In preparation for their upcoming performance at the International Baccalaureate banquet on May 21, drummer Ishita Pradhan, guitarist Ananth Nithin, keyboardist Ari Tower, bassist Julien Vincent and singers Violet Brewer and Elliana Reed practice weekly at Radha School of Music. The group was formed by IB senior Srinija Chukkapalli before resigning as singer for health reasons.
Q: How long have you been singing/playing your instrument?
Nithin: “I started playing when I was around 7-years-old. When I first started playing I didn’t know anything about music, but I knew it was something I really wanted to get into. Playing guitar was a way for me to explore my biggest interest. I always find time to play guitar every day, whether it’s a dedicated practice session or just noodling around for a few minutes when I get bored. Whenever I start to feel stressed out or overwhelmed with school or anything else in my life, I take a break to play guitar. It really helps me to clear my mind and get back on track.”
Q: Why did you join the band?
Pradhan: “I’m hosting the IB banquet with another group of students for our IB diploma requirements. We have to do something called a “CAS project,” which is creativity, activity and service. Ananth and I always wanted to do a band together, so I asked a bunch of people to join and we made the band to perform for the banquet. Ananth, Srinija and I started the band. We started it and then reached out to people like Ari for the keys, Julian for bass and then another singer.”
Q: What has been your favorite part of being in this band?
Brewer: “My favorite thing about the band is that I have gotten to know a few new people. We have become really close as a band and gotten to know each other very well. Since I joined the band my favorite part has been all the fun we have had. When one of us messes up we all laugh it off. I feel like I have come out of my shell a bit more. It’s helped with both my performance and confidence.”
Q: What songs is the band performing?
Pradhan: “We’re playing ‘Babydoll’ by Dominic Fike, ‘Please Mr. Postman’ by the Beatles, ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac, ‘Kiss Me’ by Sixpence None the Richer and ‘Earrings” by Malcolm Todd.”
Q: What is the biggest challenge?
Pradhan: “The scheduling has definitely been hard with AP exams and everybody having jobs, but we made good progress on our songs. We had to do a lot of experimenting with our songs. We decided that each of us should get to pick a song and collaboration has been going well. The biggest challenge is the time constraint since we only had a month to prepare for the banquet. We only meet once a week and someone’s always missing so it was definitely hard finishing the songs and making them perfect. We wanted a bigger setlist, but so far the five songs we do have are strong. We’re supposed to perform for 30 minutes so that may be a challenge as well.”
Q: Are you nervous or excited to perform at the banquet?
Nithin: “I am a bit more nervous than I was for my performance in the talent show since I’m performing in front of so many people I know. We only had to perform one song for the talent show, but we have a longer setlist for this banquet and less time to prepare, but I know we can handle it. What I’d like to do is go over the setlist in my head and try to imagine what the performance is going to look like. I imagine the parts of the performance that I’m most likely to make a mistake on and replay them as much as I can in my head before going on stage.”
Q: What is a piece of advice you would give yourself before you perform?
Brewer: “To take big deep breaths to calm down my nerves before I perform. I’ve learned to do something even when it’s challenging and scary because it will help me in the long run.”
Q: What do you think is important for everyone to know?
Pradhan: “It will be a really fun performance. A lot of hard work went into it and I’m so grateful for all the band members and the opportunity to play with my friends and play cool music.”
The band started practicing around April 2026. The cost of the practice room is free because Pradhan, Nithin and Tower practice at Radha.
