Nirmala Rajasekar

Nirmala Rajasekar is one of the world's leading Saraswati veena players and a Carnatic musician, composer, vocalist, and educator. She began training on the Saraswati veena at age 6 in Chennai under Sri Deva Kottai Narayana Iyengar and Smt. Kamala Aswathama, and began her career as a soloist at age 13. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, the Madras Music Academy, and major festivals across India and the United States. Founder and artistic director of the Naadha Rasa Center for Music in Minnesota for over 27 years, she is a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu. In 2020 she was elected Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Composers Forum.