Ambi Subramaniam

Hailed as “India’s Itzhak Pearlmann” by Ozy Magazine, Ambi Subramaniam has been trained by his father and guru Dr. L. Subramaniam since he was three years old, and gave his first performance at the age of seven. He has received the Ritz Icon of the Year Award, the Rotary Youth Award, two GiMAs (Global Indian Music Award for Best Fusion Album and Best Carnatic Instrumental Album), and Big Indian Music Award (for Best Carnatic Album). He received a ‘Golden Violin’ from Sri Jayendra Saraswati when he was 18.

Along with his sister Bindu Subramaniam, he runs SaPa – the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts – which trains young children to grow into performing musicians. He also runs the SaPa in Schools program, which helps children develop 21st century skills using music as a gateway. So far, the program impacts over 30,000 children a year.

Ambi plays as part of contemporary world music band SubraMania, which he formed with Bindu. He has performed extensively with his family and collaborated with Larry Coryell, Ernie Watts, Corky Siegel and Shankar Mahadevan. Ambi was a featured soloist at the Violins for Peace concert series which featured Mark O’ Connor, Loyko, and others. He also plays as part of the Thayir Sadam Project, a Carnatic fusion collective he formed with Bindu Subramaniam, Mahesh Raghvan, and percussionist Akshay Anantapadmanabhan.

He co-hosts the SaPa Show on Sankara TV, which teaches Indian music to children from the comfort of their homes. The program is broadcast to millions of viewers across the world.

Ambi is a youth delegate at the United Nations for the Sri Chinmoy Peace Meditation group. He has a bachelor’s degree in business management, an MBA, and a Ph.D.