Formative Training

Born into a family of connoisseurs of music and starting Carnatic music lessons at an early age from Sankara Sarma, a worthy practitioner of the Alathur school, Savita enjoyed a privileged musical upbringing, training with Rama Ravi, a prime exemplar of the iconic Veena Dhanammal school and OV Subramaniam, the patriarch of an orthodox yet evocative bani of music.

Her training also benefited from the bhakti orientation of Tiruppugazh singing, which she imbibed from AS Raghavan, an outstanding exponent of the genre. In 1995 Savita relocated to Chennai to train under Chitravina N Ravikiran, continuing her rigorous training with him until 2007. She is a recipient of the scholarship for Carnatic classical music instituted by the Department of Culture, Government of India.

Since 1996, Savita has performed in the annual festivals of many prominent organisations in Chennai, such as The Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha and Krishna Gana Sabha. She has also performed at several prestigious platforms across the country. Savita is an A-grade artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan. A solo vocal recital she rendered in January 1998 at the invitation of the Indian Cultural Centre of Berlin was broadcast by the West Deutsche Rundfunk, the West German Radio, Cologne. In September 2002, she performed for BBC Radio's programme Outlook, as a representative of the festival of Indian arts, Sangeetam, held at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London. Savita has performed extensively on regular tours of the USA since 2005.

Vocalist for Dance

Savita has also been the lead vocalist for renowned danseuse, Padma Bhushan awardee, Alarmel Valli, at many prestigious venues such as the Theatre De La Ville, Paris, The Music Academy, Chennai, Vienna International Festival, Austria, Festival of Normandy, France, The Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC and The Edinburgh festival, Scotland. She had the distinction of performing for the Queen and King of Norway in the Bergen International Festival, for Prince Charles at the Royal Albert Hall, London, and at the Munich State Opera in the presence of Zubin Mehta, as a member of Valli's troupe. She also participated in the Indo-Canadian music-dance production Cosmos, jointly directed by Ravikiran and Timothy Sullivan, the latter a composer of western music from Toronto. She is currently collaborating with the esteemed dancer Leela Samson to revive rare padams and javalis, bringing them to life in intimate chamber settings for discerning audiences.

Teacher and Disseminator

A keen participant in outreach and other activities to promote classical music, Savita trains several students in Chennai and abroad. She regularly conducts several workshops and classes during her tours to the USA. Savita was among the artistes selected by Carnatica.com to sing for the first VCD on Carnatic music education, Nadopasana. She has authored and published Adityodayam, a book containing select compositions of Chitravina Ravikiran.

Creative Initiative

The Museum of Performing Arts (MOPA) Foundation was established by Savita in 2017 and launched in 2019, to document and showcase the history, content, periodic changes and external influences on every aspect of South India’s performing art forms, as also to look at existing trends and the impact on subsequent generations. Currently, Savita is the Director and Managing Trustee of MOPA Foundation.

Since 2022, Savita has served as a consultant archivist at the Music Academy, Chennai, where she has been instrumental in policy drafting and overseeing the transition of archival materials to a cutting-edge management system.

Awards

Savita has won several accolades in her performing career. She was conferred the ‘Talent of the Year’ award by Krishna Gana Sabha in 2003, by Narada Gana Sabha in 2004, TT Rangaswami Memorial award, DK Pattammal award and Outstanding Vocalist award by The Music Academy in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. She is also recipient of the prestigious Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial award for the year 2006 and the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar conferred by the Sangeet Natak Akademi for the year 2010. She was awarded the Sangeeta Shiromani by the Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai in 2017, and the Nanda Deepam award for Best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by Nandalala Seva Samithi in 2025.

Education and other interests

Savita holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Delhi and a Master's in English Literature. She is an avid reader with a vast collection of books. Savita writes periodically on music for Sruti and the Shanmukhananda journal. She has also penned a series of articles on Indian folk art for The Hindu. Savita is also a talented visual artiste across several media. She specializes in oils on canvas, water colors and wall murals and has recently turned her passion into an entrepreneurial venture.

Press Quotes

“Savita has a powerful voice, chaste diction…It needed the unsullied melody of Savita’s singing to highlight the sheer musical imagination and creativity…”

“In Carnatic music, an assured welcome awaits a singer with a melodic and flexible voice, approved padantara of krtis of major composers and supported by steady laya. Savita Narasimhan’s vocal recital…had these assets in abundance…”

“In her music, what captivated the audience were her naturally effortless singing, simple sangatis, deep alapanas and swift swaraprastharas”