SHREWSBURY, Mass. – Inside a violin, there is a bass bar running up its left side. Nestled under the bridge along the right is the sound post. As Ksheeraja Ramanujam of Shrewsbury runs her horse-hair bow up and down the four different strings, she makes her violin sing. Some sounds are introspective; others can be eloquent and smooth; more sounds are lustrous, vibrant, and sparkling; while still others can be dark, muted, muffled and austere.

“I enjoy learning all the different sounds a violin can make,” Ramanujam said, who is one of only two Pakachoag Music School of Greater Worcester students awarded the school’s prestigious Peggy Kelley Reinburg Award for outstanding effort, commitment, and attitude toward her musical craft. “With just four strings and a stick with hair on it, I find it very interesting to hear.”

Ksheeraja Ramanujam playing the violin. Courtesy photo.

The Shrewsbury teen has been enrolled for seven years at Pakachoag and is currently completing her junior year at Shrewsbury High School where she plays in the school orchestra. Ramanujam takes lessons with Amy Matherly, a Pakachoag instructor. 

“Ksheeraja loves playing the violin and views it as a pleasure to be enjoyed,” Matherly said about her pupil. Matherly has taught for the Performing Arts School of Worcester, the Hartt School of Music, and the Bancroft School since 1988. She joined the Pakachoag faculty in 2010. “She listens to music with interest and sets goals for herself. A dedicated and enthusiastic student, she practices thoughtfully and comes to her lessons well prepared. I am pleased that she has received this award!”

Ramanujam said this award nudges her to continue the craft and hone her skills.

“It’s kind of like an affirmation that I am on the right path in my learning, and I should continue to learn and enjoy music in this manner,” she said. “I was very happy and honored that I was considered for the award, and that I was able to receive it.”

The Reinburg award is named after the Pakachoag school’s second director who strove to instill an appreciation for excellence among all her students. The award is presented annually each spring, but with the pandemic closures last year, no one was given the honor. This is the first year two recipients for the award were recognized. The other beneficiary is Mai Caslowitz, a vocalist from Sturbridge and a recent Tantasqua Regional High School graduate.

“Learning music from a young age has inspired me a lot, and I’ve learned many things as well,” Ramanujam said. “For example, the importance of dedication and practice, as well as how much I enjoy playing. Without these factors, it is impossible to play good music.”

She describes herself as having a flexible playing style which “varies with the piece, so it is sometimes very rich in emotion, but other times very technical … It’s very interesting to hear, learn, and play the various, sometimes surprising, techniques and nuances in different pieces.”

Ramanujam credits her mother as being her role model and said she could not have become a good violinist without her mother’s support.

“In the beginning, my mother was the one who believed that I would do well with the violin, and she also encouraged me when I thought it wasn’t for me,” Ramanujam said. “She has always supported me and, eventually, when I started performing, she was always there with a camera in hand, ready to cheer me on. Her influence has allowed me to enjoy the violin even more.”

In addition to her activities at Pakachoag, Ramanujam participates in the Shrewsbury High School Orchestra and studies the Carnatic style of classical Indian violin at the Anubhava School of Music. She was also accepted into the 2021 Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Senior Orchestra.

Outside the music world, Ramanujam is interested in biochemistry and plans to pursue a career in that field. However, she still plans to continue playing the violin in college.

“As I move on to college, I want to keep playing the violin, and keep learning as much as possible,” she said. “Although I know I will be a lot busier in college, especially with a new environment and new things to learn, I’d still like to keep music close.”

As a longer term goal, Ramanujam is thinking about opening a multi-instrument fusion club where people from different backgrounds and cultures can come together to learn from each other and enjoy music. This idea comes from both of the instruments she plays: a ‘Western’ style violin and a Carnatic Indian violin.

Her goal for the fusion club would be to encourage a diversity of musical styles and to inspire other musicians of different cultures to experiment with the generally accepted form of classical music. She said musicians can combine their own unique styles of playing with other cultures to create a more enriching musical experience.

“Although the instrument itself is the same, the style of playing as well as the techniques are completely different,” she said. “However, music is just music in the end, and so I’d like to combine these very different styles and types of music together to create more well-rounded, beautiful sounds.”