Ganavya

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Ganavya
Ganavya at Oslo World 2025
Ganavya at Oslo World 2025
Background information
Born
Ganavya Iyer Doraiswamy

(1991-07-21)July 21, 1991
New York City, United States
Websitewww.ganavya.com

Ganavya Iyer Doraiswamy (born 1991), known mononymously as Ganavya, is an Indian and American singer, songwriter, and musician. She has released four albums, most recently Nilam in 2025, and has collaborated with musicans including Alfredo Rodríguez and Esperanza Spalding.

Biography

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Ganavya Iyer Doraiswamy was born on July 21, 1991 in New York City, United States.[1] When she was 7 her family moved to Shenkottai, and then one year later to Chennai, capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.[2] In India, Ganavya learned to play jalatharangam, and studied Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam.[3]

Ganavya completed undergraduate degrees in theater and psychology at Florida International University.[3] She then worked briefly at a men's prison in Florida before enrolling as a post-graduate at Berklee Valencia.[2] At Berklee, Ganavya taught a course on Indian music and recorded her debut album Aikyam: Onnu, which was released in 2018 and comprises jazz standards sung in Tamil.[2][1] In 2016, Ganavya appeared on Alfredo Rodríguez's album Tocororo; she has also collaborated with musicans including Shabaka Hutchings, Vijay Iyer, and Esperanza Spalding.[1]

In 2024, Ganavya released her second album like the sky I've been too quiet, named after a line from a poem by Kaveh Akbar.[4][5] Her third album Daughter of a Temple was recorded in 2022 at the Moores Opera House with over 40 featured musicians, and was released at the end of 2024.[6] Her fourth album Nilam was released in 2025, and features vocals in Tamil, English, and Old Marathi.[5][7]

Albums

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  • Aikyam: Onnu (2018)
  • like the sky I've been too quiet (2024)
  • Daughter of a Temple (2024)
  • Nilam (2025)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Timothy Monger. Ganavya Biography at AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Alan Pedder (March 18, 2024), "All life is learning: How ganavya found the wisdom to stand still", The Line of Best Fit (interview), retrieved November 17, 2025
  3. ^ a b "Jazz Musicians: Ganavya Doraiswamy", All About Jazz, February 15, 2019, retrieved November 17, 2025
  4. ^ Charlie Cawood, "ganavya – like the sky I've been too quiet", Songlines, no. 196 (April 2024), p. 58, ISSN 1464-8113, retrieved November 17, 2025
  5. ^ a b David Honigmann (September 27, 2025), "How the singer Ganavya infused jazz with spiritual soul", The Financial Times, retrieved November 17, 2025
  6. ^ Charlie Cawood, "ganavya – Daughter of a Temple", Songlines, no. 204 (January 2025), p. 60, ISSN 1464-8113, retrieved November 17, 2025
  7. ^ Jane Cornwell, "ganavya – Nilam", Songlines, no. 210 (August 2025), p. 67, ISSN 1464-8113, retrieved November 17, 2025
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