Academic record & distinction

Dr. Samidha Vedabala is an Indian music scholar, sitar player, and academician currently serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at Sikkim University, Gangtok. With more than a decade of teaching and research experience, she has contributed significantly to the fields of Hindustani instrumental music, music pedagogy, and interdisciplinary music studies. She holds a PhD in Instrumental Music (Sitar) from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. Her doctoral research, titled “Stylistic Evolution of Sitar Baaj in 20th and 21st Century,” examines changing performance practices and aesthetics of sitar music in contemporary contexts. She also holds a Master’s degree in Instrumental Music and has qualified UGC-NET. Her areas of expertise include Hindustani classical music (sitar), performance studies, music pedagogy, digitization and globalization of Indian music, music and society, music therapy perspectives, and research methodology in music. She has authored books, research papers, and book chapters, and regularly participates in national and international seminars, workshops, and lecture series. 

Dr. Vedabala is the author of Simplifying Research in Music, Unheard Voices from the Margins: Art ,Culture and Exclusion and Sitar Music: The Dynamics of Structure and Its Playing Techniques (2021). Her publications address themes such as stylistic transformations in sitar, musical perception and preference, globalization, digitization, pedagogy, and interdisciplinary approaches including research in music therapy. She has been the recipient of the National Music Excellence Award (2022) and the Young Researcher Award (2022). She is also the recipient of an ICSSR-sponsored Minor Research Project titled “Women as Professional Musicians: An Insight from North-East India,” which explores gender, professional identity, and regional musical practices in the context of the North-East.

Education

• PhD in Instrumental Music (Sitar), Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
• Master’s in Instrumental Music
• UGC-NET Qualified 

Areas of Specialization

• Hindustani Classical Music (Sitar)
• Performance Studies and Music Pedagogy
• Globalization and Digitization of Indian Music
• Music and Society
• Research Methodology in Music
• Music Therapy Research

Latest Publication 

• Vedabala, S. (2025). Technology, Mediation, and Performance Ecologies in Indian Classical Music. Proceedings of the International Music and Performing Arts Conference, 3, 46-52.

• Vedabala, S. (2024). Feminism in the Musical Landscape of North- East India: An in-Depth Analysis. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(1), 214–221. doi: 10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i1.2024.869.

• Vedabala, S. (2025). Politics and music: A study on the feminist movement in India. Naad-Nartan: Journal of Dance & Music, 13(1).

• Vedabala, S. (2024). Digital commodification of Indian classical music: A critical analysis. Inclusive: An Open Access Peer Reviewed International Journal, 2(25).

• Vedabala, S. (Ed.). (2025). Unheard voices from the margins: Art, culture and exclusion. Kanishka Publishers.