Chandrakantha Nada Courtney, also known as N. Chandrakantha or Chandra Courtney is a carnatic singer, composer and guru from Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. She is fondly called Chandra by her dear ones. She is also an author who writes about music. She co-authored “Elementary North Indian Vocal” alongside her husband, which she uses as guide for teaching children, and has contributed to the sitar method book/CD “Learning the Sitar“.
Chandrakantha started her singing career as a child artist at Vijayawada
Chandrakantha was born on February 2, 1954 in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Initially she sang for local cultural organizations in Vijayawada. Started her singing career at a young age in Vijayawada, Chandrakantha Nada later worked with All India Radio Vijayawada and Doordarshan, Hyderabad. Initially she sang for radio programs for children. Those days she was not formally trained in any forms of music. She later learnt classical Indian vocal under J. V. S. Rao, a disciple of the late Vinayak Rao Patwardhan at Government College of Music and Dance. She continued learning under her family shifted to Hyderabad.
Chandra moved from Vijayawada to Hyderabad
After studies, Chandrakantha Nada moved from Vijayawada to Hyderabad and joined All India Radio Hyderabad. She also performed as an artist at Hyderabad Doordarshan, the recently established first TV station in the state. Interestingly, it was her song that was first broadcasted in Hyderabad Doordarshan. In the 1970s, she became a regular performing artist at Hyderabad Doordarshan
After her marriage, she moved to US
In 1977, she was part of a cultural delegation to South Africa and she was a part of cultural delegation to Mauritius, at the same time. Chandrakantha Nada married David R. Courtney in 1979, a professional tabla player and music composer from United States, with whom she collaborated in several musical projects. The couple has 2 children. After marriage, since 1980 she settled in Houston, Texas.
Chandrakantha Nada Courtney’s achievements as an artist
She performed and co-produced the short experimental film ‘Gayatri Mantra in Nava Raga – Rain’ in 2011. The film won a bronze award at the “Worldfest – Houston International Film Festival” in the “Film and Video Art” category. Over the years, she sees herself both as an artist and an educator. While she teaches North Indian vocals, her husband teaches tabla. As an artist, she has performed in Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Germany, US and many other nations, apart from India.
Also read: Usha Barle – Pandavani folk singer from Chhattisgarh
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