Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy

Bay Area Alameda County Asian/Asian-American/Pacific Islander Music Indian/Indian-American

Rohan Krishnamurthy is seated with a mridangam held in the traditional stance. Photo courtesy of the artist

Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy is an Indian-American percussionist, composer, and educator recognized as a leading voice in Indian classical and cross-genre music within the South Asian diaspora. Acclaimed by The Times of India as a “musical ambassador,” he trained in mridangam under legendary maestro Sri Guruvayur Dorai. Rohan has distinguished himself as a soloist, composer, and collaborator, performing with renowned Indian classical artists as well as Grammy Award–winning global musicians.

He is the founder and artistic director of The Alaya Project, an Indo–jazz-funk collective that has performed at major jazz and global music venues nationwide, including SFJAZZ, Joe’s Pub NYC, and The Strathmore DC, and toured the Midwest through a Jazz Road Tours grant. The group’s debut album has received critical acclaim from Jazziz Magazine, NPR, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rohan holds a Ph.D. in musicology from the Eastman School of Music and directs RohanRhythm Percussion Studio, serving students worldwide. His work has been supported through commissions and grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Zellerbach Foundation, and the Goethe Institute. He is also an innovator, with his patented RohanRhythm drum tuning system available worldwide.

2025

Varun playing the mridangam at a local Bay Area venue. Photo: Vijay

South Indian Carnatic Drumming with apprentice Varun Pattabhiraman

Varun Pattabhiraman will deepen his practice in Carnatic percussion through advanced training under the mentorship of Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy. This apprenticeship focuses on mastering mridangam techniques and repertoire, such as korvais, moras, and theermanams, rooted in the Pudukottai lineage, as well as learning to compose these rhythmic forms. The apprentice will also study allied Carnatic percussion traditions, including the khanjira, ghatam, morsing, and konnakol, while developing the skills needed to accompany both Carnatic concert performances and Bharatanatyam dance. Through this training, Varun will learn how rhythmic structure supports movement, expression, and improvisation, preparing him to confidently accompany dancers and musicians while carrying forward these marginalized Carnatic percussion traditions within the global Indian diaspora.

2019

Krishnamurthy also participated in the 2019 Apprenticeship Program as an apprentice in north Indian tabla under master artist Swapan Chaudhuri.

2017

As a master artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program in 2017, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy mentored a young Shreyassriram Garimella with the purpose to develop the apprentice’s rhythmic skills in both solo and accompaniment performance settings to prepare him for professional-level concerts.