Hello! Nice to meet you! Here you will find a Full and Short biography!

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Full Biography ~415 words

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Pavan Kumar Hari is a versatile and dynamic artist whose work spans composition, performance, dance, acting, and directing. He is widely recognised for his vibrant and expressive musical language—dramatic, energetic, and deeply emotive—crafted for theatre, film, dance, and the concert hall.

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Pavan Kumar’s artistic journey began at the age of three at Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya (SMV), where he was immersed in the rich traditions of Indian classical and folk music and dance. He trained in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, and a range of folk styles, including Bollywood, culminating in his Bharatanatyam arangetram (graduation) in 2023. In 2019, he completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Composition and Percussion at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), specialising in percussion and piano. He also completed a Graduate Certificate in Film Scoring at the Berklee College of Music in 2024.

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During his time at WAAPA, Pavan Kumar received multiple awards recognising his excellence in classical performance and composition. These include The Richard Gill Award for Best Classical Musician (2020), The Norman Archibald Percussion Scholarship (2018), and The Luigi Paolini Award for Best Classical Percussion in three consecutive years (2018, 2019, 2020).

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He has performed with leading orchestras across Western Australia, including the Perth Symphony Orchestra (PSO), where he conducted and directed the Spirit Ensemble for the WA of the Year Awards in 2018 and 2021. Pavan Kumar has also performed with the Western Australian Charity Orchestra (WACO), the Western Australian Youth Orchestra (WAYO), and was a member of WAAPA’s award-winning Defying Gravity Percussion Ensemble. These experiences deepened his collaborative artistry and further expanded his versatility across orchestral and contemporary performance contexts.

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Since graduating, Pavan Kumar has been an active force across the performing arts landscape—working in music, dance, theatre, and musical theatre. Drawing from a life lived between cultures and art forms, his unique style fuses traditions and genres to create work that is both grounded and boundary-pushing. His practice celebrates cultural exchange and invites audiences to experience the richness of the spaces in between.

 

He has worked with major Western Australian theatre and dance companies, including Black Swan Theatre Company (Fully Sikh, The Tempest), Barking Gecko Theatre Company (Fully Sikh), Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Company (Reach For The Sky), The Last Great Hunt (Bite The Hand), and STRUT Dance Company, along with leading independent artists such as Humphrey Bower  (An Imaginary Life), Natalie Allen (In Crimson, The Abyss, In The Closet), and Brooke Leeder (The Resistance).

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His accolades include the 2020 Performing Arts WA Award for Best Composition or Arranging for Fully Sikh (Black Swan & Barking Gecko Theatre Companies), and the 2024 Green Room Award for Best Artist Ensemble for Once The Musical (Black Swan and Darlinghurst Theatre Companies). In 2025, he was nominated for both Best Composition or Arranging and Best Supporting Role for An Imaginary Life.

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Alongside his performance and composition practice, Pavan Kumar has engaged in a number of artist labs and creative development programs, including the Perth Festival Artist Hub (2020), Performing Lines WA Artist Hub (2020), and the Performing Lines WA Kolyang Creative Hub (2021). He is also dedicated to arts education, teaching percussion at Aquinas College since 2019 and dance at Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya since 2024, with earlier teaching roles at Woodthorpe School (2018) and Santa Maria College (2017).

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Pavan Kumar Hari’s dedication, innovation, and passion for performance continue to shape and elevate the artistic landscape, captivating audiences with every project he undertakes.

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Short Biography ~150 words

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Pavan Kumar Hari is a dynamic multidisciplinary artist whose work spans composition, performance, dance, acting, and directing. Recognised for his vibrant and emotive musical language, he creates dramatic and expressive work for theatre, film, dance, and the concert hall.

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Beginning his training at age three at Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya (SMV), Pavan Kumar developed a strong foundation in Indian classical and folk traditions across both music and dance. He later completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Composition and Percussion at WAAPA and a Graduate Certificate in Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music.

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Pavan Kumar’s accolades include the Performing Arts WA Award for Best Composition or Arranging for Fully Sikh (2020), a Green Room Award for Once The Musical (2024), and a 2025 nomination for Best Supporting Role and Best Composition for An Imaginary Life.

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A passionate educator and collaborator, he continues to fuse cultures and art forms to create boundary-pushing, emotionally rich work.