Uma Kumar’s musical journey from Chennai to Switzerland comes to New Zealand

Indian classical vocalist Uma Kumar is bringing Carnatic and Abhang music to New Zealand as part of her New Zealand Sangit Yatra 2026 concert tour.

Originally from Chennai, India, and now based in Switzerland, Kumar will perform five concerts between August 15 and 23 across Auckland, Henderson, Hamilton and Kumeū.

Her New Zealand tour includes performances at Sri Ram Mandir, Bharatiya Mandir and for the NZ Carnatic Music Society in Auckland, followed by concerts at Sri Balaji Mandir in Hamilton and ISKCON in Kumeū.

Kumar performed “RAGA, RASHTRA, and RAM” at Shri Ram Mandir in Henderson, Auckland, on August 15, 2026. She was accompanied by Prof. Shuk Dev Madhur on harmonium, Basant Madhur on tabla and Akarsh Kumar on mridangam.

Kumar comes from a three-generation musical family and continues the legacy of her grandfather, Sattur AG Subramaniam. She began learning music from her mother, Lakshmi Sundaram, and holds master’s degrees in Carnatic music from the University of Madras. She is currently receiving advanced training from Carnatic vocalist Raji Gopalakrishnan.

With more than 30 years of experience as a student, teacher and performer, Kumar has built a repertoire of more than 400 compositions. She performs in seven Indian languages — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit.

Kumar is known for thematic concerts and has developed performances around 20 themes, including ragas, composers, languages and specific deities.

Her performances have taken her to audiences in India, Switzerland, the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany and South Africa. In 2025, she performed 55 concerts, including 13 during Chennai's annual Margazhi Season.

She also founded the Ragamalika Music School in Switzerland, where she has trained more than 200 students in Indian classical music.

Celebrating India's musical heritage

One of Kumar's recent projects is UTSAV-36, a musical initiative celebrating 36 traditional Indian festivals.

In 2025, she released a music video for each festival, bringing together compositions across different languages, ragas and talas. The project includes Carnatic, Abhang and Hindustani music and is available on her YouTube channel, UMAKUMARMUSIC.

Her New Zealand tour brings together two distinct Indian musical traditions.

Carnatic music, which originated in South India, is built around melody, rhythm, improvisation and devotional expression. It is traditionally performed with instruments including the violin, mridangam and ghatam, and draws on the works of composers such as Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri.

Abhang music has its roots in Maharashtra and the Bhakti tradition. Sung mainly in Marathi, Abhang compositions by saint-poets including Tukaram, Dnyaneshwar, Namdev and Eknath express devotion, spirituality and social values.

For New Zealand's Indian diaspora, Kumar's five-concert tour provides an opportunity to experience these traditions locally, while also introducing a wider New Zealand audience to India's classical musical heritage.