Meet Harshitha Krishnan | Artist, Educator and Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Harshitha Krishnan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Harshitha, why did you pursue a creative career?
In many ways, I feel like I am not pursuing a career in the arts; the arts is courting me and I’m swaying along. As I reflect on my journey so far, there’s been a certain gravitational pull that has kept me in the arts orbit for as long as I can remember. All I really did was recognise it, trust it, work at it and roll with it. I cannot imagine my life or career playing out any other way than it has. It sounds silly and vague, but I truly believe our lives play out exactly as they are meant to, and the struggle comes in when we question it, resist it and don’t commit. We all go through those phases where we do just those things. Doubt is the most common thing. But careers are a creation of people. The career pursues people. Not the other way around. We just have to recognise our opportunities and follow our instincts. Success not in our control if we allow others to determine what our success looks like.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
While many of my peers grew up with access to music programs and a myriad of learning opportunities, I grew up with a few options that I feel like I utilised to the best of my abilities. So when I moved to the US to attend Berklee College of Music at age 22, I was woefully behind on my music knowledge compared to those I considered my peers. I had been performing professionally for many years already and had a high level of performance skills and professionalism, but I was in all the lowest level courses of music theory and ear training. This didn’t daunt or surprise me though. That was exactly what I knew to be true and I just did the work as best as I could. I was at the top of most of my classes while at school and built amazing relationships with my faculty. So much so, none of them ever realised I could possibly have just started writing, composing, arranging, etc. While this sounds like the best case scenario, it really wasn’t. I had learned a lot of technical skills that I didn’t really know how to apply authentically. As a result, I suffered majorly from imposter syndrome and the pressure of having to create music of the same calibre as “my peers”. I spent way too many years being crippled by self doubt and pressure to only create great things only to circle back and recognise how young a musician I am. By young, I don’t mean age-wise. I mean skill-wise. What I was expecting of myself is like expecting a 9 year old to write The Iliad. Not impossible but highly improbable.
I share all this to say that 2 of the biggest things I’ve learned throughout my career is to have compassion for myself and to compare with context. Comparison is normal and a necessary skill humans developed for survival. But without context, the comparison with our peers is just bound to raise needless existential crises. With context, we can simply accept where we might be lacking (all subjective) and figure out how to push ourselves more. I try to meditate on this before walking into any creative space, whether I’m making music with a band or teaching my students. I want everyone to know that learning is not linear and sequential. We see-saw constantly. That’s just the way our miraculous brains work.
I’m proud of my struggles and my realisations and how I’ve grown as a result of them. Without them, I wouldn’t be half as interesting and wouldn’t enjoy the highs as much.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a total homebody haha I love when my friends just stay home with me and my dog, and we chat and laugh and cry and eat and nap. It’s just pure joy. However, I also love the outdoors and experiencing them with people I love and care about, so there would have to be a beach day and/or a hike involved. Another day, we’d grab some drinks at a local spot, check out cool new food trucks, walk around a flea market, visit some historically relevant sights.
I’m also a big fan of rollercoasters so if possible, we’d make a trip to an amusement park and spend a day there. Wouldn’t you rather wait in lines for a ride with your best friend?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be anywhere without the support of the music community. I love my family. They are amazing, but I don’t come from a family of artists . And while they did their best to encourage and support me, I would never have gotten this far in my career without the trust and support of the wonderful musicians I’ve had the honour of working with. They recognised skills and potential in me that I didn’t even know I had. What’s greater still is they then created opportunities for me to fulfil those potentials and hone those skills. Our industry is heavily driven by referrals or “who you know”, and every time a friend has risen in life, they turn around and lend a helping hand. It is truly inspirational and invaluable. I am extremely privileged and fortunate to be in this amazing community.

Website: harshithakrishnan.com

Instagram: @harshistar

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshitha-krishnan-b1b2983a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarshithaKrishnanMusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/HarshithaKrishnan

Image Credits
Shashin No Samurai Last photo with mic, unknown.