudangam, Violin, Konnakol and Tabala streams. With the advent of technology, the institution is now dedicated towards extending the tradition of imparting classical music training using the online platform, at the same time preserving the rigour of learning. The trust introduces KANCHANA-GURUKULAM ONLINE, a platform to register, learn and share learning experiences online.

Kanchana-Gurukulam Online platform is designed in a manner to maintain the rigour of learning classical music despite the disadvantages that distance learning brings in. This is achieved by bringing in personalised attention by way of tailoring classes based on the student's capability and aspirations, providing opportunities to collaborate with fellow students, sharing experiences of other online students and monitoring the individual's progress on a regular basis. This is also augmented by face-face sessions designed around the limitations of distances using different workable approaches.

The personalised course content based on each student's level of learning and goals will be designed by Shri K U Jayachandra Rao for Mrudangam, Konnakol, Tabala and by the Kanchana sisters for Vocal, Violin.

K U JAYACHANDRA RAO
Vidwan Jayachandra Rao is one of the most sought after mridangam artists today performing regularly around the globe. K U Jayachandra Rao, a Master’s degree holder in M.Sc. (Bio Science), hails from a family of musicians. A player moulded in Tanjavur Bani of mridanga playing, Jayachandra Rao is recognised and reputed today, for his Gayaki Style of mridanga rendering. Jayachandra Rao has extensively performed all over India and abroad in various music festivals, regularly accompanying most of the leading artists of classical music today, collaborating with artists from different genres of music and percussion, as well as giving mridangam solo performances. A committed teacher, Jayachandra Rao is also a very sought after guru for learning Konnakkol , with his students spread worldwide.

KANCHANA S SHRIRANJANI
The elder of the KANCHANA SISTERS duo, Shriranjani was initiated into the music at the tender age of 3 by her father & renowned violinist “KARNATAKA KALASHREE” KANCHANA V SUBBARATHNAM. KANCHANA SISTERS today are recognised for their rendition of complex "Avadhana Pallavis”, learnt from their uncle Dr. R.S. Nandakumar. A law degree holder and a topper in carnatic vocal and violin “Vidwath” grade examinations, she is a graded artist of All India Radio, an empanelled artiste of ICCR and has won various Awards in the field of music like ANANYA YUVA PURASKAR, prestigious 'KALAAVATHAMSA' award conferred by Gokulam School of Music etc. She has also performed extensively in India and abroad as a part of KANCHANA SISTERS duo. Shriranjani is also a committed teacher, training students in violin and vocal, both in India and abroad.

KANCHANA S SHRUTHIRANJANI
Shruthiranjani, The younger of KANCHANA SISTERS , started learning music at the tender age of 3 years from her father, “KARNATAKA KALASHREE” Kanchana V Subbarathnam, a renowned violinist in India and began staging classical concerts at the tender age of 4. KANCHANA SISTERS today are recognised for their rendition of complex "Avadhana Pallavis", learnt from their uncle Dr. R.S. Nandakumar. A topper in her law degree, Shruthiranjani had also achieved 1st rank in her "Vidwath" grade carnatic vocal and violin examinations. Presently Shruthiranjani is under the tutelage of world renowned violinist Dr. L Subramaniam. She is an empanelled artiste of ICCR, a graded artiste in All India Radio (AIR) and a recipient of senior performer scholarship from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). She has also performed extensively in India and abroad as a part of KANCHANA SISTERS duo. She trains students in violin and vocal, both in India and abroad, and also as faculty at SaPa - Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts founded by Violin Virtuoso L. Subramaniam.

RAVICHANDRA KULUR
Regarded as  “ flute maestro” by the sitar legend Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ravi Kulur has performed extensively all across the globe as a Indian Classical, Contemporary & New age musician collaborating with world music, Celtic, western classical & timeless fusion jazz etc. Ravi’s  repertoire includes playing South Indian ragas combined with precise fingering techniques and rhythmic structures complimented by mellifluous raga improvisations that surely touches the heart of every listener and demonstrates some of the finest levels of aesthetic beauty. Initiated into the art of playing flute from his father Prof K Raghavendra Rao at the age of 7, To date Ravi has played more than 1200 concerts in over 34 countries for solo, duets and on tour with legend Ravi Shankar ,Anoushka Shankar, and many more. Ravi has performed in numerous music festivals  &  major venues around the world.

KANCHANA S SUMANASA RANJANI
Sumanasa Ranjani S. Kanchana is software professional and musican. She is well versed in violin, flute and vocal. She hails from a family of core musicians famously known in Carnatic music circles as ‘Kanchana’ in India and belongs in the 4th generation of musicians in the family hierarchy. She learnt music from her father and guru “Karnataka Kalasri” Kanchana V Subbarathnam and Mother Vidushi Rohini Subbarathnam. Her maternal grand father Dr. R Sathyanarayanais a great musicologist and Padma Sri Awardee. She is currently a disciple of violin maestro Sri TKV Ramanujacharlu, Srirangam, Trichy. She took initial lessons for flute from Vidwan Sri K. U. Raghavendra Rao in Udupi. She graduated with ‘Vidwath’ degree in Carnatic music and performed in many prestigious sabhas in India. She was awarded the ‘Prathibha Puraskara’ by Suddi Bidugade – a Kannada newspaper group. She is also a freelance writer and has written and composed songs in English and Kannada.

ANIRUDHA BHAT
Anirudha is one of the most sought after young percussion artists today, specializing in the art of playing mridangam. He started learning mridangam from Vid. M V Mohan at the age of 10 and later continued his advanced learning under the guidance of Vid. K U Jayachandra Rao. Anirudha is a B-High grade artist of Akashvani and Doordarshan. He has accompanied many senior and upcoming musicians such as Vid. Dr. Vidyabhushana, Vid. Mysore M Nagaraj and Vid. Mysore M Manjunath, Vid. Vittal Ramamurthy, Vid. T S Sathyavathi, Vid. Smt. Neela Ramgopal, Vid. Smt. Lalgudi Rajalakshmi, Vid. Ramakrishnan Murthy, Kanchana Sisters to name a few. He has performed several double mridanga concerts with his guru Sri. K U Jayachandra Rao. He has extensively travelled for concerts and workshops to European, Middle East and African countries such as Ireland, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Austria, UK, Scotland, Uganda, Kenya and Dubai.

KARTHIK KRISHNA
Karthik Neraluru Krishna started learning Tabla from Pandit Rajgopal Kallurkar. Currently he is learning the traditional system of the illustrious Farookabad gharana under Maestro Pandit Subhankar Banerjee, Kolkata. Fascinated by the carnatic system of calculations and its complexity, he is also learning the carnatic system of calculations and adaptability of tabla accompaniment for carnatic music from mridangam maestro Vidwan K U Jayachandra Rao. Karthik was recently conferred “B-High grade” directly by the All India Radio. Today Karthik is a very highly rated and in-demand accompanying artist, both in hindustani and carnatic streams, due to his versatility and the ability to accompany artists in both genres of classical music. He has accompanied stalwarts such as Pandit Raghavendra Gudi, Pandit Krishnendra Wadikar, Ustad Rafique Khan, Ustad Hafiz Bale Khan, Vidushi Maithili Raj, Malladi Brothers, Vid. Mysore Manjunath , Vid. Shashank Subramanyam, Vid. K U Jayachandra Rao, Vid. Arjun Kumar, Vid. Giridhar Udupa to name a few.

SAVITHA SATHISH
Smt. Savitha Sathish, started learning Carnatic Classical Vocal from Sri Shivaswamy at the age of 10 and continued her training under Smt. Gowri Sathyanarayana and Vid. R.S. Nandakumar. She is currently under the tutelage of Vidushi. Kanchana Shriranjani and has been learning from her for more than a decade. A Passionate teacher, Smt. Savitha also works as a music faculty at SaPa (Subramaniam Academy for Performing Arts) in Schools. SaPa in schools a unique initiative that aims to create an ecosystem for Music Education in India. Smt Savita has recently started performing concerts in many sabhas.

RAGHUNANDAN BERKADAVU
Started learning music at the tender age of 9 years and was later extensively trained by renowned violinist of the country, Karnataka Kalashri Late Guru Kanchana V Subbarathnam & Smt. Rohini V Subbarathnam. Now he is being trained by their daughter Vidushi Smt Kanchana S Shruthiranjani of Kanchana Sisters fame. Raghunandan has rich melodious voice. He is well versed in singing carnatic classical, cotemporary music, devotional, folk music and music for drama & theatre. He is an efficient singer for Indian classical dance – Bharathanatyam. He is open to collaborate with any forms of global music and has travelled to Sweden, Belgium and Germany to collaborate with musicians from European, African and Asian countries.
A graded artist of All India Radio, Raghunandan has sung for many albums with his Gurus and also the suprabhatam album of Sri Ramachandrapura Matha called “Mangalada Mumbelagu”.
An MBA graduate in Human Resources, Raghunandan has been working for corporate as Learning & Development professional for over 10 years. He is very passionate about teaching music and has been associated with Dr.L Subramaniam’s institute - Subramaniam’s Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa) since 2014 and has served them in various capacities. He has started his own contemporary indo fusion band called “Arohi - The Band” with an ultimate goal of reaching out and spreading creative music to the masses. 

Dr.Prathibha Satyanarayana
Dr. Prathibha Satyanarayana, has been an ernest samskrita student right from her high shool days. She completed her Master of Arts degree from Bangalore University, and vidwat from Sri Jayachamarajendra Samskrita PaThashala, Bangalore, in the field of alankaara shastra. She has earned a doctorate for her thesis in alankaara shastra, from Rashtriya Samskrit Sansthan, Tirupati. She is a volunteer for Samskrita Bharati, and has been involved in studying, and teaching, samskrita to various sections of the society.

Smt Shubha Satyanarayana
Smt Shubha Satyanarayana, an M Com degree holder, and a lover of samskrita, completed her masters in samskrita from KSOU, Mysore. She has a vidwat in alankara shastra from Sri Jayachamarajendra samskrita paaTashala. She is interested in pursuing studies in samskrita and is passionate about teaching the divine language.


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Kanchana Music Academy has long been home to the Kanchana Music School, where students are trained in the rich traditions of Indian classical music. Each year, our students gather to perform, celebrating their growth and dedication.

Over time, the school building has become dilapidated. To preserve this legacy and continue nurturing young artists, we have undertaken the initiative to renovate and modernize the facility, creating a vibrant space for learning and performances.

We are excited to host the 2026 Kanchanotsava in the renewed building, with the wholehearted support of parents, students, and donors. We warmly invite you to contribute to this noble cause and help us sustain the tradition of music.

All donations towards this initiative are tax-exempt.


Bank Details:

Kanchana Shri Laxminarayana Music Academy Trust (R)
A/c Number: 0842500102540601
IFSC Code: KARB0000084
Bank: Karnataka Bank Ltd
Branch: Jayanagara 4th Block
City: Bangalore
State: Karnataka, India

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Contact us

Kanchana House

  • Post - Bajathur, Puttur - Taluk, Dakshina Kannada, Zipcode - 574241

  • +91-9448100509 / +91-9448000449

    musickanchana@gmail.com


Co ordinator

  • Megha Nadig - 9008110826


Bangalore Branches

  • #14, 31st main, Q block,Banagirinagara, HBCS layout, BSK 3rd stage, Bangalore-560085, Karnataka


  • G 5, Krishna glade apartment, 105/1, 1st main shedhardripuram Bangalore - 560020


  • C5, NDDB, 80ft road,8th block,Koramangala, Bengaluru- 560095


  • Meghashyama, No, 5/1 (1st Floor), Sannidhi Road (Conservancy), Basavanagudi, Bengaluru - 560004


  • 20, "Brindavana", 9th cross, Ashoknagar, Bsk 1st stage, Bangalore - 560050.


Branch in USA

  • 22041 N 33rd St, Phoenix AZ 85050 USA


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