Lauded by Grammy Award-winning cellist Antonio Lysy, for possessing “fantastic music instinct,” Dr. Venkatesh, originally a pre-medical student at Stanford University, heeded her grandfather’s last words to her: manifest your unique creative energy; she switched her path to follow her passion, music, without looking back. 

      Dr. Venkatesh’s original pre-medical path, however, was not completely dissociated from her purpose. She has always been fueled by a desire to heal and connect. With a Doctorate (D.M.A.) in Violin Performance from UCLA, and as a blend of cultures, Indian and Western, she defines intercultural harmony, so needed in current times, as the underlying purpose of her musical career and creative practice. As a Fulbright scholar to India, studying both Carnatic and Hindustani music intensely, she dismantles borders between musical forms to find resonance between cultures through performance, composition, and education. 

     Dr. Venkatesh is committed to expanding the boundaries of classical music. She revels in the opportunities music creates for cross-cultural communion. Through the initiative of the South Asian Symphony Foundation, founded by Ms. Nirupama Rao, (former Indian ambassador to the United States), she travels to India to perform with the South Asian Symphony Orchestra. As soloist with the Symphony, she gave the Indian premiere of Violin Concerto: Svara Yantra, a concerto which synthesizes Indian and Western traditions by critically-acclaimed Indian-American composer, Shirish Korde, collaborations with whom continue today. 

      Her piano duo, Duo Átma, provides a medium through which her vision of intercultural understanding may blossom. The Duo performs music inspired by musical traditions from around the globe, and her own repertoire spans the globe as well. In recital, she aims to not only perform, but to elaborate on just what makes these musics unique...and alike. Her own compositions seek fluid intersections between Western and Indian classical music. In 2024, Dr. Venkatesh released an album, International Passion, which showcases global music traditions.   

      Priyanka’s scholarship pursues the same connections. Through her dissertation, entitled Forging a More Perfect Union: A Journey from Exoticism to Intercultural Synthesis of Indian and Western Art Music through Works for Violin, she explores the practices of musical interculturalism. She has presented her research at numerous forums around the world, including for the Society for Music Theory and the American Musicological Society. 

      Experiencing the life-changing power of music firsthand, Dr. Venkatesh is committed to arts education. She has taught at Stanford University, UC Irvine, and UCLA, and she volunteers her time assisting youth programs. In association with Musicians for the World, she was named "La Madrina," (Godmother) of Los Violines de San Juan, a non-profit organization providing music-education to underprivileged children of Lima, Peru. 

     Dr. Venkatesh has been a prizewinner of numerous competitions, including the 2021 International Piazzolla Music Competition. She is indebted to her many wonderful violin mentors, including Scott St. John, Haroutune Bedelian, Movses Pogossian, Ivan Zenaty, and Midori.