Chandrakantha Courtney was born in Macchalipatnam on Feb 2, 1954. She began to sing professionally as a child. She was a regular contributor to Balala Karyakramam in All India Radio, Vijaywada, and was attached to Suvartha Vani, Bhavana Kala Samiti, Rasana Samaikhya. In 1971 she enrolled in the Govt. College of Music and Dance (Vijaywada), and trained under J.V. Subba Rao until 1975 when she moved to Hyderabad. She then became an artist with AIR (Hyderabad) and Swara Tharangini. When the TV station was established she then became a regular artist in Doordarshan (Hyderabad). In 1977 she was an artist in the Om International troupe which toured South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius. In 1978 she married David Courtney, who brought her to the United States in 1980.
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Her time in the US has kept her very busy. She has been teaching Indian classical vocal in the Houston area since this time. In the mid 80s she composed the theme music for “Asiana” (Houston Indian community’s TV program). In 1990, she became a board member of the Texas Institute for Indian Studies. From the early 90s until about 2013 she was an artist in Young Audiences. In 1994 she was awarded the “Artist of the Year” by Asian Women Magazine.
Chandra has toured Europe extensively. This began in 1995 when she gave a number of programs in Germany under the sponsorship of the Deutsch Indische Geselschaft. Subsequently she has given numerous performances in Germany and the UK under the sponsorship of a variety of organizations. In recent years she has also performed in Italy and Spain in programs sponsored by a variety of local organisations.
In 1996 she was given (along with her husband) the “Award of Excellence” for her artistic contributions in the field of music by the American Telugu Association. She sang for the film “Dancing in Twilight”, a film staring Erick Avari, Louise Fletcher, Mimi Rogers, Kal Penn, Sheetal Shet. Recently along with her husband, she was designated as a “Cultural Jewel of India” by the Indian Cultural Centre” of Houston. In 2015 she and her husband were both given the prestigious “Sunshine Award”.
Her activities were not limited to traditional Indian music. She was also the female vocalist with the band, “Vani” in the turn of the 21st century. This was a band which specialised in a genre of fusion called “Raga Rock”.
She has also been active in progressive politics. In this capacity she has held various offices within the Green Party, and in the 2014 election, she made an unsuccessfully bid for the office of Lieutenant governor of the state of Texas.
She is also co-author of several books. Most notably she is the co-author of “Elementary North Indian Vocal – Vol.1″ Elementary North Indian Vocal – Vol 2”, and “The Music of South Asia”.
Chandra has composed music and performed for a number of music videos. These are too numerous to mention, yet three stand out. In articular “Brindavani Sarang” (2011), “Jaijaivanti Tarana” (2011), and “Celest – Tarana in Malkauns Raga” (2018) stand out because they won international awards.
It is impossible to enumerate 55 years of her professional career. She is a teacher, performer, and active promoter of Indian culture. She has traveled all over India working hard to maintain the cultural traditions. She has performed on countless cassettes, disks, TV, radio programs CDs, and music videos.
Interviews
Selected Videos
Interview (Telugu)
Chandra and David – (Part 1)
Chandra and David – (Part 2)
Chandra and David – (Part 3)
Chandra and David – (Part 4)
Chandra and David – (Part 5)