SAAVITRI RAMANAND, well-known Carnatic classical vocalist of India, was born in Trisoor, Kerala, brought up in Bombay, and presently resides in NEW YORK. Saavitri has had years of training in classical music under great teachers such as the late Sri H.A.S. Mani of Bombay, music maestro Sri T.K. Govinda Rao, and the Bombay Sisters, Smts. C. Saroja and C. Lalitha. Saavitri was initiated into this divine art by her elder sister Smt. Sethu Mahadevan at the tender age of three. Her promise as a talented musician showed early when she won the All-India Level Light Music Competition at a young age and was presented an award by President Radhakrishnan. Saavitri has lived in the United Arab Emirates and has visited Europe and has also performed widely in India, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States. In her recent trip to India for the December music season, prestigious newspapers like the Hindu and the Indian Express reviewed Saavitri’s performances, in fact, the Hindu music critic hailed her singing of the Mohana Raga as “mesmerizing”.

Saavitri has released numerous compact discs and audiocassettes of Classical, Devotional and Light Classical music. The foremost recording company, the Master Recording Co, is marketing these productions in India. These releases include a Kannada Devotional “HARISMARANE”, a rare collection of Dasara Padas, which is a treat for listeners. She has also released “KRISHNAM VANDE JAGATHGURUM” along with S.P. Balasubramaniam, P. Susheela and others, “PUDHUMAI BHARATHI” along with Unnikrishnan, Sujatha, Krishna Raj, and others, “TAMIL AMMAI PADALGAL”, songs of Punarapi Bharathi Sri Kabaleeswaran, along with her illustrious sisters, Bombay Sisters C. Saroja and C. Lalitha and many other Classical and Devotional recordings.

The New York Tamil Sangam has honored her for her service to music and for the community with the title ISAI VANI. The Kannada organization Basava International, New York, has conferred on her their prestigious title GANA VIDYA VISHARADE, which when translated literally, means “foremost exponent of Indian Classical music”. She was also honored for her distinguished leadership in raising the social and economic status of women as a Performing Artist and Teacher by Pragati Inc., a women’s organization. Most recently, she won the prestigious BEST VOCALIST award at the reputed Indian Fine Arts Society in India for her performance in the 1999-2000 Music Festival conducted in Madras, India.

Saavitri founded MUKTHAMBAR FINE ARTS INC. and has been teaching music and dance in New York, USA for over a decade. Many of her students are good artists in their own right. She is also much sought after by various institutions for conducting workshops, performing concerts, and singing for well known dancers throughout the United States. Saavitri has performed under reputed organizations such as Lincoln Center, American Museum of Natural History, The Sylvia and Danny Kay Playhouse, Sivananda Yoga Center, NY, University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Music Departments, and many others. She was requested by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, to perform and conduct workshops on the divine songs of GITA GOVINDA, lyrics of saint poet JAYADEVA on RADHA and KRISHNA. These songs have been released as audiocassettes. She also conducted workshops on Bharathanatyam and Carnatic Music for the Brooklyn Arts Council’s Folk Arts Program for the year 2000. In July 2001, Saavitri was invited to the Smithsonian Institute to represent Indian culture in New York City for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Most recently she was a featured artists at a series of performances at the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts. At Lincoln Center, Saavitri Ramanand composed the music and score for "SRUSHTI" a thematic dance performed by Ms. Swati Bhise, a highly accomplished dancer. The project received rave reviews and Saavitri was interviewed for the prestigious Lincoln Center project “Window on the Work” that introduces the American public to the arts and culture of other communities. Most recently, she was commissioned to create a musical score for Nritya Saagaram Dance Academy's "Navarasamaalika", a dance ballet that explores the nine degrees of emotion.

Apart from her knowledge on South Indian Classical music, Saavitri is also adept in singing Hindustani bhajans. She is also a much sought-after artist for singing Folk music and Film songs. She has performed in well-known institutions in the USA and Canada with many popular Indian orchestras. As if these were not enough, Saavitri has become indispensable as a vocalist during dance arangetrams and other dance performances wherein her choreographical skill both in Music and Dance are much in demand.

Saavitri is not only a singer with a gifted voice but also a brilliant dance choreographer. This is a unique and enviable combination. Saavitri’s knowledge of Bharathanatyam, the South Indian Classical Dance form, and Folk dances of India are of par excellence. They found full expression in a series of extraordinary dance ballets such as Ashtalakshmi, Andal Kalyanam, the Thyagaraja Pancharatna Kirthanas “Jagadananda Karaka” and “Sadhinchane”, Swathi Thirunal’s Ramayana “Bavayami Raghu Ramam”, Vyasaraya’s Dasavatharam “Devaki Nandana”, Kuravanji Natyanatakam composed by Punarapi Bharathi Sri Kabaleeswaran and to the delight of audiences, even Kummi, Kolattam, and a fun-filled children’s theatre of Tamil nursery rhymes composed by Punarapi Bharathi Sri Kabaleeswaran.