Meet the team
Vikram ekambaram
Vikram “Vik” Ekambaram is a senior from Dallas, Texas who is majoring in Chemical Biology on the pre-med track. He usually jams with Kethan and Brian on the Tenor 2, but he’ll also strike out as a baritone given the chance. Outside of rehearsals, you can find him studying in the library or cooking up a storm in his apartment. For this semester, Vik is stoked to finish his senior year on Dhamakapella with a bang!
Kethan srinivasan
Kethan Srinivasan is a fourth-year student from San Diego, California majoring in Computer Science with minors in Economics and Chinese. He sings as a Tenor 2 with experience in choir, Carnatic music, and in opera (yes, he has the receipts). In his spare time, you can catch him looking for matinee tickets so he can keep updating his Letterboxd page, searching for new dip recipes, practicing Carnatic music with CWRU Naadam, writing for the Observer newspaper and working their social media pages, or supporting PTG! Kethan can’t wait to see what competition season has in store and how Dhamakapella will continue to grow!
BRIAN VANCE
Brian is a senior from Ellicott City, Maryland, majoring in civil engineering and environmental studies. With previous musical experience in choir, double bass, and piano, he is going into his third year on Dhamakapella as a Tenor 2! Outside of rehearsals, he can be found playing ukulele and piano, yapping and gabbing with his roommates, or constantly listening to music. He also enjoys playing Minecraft, exploring hiking trails in the area, and trying new baking recipes! Brian is so excited to make more music and memories with the Dhamakafam during his last year on the team :’)
ANIRUDH RAGHUVIR
Anirudh Raghuvir is an early graduate spending the next year with Dhamakapella while working in Cleveland. He is entering his third year on Dhamakapella singing those high notes as a Tenor 1 and is excited to serve as Music Director this year! Outside of rehearsal, you can find Ani attempting (poorly) to become punctual, searching for a sweet treat, or practicing Carnatic music. He’s super excited to travel and make some more dhamazing memories with the team during his last year!
HARSHINI SOMISETTY
Harshini Somisetty is a third-year student from Columbus, Ohio, majoring in Medical Anthropology and Business Management on the pre-medical track. She adores cats and hopes to have three in the future. Serving her third year on the team, she is this year’s Co-Music Director and sings Soprano 1. Outside of rehearsal, Harshini works as a Peer Educator for the Flora Stone Mather Center, works at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, or watches too much New Girl. However, she’s usually singing constantly—whether that’s at practice or in her bathroom shower. She eagerly looks forward to making many more memories and memes with her best friends and traveling to procrastinate her work and go to competitions!
Harry Ganz
Harry Ganz is a sophomore from Sudbury, Massachusetts majoring in Music and Political Science with a minor in Spanish. This year, he is thrilled to serve as Dhamakapella's arranger and Choreography Director during his second season on the team. When not with Dhamakapella, Harry can be found going on a run, catching up on twitter, or watching Youtube in bed. He cannot wait for another year with Dhamaka, performing, competing, and hanging with the best team ever!
COLETTE HARTMAN
Colette Hartman is a second-year from from New York City, majoring in International Studies and Political Science with a minor in Theater. In her second year on Dhamakapella, Colette is beyond excited to serve her third semester as Public Relations Co-Chair and continue singing with her beloved Alto 1s. When not rehearsing, searching Canva for Dhamakapella Instagram inspiration, or watching old Dhamaka performance clips, Colette can be found supporting her favorite soccer teams (Allez les Bleus!), struggling to keep up a consistent gym habit, or speed-walking through campus as she runs late for whatever she’s headed for. Last year, she found her family on campus in Dhamakapella, and she can't wait for another year of spending all her free time with them.
RACHEL GOPALANI
Rachel Gopalani is a second-year student from Merion Station, PA. She is majoring in Applied Mathematics and Economics. She’s singing Alto 1 again this year, and loving it! She enjoys reading, writing, listening to music, working out, cooking, playing video games (she dabbles), and is always down for something creative (she’s been loving NYT games this past year). She also loves spending time with her family and friends and cheering on Philadelphia sports teams. Rachel had a blast last season, and she’s excited to spread more Dhamaka love!
NIVEDITA PISHARODY
Nivedita “Nivi” Pisharody is a second-year student from Hoffman Estates, Illinois majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Childhood Studies on the pre-med track. As a second-year, she’s excited to serve on the team as President and sing Alto 2. When she’s not at rehearsal you’ll find Nivi sipping a vanilla latte at Presti’s in Little Italy, volunteering with CCEL at the Cleveland Heights Library, or baking up a storm back home. She’s so excited to continue making music and memories and traveling the country with her best friends and is excited to see what this year has in store for the team!!
KASHISH JaISwal
Kashish Jaiswal is a sophomore from Randolph, New Jersey majoring in biology on the pre-medical track. Entering her second year on Dhamakapella as a proud Alto 2, she is thrilled to be serving as Secretary for the Spring semester! When she’s not hitting those low notes in rehearsal, you can find her exploring Cleveland with friends, volunteering at the VA, or taking even more pictures of the sunset for her ever-growing camera roll collection. Last year, Kash had the best time traveling around the country with the Dhamakafam, and she is so excited to see what next season brings for her and her favorite people!!
ISHA MATTA
Isha Matta, a music-obsessed freshman, moved from Hyderabad, India and was born in Fremont, California. She's currently a biology on the pre-med track, although her major might change soon so stay tuned. Isha loves spending time with friends and family, trying out new hobbies, forgetting the tunes to her own songs, and all things music and dance, which is why she was super excited to join Dhamakapella this year! She's currently obsessed with 5SOS and is committed to making them her top artist for this year's Spotify wrapped. She also tends to yap and sing a lot, and honestly isn't the best person to have around in a pin-drop silent environment. She will try to stay quiet if she loves you though.
ISABELLE HUFNAGEL
Isabelle Hufnagel is a freshman from Princeton, New Jersey majoring in Finance and Marketing. This is her first year in Dhamakapella and she is so excited to be serving her first semester as PR Chair! While she is an alleged “soprano-alto-tenor,” she will be a sop baby, singing Soprano 1! When she is not in the group breaking out into a British accent or a random dance, she loves to do her nails, go thrifting, and crafting things she sees on TikTok! Although she’s a new member she’s already had such a blast with the Dhamaka family and can’t wait for all the traveling and fun to come!
Vaibhav Thirumalai
Vaibhav Thirumalai is a Freshman from Bangalore, India who is majoring in Biochemistry on a research track. He sings as a Baritone with a background in Carnatic and old Bollywood music. In his free time, you can find him at PKs or finding some way to try and save money on flights. A proud nerd, he plays D&D and participates in Model UN. Vaibhav is excited to see where his first year in Dhamakapella leads him.
Swapnil Roy
Swapnil “Swap” Roy is a freshman from Buffalo, New York majoring in Computer Science and Music. He’s excited to join as the only Bass in the group and serve his first semester as Treasurer! Apart from being Dhamakapella’s #1 fanboy, he loves listening to music, hanging out with friends, and scrolling on social media until he falls asleep. He also loves gaming and finding new things to do with his roommates. Swap can’t wait to make beautiful music with everyone and have a memorable first year on the team!
OUR ALUMNI
Neel Agarwal • Divyam Agrawal • Sourodeep Banerjee • Logan Bergert • Aditi (Molly) Bhanja • Nishtha Bharanwal • Aaron Baskin • Ashwini (Ashi) Batchu • Dhruv Batura • Shilpa Bhat • Tosin Bolarin • Ronnell Canada • Ecehan Cezayirlioglu • Arindom Chakraverty • Rahul Chander • Eric Chang • Mick Crawford • Grace Dai • Jonathan Daniels • Anoop David • Tara Dickinson • Ian Dimayuga • Michael Druschel • Juniper Duncan • Neha Dwivedi • Alyssa Fledderjohn • Mihika Gangolli • Rahul Ghole • Nada Haq-Siddiqi • Sahi Hari • Wayne Hou • Jennifer Huang • Daniel Humphrey • Sashvat Iyer • Avanti Jakatdar • Vivek Jayan • Ahmil Jilani • Sahana Kannan • Vivek Kapur • Niharika Karnik • Naya Katta • Komal Keerthy • Anna Kellam • Michael Kowalski • Navaneeth Krishnan • Aishwarya Kumar • Vasu Kuram • Michael LaFramboise • Jay Lee • Ann Liu • Nainita Madurai • Bhavya Mahesh • Austin Mak • Kevin Mallady • Gavin Markowitz • Anusha Mudigonda • Manoj Nair • Madhav Nandan • Shyam Natarajan • Shouvik Neogi • Pavani Nukala • Lewis Orr • Marinna Panting • Harika Parige • Sagar Patwardhan • Mayank Prasad • Avni Pravin • Kasey Pukys • Divya Rachakonda • Shruti Ragunathan • Krithika Rajkumar • Soumya Rajupet • Naveen Ram • Shwetha Ramachandran • Sridhar Ramananthan • Roshni Rao • Bhavani Raveendran • Brendan Raymond • Shaunak Roy • Tulsi Roy • Angela Rui • Manasa Sagaram • Reina Samuel • Chandrika Sanapala • Zoya Sandhu • Andrew Santin • Sugapradha Saravanan • Bradley Schissel • Oliver Schumacher • Jon Sender • Aashna Shah • Samir Shah • Shardule Shah • Vanessa Shand • Sohaj Singh • Ayan Sinha • Siddharth Sivakumar • Sharanya Sivakumar • Alexandra Smick • Josiah Smith • Kari Sneitzer • Raksha Soora • Arthi Sridar • Sahaana Sridhar • Tarun Srivastava • Jessica Suratkal • Shweta Suresh • Emily Szabo • Kevin Tee • Savannah Walters • Jeff Wexler • Antonio Zimbello