Roopa Mahadevan

2024 felt big and I’m grateful. Artists whom I had only encountered from afar I found myself sharing a room with. I wish I had shared tibits about these (and many other!) moments earlier, but this year was an especially difficult time to be on instagram, with the horrors in Palestine in plain sight, among all the other anxieties of elections, war, natural disasters, and more. Hoping that I find balance and follow-thru in 2025, and that we move towards more justice. Sharing some highlights from ‘24: - 3 nights of Indian music at Jazz @ Lincoln Center | Wynton Marsalis played an elephant sound on his trumpet at the end of our rendition of Vathapi Ganapathim (what?!). A pinch me moment. Gratitude is not a strong enough word. - Songs for Many Lives, a new Carnatic composition project | Sruti Sarathy and I were finally able to share a work-in-progress version of the music, honoring South Asian immigrant experiences and radical history. A huge win just to get the project to here, but we’re psyched for the premiere in 2025! Stay tuned! - It felt surreal the positive vibes in the room - especially given the election days away - to hear Questlove share words of appreciation during our performance at Padma Lakshmi's Diwali party. And he was putting talam the whole time! :) 🙏🏾 cont’d below 📌

Meet 2025-26 AIR Fellow Roopa Mahadevan (@roopama ) ✨ Roopa Mahadevan is a leading second-generation Carnatic (South Indian) and crossover vocalist in the American diaspora. Hailed a “stirring voice” by the New York Times, Roopa’s versatility shows up as composer, teacher, dance accompanist, choir director, comedienne and more. A Fulbright scholar trained under Asha Ramesh and Suguna Varadachari, Roopa has performed traditional Carnatic concerts, her signature crossover project Roopa in Flux, and numerous collaborations in jazz, soul, free improv, dance/theater and more, in venues such as the Music Academy during Chennai’s December season, Jazz at Lincoln Center, SFJazz, MET Museum, Jacob’s Pillow. She has been in residency at Joe’s Pub, the Banff Center, Hedgebrook, and Ryder Farm, and was a soloist on Christopher Tin’s Grammy Award-winning album “Calling All Dawns.” Learn more about Roopa & the AIR Fellowship at asianimprov.org/fellowship 📸 Photo/Video Credits: 1. Headshot by Ram Keshav 2. “Maathe” by Roopa in Flux, /watch?v=my7XuNlyiPw #fellowship #bayarea #artists #interdisciplinary #music #sound #socialjustice #aapli #activism #artactivism

OK it’s now 2022 and we NEED TO GET FOLKS TO THE POLLS more than ever!!!! Hoping we can share this again and get our friends, cousins, aunties, uncles, and more to speak through the ballot during this critical time for our country! VOTE TUESDAY NOV 8 or before!!!!! #midterms2022 #desivote #theyseeblue #apiavote #southasiansforamerica ————————————————————— PART 2: Get out the Desi Vote! Part 1 is in my previous post (black screen). Full video link in bio and at /roopamahadevanartist. #chummavoteyaar #thedesivote #midterms2018 #getoutthevote #getoutthevote #desigirl #dostana #kannaalane #kehnahikya #arrahmanmusic

I’d never call myself a jazz musician but I’ve been so fortunate to find musical kinship in so many jazz musicians. And I’m thankful for the ecosystem of presenters and listeners in the US that helps Carnatic find a place. The idea of inheriting a tradition, finding your own voice, and bringing earful listening, camaraderie, groove, soul, and surrender to ensemble play - THAT resonates as a Carnatic musician. The Bay Area has produced so many amazing jazz musicians and I’m honored to bring Roopa in Flux to one of its preeminent instituions - the Jazzschool in Berkeley! This month is a feature on Asian American musicians - check out the whole lineup! So happy to be part of it :) I’m joined by heavy hitters who also make jokes (thank gawd 😅!) Hope you can join us this Saturday! @franklyspeaking2u2 - piano @sruti.sarathy - violin @schwartzdrums510 - drums #roopainflux #carnatic #jazz #crossover #improvisation

An honor & joy to join @kanjiraking @sfjazz ! 🪘🙏🏾❤️ What a blast to impromptu share the stage w/ Selvaganesh Anna, along w/ my dear friends @jimsantiowen @roopama . We improvised solos (in 5.5 beats!) & #carnaticmusic songs. Always inspiring to hear his global vision for Indian Rhythm & pioneering work w/ Shakti. Huge thanks to everyone who came out to support this new workshop series at SFJazz! #indianclassicalmusic #mridangam #vocals

Come join us Saturday, April 26 at 2pm to celebrate our latest cohort of AIR Fellows with performances followed by a community reception! See you there! Free RSVP link in bio or at bit.ly/continuations2026 ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP Over 18 months, we support each artist with one-on-one mentorship, grant writing, professional development, and production, as they step into becomings leaders of the next generation. Fellows receive a generous stipend to assist with rising living costs in the Bay Area, while having the opportunity to interact with multiple generations of AIR artists and engage with community organizers through site visits shining light on the Asian American movement past and present.

Giving a Carnatic concert ain’t no joke! And it kicks me in the butt every time. This past January when I was in India, I was able to do a small concert for my guru Suguna Varadachari and her students. It was a cozy atmosphere which is I feel, the best atmosphere for this beautiful, deep, quirky form. But singing in front of my guru also made me extra aware of the technical constraints and focused on those (especially in neraval! #iykyk), a good lesson for how I practice moving forward!! Sharing a snippet from the “evergreen, grandiose, insert vote of thanks uncle speech here”] raga Kambodhi! Thankful to my sweet accompanists that day @the_devil_with_the_violin and @wolverinesriram . * * * This past Sunday I had to cancel a Carnatic concert hosted by @shruthiswaralaya cause of voice/sickness issues, so through this post I wanted to also honor this concert opportunity and particularly, the Rajam Swaminathan Memorial Award they gave me. I’m very grateful 🙏🏽 They’re such a sincere community arts org and I especially love how they are bringing the mayor of Fremont and local cultural affairs government folks into their vision of how we do Carnatic music in America. Thank you @annumanasa and @manasa.music for all your work!

Epic ‘Jwala’ 🔥 show last night at the iconic @wolf_trap ! Such a blast 💥 performing w/ the incredible fam @mythiliprakash 💃@rohithyourboat 🎙️@roopama 🎙️@sayee.rakshith 🎻 @adityaprakashmusic 🎙️ Can’t believe we’ve been evolving this piece for over a decade together! Huge thx to @districtofraga @nistharaj for bringing #bharatanatyam #carnaticmusic to this beautiful stage.

Been a while since I posted, so sharing this little snippet. The beginning of the year has been grounding with time spent in India, where I was able to focus on health, music, and my toddler. Grounding like the majestic bass and beautiful guitar of @devongatesmusic and @ria_modak in this clip. One can sing anything in their soundscape 🥹❤️Grounding like raga Revathi which despite having so much high note potential (think Bo Sambho) has an unmistakeable weight when we lean into that haunting minor 2nd “Ri…” Thank you @toritual for this clip. This is from the @americanacademyofreligion conference in Boston in November. Will share more about this fun performance later! You *need* to hear @joshuahsoup and everyone in this crew doing their thing!!

📣 NEW 📣 Thursday Show!! Details below. Rogue Gestures/Foreign Bodies By Nava Dance Theatre 📅 Thursday, March 12 @ 8 pm | PREVIEW SHOW ADDED 📅 Friday, March 13 @ 8 pm | SOLD OUT 📍 Dance Mission Theater 3316 24th Street (@ Mission) San Francisco Tickets $24-40 sliding scale Preview show $30 NOTAFLOF Thursday, March 12: /e/rogue-gestures-foreign-bodies-preview-tickets-1984828723141 To be added to the waitlist for Friday’s show, email [email protected] Dancers: Nadhi Thekkek, Shruti Abhishek, Janani Muthaiya, Aishwarya Subramanian, Abirami Murugappan, Priyadharsini Govindarajan, Soundarya Daliparthy, Anjali Shankar Musicians: Roopa Mahadevan, Preethi Ramaprasad, Aarti Shankar, Aditya Iswara, Conal Sathi, Matt Small Co-Music Directors: Roopa Mahadevan and Kalaisan Kalaichelvan Choreography and Direction: Nadhi Thekkek

Vedya (@vedyaspurthi ), a 2026 Arts India US Lotus Fellow, is interested in using this year to understand how Kuchipudi is musically unique and what gives the art form its distinct cadence. How do the body and sound affect one another? With her Lotus Mentor Roopa Mahadevan (@roopama ), she will delve into this question to better understand the musical tradition that accompanies Kuchipudi. Follow Vedya as she explores this topic! #RethinkingClassical #LotusFellowship #LotusFellows2026 #SouthAsianDance #IndianClassicalMusic #youngartists #diasporaarts #ArtsIndiaUS #ArtsLeadership

Alai Dialogues - Episode 5 Roopa @roopama shares some insight on gentle ebb and flow between doing and letting go Do drop in a comment if this resonates with you Follow for more such content #alaidialogues #voice #musiclife #flow #wellbeing