Nistha Raj’s initial training in music began with western classical violin at the age of nine, which she pursued seriously until graduation from college. She received a B.A. in music with honors from the University of Houston in 2003. Although born and raised in the U.S., because of her Indian heritage, she was exposed to the classical music of India from her childhood and had an intense desire to delve deeper into a study of the music.
To immerse herself in the music and culture of India, in 2004, Nistha traveled to the small town of Vrindavan in India to study the oldest form of Indian classical music, Dhrupad, with Tarun Krishna Das, disciple of Vidur Mallick. She spent 7 months immersed in the music and instantly discovered a deep connection and affinity for the music and thus began her journey and desire to always be surrounded by this music.
In 2005 Nistha was awarded a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to undergo rigorous, intensive formal training in North Indian Classical violin at the Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya in New Delhi. The ICCR grants 100 scholarships to foreign nationals from over 70 countries to study Indian music, dance, and art. Nistha was solely selected from the United States to study Hindustani Violin. She trained under the guidance of Sharat Srivastava, the foremost disciple of his grandfather, Sri Joi Srivastava, belonging to the Senia Gharana to which legendary artists like Ali Akbar Khansahib and Pandit Ravi Shankar belong to. In addition, to further increase her understanding of Hindustani music, she also trained in vocal with Meeta Pandit, who is the sixth in the unbroken lineage of musicians of the legendary Pandit Family of Gwailor. She also had the privilege to receive guidance from Dr. N Rajam, one of the foremost Hindustani violinists.
Upon her return to the US in 2007, Nistha has remained constant in her pursuit of music by continuing to develop her skills and technique. She is currently receiving training from Kolkata based Sarode player, Prattyush Banerjee, disciple of Buddhadev Das Gupta. Nistha is also an active performer and teacher of Hindustani Classical and Western Classical violin in the Washington, DC community. She has performed in many cultural festivals throughout the city and is the recipient of multiple grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Recently, Nistha has recorded with DC Rock Band, the NRIs, and performed with local jazz trio The Fourth Stream and Grammy-Nominated Hip Hop artist Christylez Bacon. Nistha feels a deep affinity for Indian classical music and her lifelong pursuit is to discover the unending beauty within it. Nistha also holds an M.A. in Arts Management from George Mason University.
