Ankna Arockiam
Originally from Hyderabad in India, Ankna Arockiam moved to Glasgow in 2011. Since then, she has graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a degree in Vocal performance. Ankna has completed her PhD, exploring young Western classical musicians' musical, cultural and social identities in Indian cities. She currently lectures at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She co-founded Shared Narratives; empowering researchers of colour in the performing arts.
A versatile soloist, Ankna's singing and performance career spans festivals and venues in India and the UK. With a background in both Indian and Western classical music, she enjoys collaborating with artists across diverse styles and genres. Ankna has also worked in theatre productions and films as an actor, singer, and composer.
Beyond her artistic and research pursuits, she is the founder of Glasgow Sitare, a singing group for South Asian women in Glasgow and actively contributes to various organisations and initiatives. She serves on the Board for MusiQuE, an organisation focused on enhancing the quality of higher music education. She is also involved with SWIM (Scottish Women in Music) and holds a position as a Regional Committee Vice Chair for the Musicians Union, where she advocates for the rights and welfare of musicians. Ankna is a member of the Association of European Conservatoires (AEC) Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) , where she works towards building a more inclusive European Higher music and arts education community. Recently, she has been appointed as the Artistic Director of Westbourne Music.