Prema Bhat

Prema is an accomplished performing artist and teacher in the Carnatic style of Indian classical music. She is trained by Kanchana Narayana Bhat, Shrinath Marate and Neela Ramgopal.  She started her music career early, giving her first concert at the age of 7. She was an All-India Radio artist until she moved to the US. Since moving to the US, she has given numerous concerts throughout the US. She also worked in Europe for a year at the Cagliari Conservatory and has collaborated with music professors such as Paulo Bravi at the University of Cagliari, and has published research articles on Indian classical music. In the US, she was a lecturer in Indian music at Emory University for several years and has also worked at the University of South Florida. Currently, she gives concerts, as well as lecture-demo and private music lessons and she resides in Birmingham, AL, with her husband and daughter. She is also a certified yoga teacher and has taught Pranayama yoga at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). 

Contact: plbhat03@gmail.com

Purnima Bhat

Purnima is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama Birmingham, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Chemistry. She also conducts research on heart and aging with a focus on the unc45 gene. She is listed as an author in 2 peer-reviewed research articles and one peer-reviewed review article.  She learned Carnatic music from her mother, Prema Bhat from a very early age, and has performed in Houston, Tampa, and Birmingham.  She is also trained in piano and violin. While she has learned a little bit of Carnatic violin, her passion is Carnatic vocal music and Western violin. She also composes music and supports her mom, teaching Carnatic music and violin to students. 

Contact: pdbhat@uab.edu