Biography

When strings
meet the soul


Anupama Bhagwat, sitar musician nonpareil, has carved a niche in Indian Classical Music with a versatile & eclectic style. Acclaimed world-wide with a repertoire of global performances since 1995, her sensitivity and erudition has taken her to the highest echelons of the modern genre.


One of the leading disciples of Pandit Shri Bimalendu Mukherjee, doyen of the Imdadkhani Gharana, Anupama’s style is characterized by scintillating fast taans, mastery of the meditative alaap, and brilliant fluency of melody (raaga-bhava), while remaining true to tradition.

Anupama has been conferred the title Surmani, by Sur Sringar Sansad, Bombay (1995). Early on, she had won First Position in the All India Radio (AIR) Music Competition (1994), as well as a HRD Scholarship from the Government of India (1993-1996).

Anupama obtained her Masters in music from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, India; and received grants in ‘00, ‘02, ‘04, and ‘08, from the Ohio Arts Council (USA).

Anupama’s repertoire of performances world-wide span major universities and conservatories, notably: SouthBank Center (London, UK), Ali Akbar Khan School of Music (Basel, Switzerland), MIT Fall Concert Series (Boston, USA), U Penn, Berkeley, Ole Miss (USA), Asian Arts Museum (San Francisco), U of Victoria & Calgary, Musée Guimet (Paris), Musée des Beaux-Arts (Angers, France).

Anupama has been lauded by the connoisseurs in India for her performances at prestigious festivals and venues such as: Doverlane Music Conference (Kolkata), Ustad Amir Khan Smriti Samaroh (Indore), Saptak (Ahmedabad), Sankat Mochan Samaroh (Varanasi), Sangeet Research Academy (Kolkata), Baba HarBallabh Samaroh (Jalandhar), KM Conservatory (Chennai) and more.

Anupama has appeared on All India Radio, Doordarshan National Television (India), WKCR (New York City), WDPR (Dayton Public Radio), WEFT (Champaign, IL), Mood Indigo (California Arts TV), WRIR Radio Show (Richmond, VA), etc.

Anupama has also collaborated on World-Music performances such as Lotus Festival, Global Rhythms, Cincinnati Choir etc., in addition to jugalbandis with renowned Indian musicians of other genres.