On February 20, 2025, Asia Society Seattle will host the second in our three-part series called SAM Talks: Seattle Speaker Series. The Series is designed and dedicated to promoting understanding of Asia and the Asia diaspora. It will showcase and feature Asian and Asian American artists, writers, business and community leaders and others engaged with Asia, and hear them share their work, ideas, experiences, and impact.

The second speaker and performer in our series is Grammy award-winning, violin maestro Ganesh Rajagopalan, heralded as one of the contemporary master musicians of Indian classical music. He noted for his virtuosic tonal excellence and wide-ranging creative genius. Recognized as a child prodigy, he has played violin since the age of seven, rising to international fame and touring the world at first with his brother Sri Kumaresh and performing with other luminaries of Indian Music tradition. Ganesh transcends classical Carnatic repertoire to create scintillating fusions with contemporary elements and sounds. 

Join Asia Society Seattle on Feb 20, 2025 to hear Ganesh share his personal and professional story, as well as perform live on stage from the Seattle Asian Art Museum mainstage! Ganesh will be introduced by Sital Kalantry, tenured law professor, associate dean, and founder and director of the RoundGlass India Center at Seattle University. 

This program is suitable for families.

This speaker series is a collaboration between Asia Society Seattle and Seattle Asian Art Museum. 

Tickets are available now! Tickets are $25 for nonmembers/$10 for members.  Become a member today! Each ticket includes complimentary, after-hours access to the Seattle Asian Art Museum galleries!

Press must email [email protected] for registration.

Speaker Bios

Heralded as one of the contemporary master musicians of Indian classical music, violin maestro Ganesh Rajagopalan is noted for his virtuosic tonal excellence and wide-ranging creative genius. Recognized as a child prodigy, he has played violin since the age of seven, rising to international fame and touring the world at first with his brother Sri Kumaresh and performing with other luminaries of Indian Music tradition, including tabla master Zakir Hussain.

However, Ganesh Rajagopalan's musical horizons are eclectic and broad, transcending classical Carnatic repertoire to create scintillating fusions with contemporary elements and sounds. He composes original ragas and sets tunes for the lyrics of great composers as well as creating scores for film, theatre, and dance productions, including extensive work for noted film director A.R. Rahman. An experienced educator who has taught around the world, including at Princeton, Stanford and other universities, he has founded his own music schools in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. He also plays with Zakir Hussain and John McLaughlin in the groundbreaking fusion ensemble, Shakti, legendary for its marriage of Indian music and modern jazz.

He is also the only Indian Violin player to have won a Grammy.

Recently, he was featured in the renowned Indian media outlet, Business Standard, as one of the Top 50 Indians excelling globally in business and the arts since 1975.

Sital Kalantry is a tenured law professor, associate dean, and founder and director of the RoundGlass India Center at Seattle University. She has written two books (Women’s Human Rights and Court on Trial) and published over 40 articles in major legal journals such as the Cornell Law Review and the Stanford International Law Journal as well as peer-reviewed social sciences journals. Her opinion pieces have been published by the New York Times, Slate, and the Hill (among others). She is a regular media commentator on reproductive rights, law in India, and human rights issues. Her writing has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and Indian Supreme Court.

As Associate Dean of International and Graduate Studies at Seattle University Law School she manages (among other things) the master’s program for foreign lawyers. The degree program grew by nearly ten times in the first year she managed the program. She has received two multi-million dollars grants to found centers at universities. She founded the RoundGlass India Center at Seattle University to focus on the study of contemporary India and Indian Americans with a grant of $2.2 million dollars. Previously, she founded the Avon Center for Women & Justice at Cornell Law School where she taught for 16 years. She teaches contract law, comparative constitutional law, and business and human rights. Her teaching is informed by her scholarship as well as her seven years of experience as a corporate lawyer at two major U.S. law firms, Milbank and O’Melveny & Myers, and by her litigation experience in international and foreign courts, including the Indian Supreme Court, Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Constitutional Court of Colombia.

She has won numerous awards, including for her book, for her public interest work (from the South Asian Bar Association), and for her mentorship and support to women students. She received the Fulbright Scholarship to teach at Jindal Global Law School in India and to conduct empirical research on the Indian Supreme Court. Professor Kalantry has degrees from Cornell University (A.B.), the London School of Economics (MsC), and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (J.D).

Check out photos and video from the first speaker talk of the series with Olympians Apolo Ohno and Taylor Swanson here. 

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