Rajna Swaminathan

Rajna Swaminathan is an acclaimed mrudangam artist, composer, and scholar, hailed as “a vital new voice” (Pop Matters) creating “music of gravity and rigor... accessible and uplifting” (Wall Street Journal). She explores rhythmic experience and textures in collective improvisation, and is one of the few professional female mrudangam players, trained by her father, P.K. Swaminathan and mrudangam legend Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. Her music spans Karnatik, South Asian film/pop, jazz, and creative scenes in New York, leading to experimental approaches on the mrudangam, piano, and voice. Her ensemble, RAJAS, is known for its unique sound, with their debut album receiving critical acclaim. Rajna is an Assistant Professor of Music at UC Irvine and holds a PhD from Harvard. Her dissertation explores creative dialogue between artistic and academic engagements with uncertainty and openness.