Performing in front of an audience is a thrill for some, but for others, it can be an ordeal which involves blood, sweat, and tears.

For sophomore Shruti Natrajan however, singing in front of an audience can be exhilarating.

“I’ve preformed probably 18 major concerts, most at the Midwest Music Conservatory where all the music teachers hold their annual concerts,” said Natrajan.

Natrajan preformed a solo concert in Bangalore, India last summer in front of 80 to a 100 people.

“In the week leading up to the concert, I was a nervous wreck, but the funny thing is that I was calm and focused the 2 hours before I had to perform,” said Natarajan.

Her recipe for success? Practice.

“I was practicing about 8 to 9 hours a day, cause I had nothing else to do,” she said.

Natarajan’s  daily routine is simple- wake up, eat breakfast, attend a 2 and a half hour vocal class with her teacher,  eat lunch, then attend a second 2 and a half hour vocal class with her teacher’s assistant, come back to the hotel, practice some more, and sleep.

Natarajan sings Indian classical music, which is popular in the southern states of India.

“Indian classical music is a very old performing art. In western music where there is a major and minor scale with variations. In Indian classical music, there is a scale whereas there are thousands and thousands of variation scales.” said Natarajan.

Natarajan hopes to perform more in the future and learn more harder, complicated songs.