Praised as “strikingly original” (NY Times), Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music, sound installation, and contemporary opera. Known for pushing the boundaries of form and style, she has created work for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (as 2023 Artist-in-Residence), an opera for the trees of Prospect Park, a techno-noir featuring live datamining of the audience and a chorus of 25 singing tablet computers, and the world’s first virtual reality opera, among other pieces. She has been commissioned by the Minnesota Opera (where she is currently a Composer-in-Residence), the Glimmerglass Festival (as 2022 Artist-in-Residence), Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and Creative Time, among others. As a biracial Indian-American and trained sitarist, Kamala has drawn on Indian classical music in many of her works, including Thumbprint, A Rose, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, and the Jungle Book. Her work in sound has been featured in the magazines Hyperallergic and Pioneer Works Broadcast and installed during Art Basel and at the Hudson River Museum. Also an educator and writer, Kamala has been a featured speaker at TEDx Riverdale Country Day, has contributed critical essays on opera for Routledge and Opera America magazine, and has been a frequent panelist at conferences and organizations including AWE, The Nature of Cities, and CTHQ, among others.

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As an accomplished performer, Kamala has been hailed as "an impassioned soprano with blazing high notes" (Wall Street Journal). Notable collaborations include Anthony Braxton’s TRILLIUM E, TRILLIUM J, and GTM (Syntax) 2017; Meredith Monk’s ATLAS with the LA Philharmonic, The Wooster Group’s LA DIDONE (Kaaitheater, Brussels, Edinburgh International Festival, Rotterdam Schouberg, Grand Théâtre de la Ville, Luxembourg, St. Anne’s Warehouse, NY, REDCAT, Los Angeles), and the PROTOTYPE Festival’s THUMBPRINT (Baruch Performing Arts, NY, REDCAT, Los Angeles), among others. Kamala is the leader of Bombay Rickey, an operatic Bollywood surf ensemble whose accolades include two awards for Best Eclectic Album from the Independent Music Awards, the 2018 Mid-Atlantic Touring Grant, and appearances on WFMU and NPR. Dr. Sankaram holds a PhD from the New School and is currently a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes College of Music.