Shruthi Rajasekar

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Last edited May 1, 2026


Shruthi Rajasekar
ARNCM
BornNovember 1996 (age 29)
Minnesota, USA
GenresCarnatic, Western classical, experimental
Occupation(s)Composer, singer
Websitewww.shruthirajasekar.com

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]

Background[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Guao, Ann (2022-12-07). "This composer combines South Indian classical music and Western choral tradition". The Seattle Times. 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. ↑ Knoll, Brooke; Philpott, Claire (2021-03-16). "Composer Spotlight: Shruthi Rajasekar". www.yourclassical.org. 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)". icareifyoulisten.com (Interview). 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. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Announcing the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship and Visiting Residency Awardees". icareifyoulisten.com. 2025-02-04. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hubbard, Rob (2024-02-13). "Shruthi Rajasekar performs her new work 'Parivaar' as part of the Schubert Club Mix". www.startribune.com. Minnesota Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  8. ↑ Olson, Dan (2012-11-14). "Carnatic music master Nirmala Rajasekar passes on love for music". MPR News. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 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. ↑ Raza, Danish (2019-08-09). "Four artists from India who made their mark on Minnesota". www.startribune.com. Minnesota Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "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. ↑ 12.0 12.1 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. ↑ 13.0 13.1 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. ↑ Seymour, Claire (2021-04-24). "Re-Wilding the Wasteland: I Fagiolini return to Live from London". Opera Today. 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. ↑ Halliburton, Rachel (2024-11-25). "Rajakesar, Selaocoe, The Hermes Experiment, Wigmore Hall review - a joyful, fascinating laboratory of noise". theartsdesk.com. The Arts Desk. 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. ↑ Baker, Holly (2024-10-04). "BBC Singers and National Youth Choir announce partnership to nurture next generation of singers". www.gramophone.co.uk. Gramophone. Archived from the original on 2024-11-03.
  23. ↑ "RNCM announces recipients of 2023 Honorary Awards". www.rncm.ac.uk. Royal Northern College of Music. 2023-11-09. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17.
  24. ↑ "Past Grantees". Jerome Foundation. 8 January 2025.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Sarojini: Shruthi Rajasekar's new piece, premiered by Hertfordshire Chorus, merges Western classical and Carnatic musical traditions". www.planethugill.com. 2022-10-23. 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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