Sumhith Veda Aradhyula
About Sumhith
Sumhith Veda Aradhyula began taking Western flute lessons from Dr. Renee Bond at the age of three. He later began vocal and venu (bamboo flute) training in Carnatic Music (South Indian Classical Music) under the tutelage of Vidwan Surmani Sri Raman Kalyan, popularly known as Flute Raman, a disciple of Dr. N. Ramani and the legendary Sri T.R. Mahalingam. Sumhith is a graduate of the Indo-American Academy of Classical Music.
In addition to a multitude of performances of Carnatic, Jazz, Fusion, Film, and Western Classical music across the world at venues including the United Nations (NY), Lincoln Center (NY), Joe's Pub (NY), World Government Summit (Dubai), Saraswati Gana Sabha (Kakinada, AP, India), and the Bhairavi Sangeeta Academy (Hyderabad, India), Sumhith has also achieved much competitive success. He was adjudged as the top finisher in the Alapana and Kalpana Swaram — Flute Senior Categories by none other than the late legend Dr. N. Ramani at the 2015 Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana. A recipient of the M.I.T. backed IndianRaga Fellowship in 2015, Sumhith serves as an IndianRaga Fellow. Sumhith was a Finalist in the 2015 SwarGanga Crescendo Bollywood Competition in the 17 and Under Category. In Fall 2015, Sumhith received a Southwest Folklife Alliance Artistic Fellowship on behalf of Ragazona, a non-profit organization that he founded.
On a mission to make Carnatic Music (South Indian Classical Music) accessible to a larger audience, Sumhith has written Carnatic via Western, a book that translates the intricacies of Carnatic Music into the staff-notation of Western Music. In the same vein, he has also given lecture-demonstrations at various schools and institutions, thus helping to broaden both the audience and applicability of Indian music.
Sumhith has been an avid composer since his childhood, publicly performing his first composition at the age of 7. More recently, he is a graduate of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Young Composers Program and his compositions have been performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and in numerous schools across Arizona and venues around the world.
Keen on using music to make an impact on his community, Sumhith founded Ragazona in 2012, and is currently serving as the President. Ragazona is a non-profit organization that promotes music and charity by organizing events and donating the profits to local charities. Visit www.ragazona.org for more details about Ragazona.
Sumhith is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
