Award-winning short film
Achi Bala Violin — The Waltz of Chennai
The Waltz of Chennai: seven Tamil classics, six soundscapes, and one sweeping violin-led dance film.
Violinist | Composer | Storyteller
Carnatic roots, global voice
Film-music energy and a performance language shaped between Chennai and Texas.
Recognition
Performances that travel
A growing archive of concerts, festivals, collaborations, press features, and awards.
Carnatic violinFilm musicWorld musicDance productionsStudio recordingMusic education
Carnatic violinFilm musicWorld musicDance productionsStudio recordingMusic education
The artist
ChennaiClassical roots
HoustonCultural diversity
AustinCreative bridge
Achi Bala is an independent violinist whose work moves between Carnatic, film, and world music. His performances connect Indian classical vocabulary with modern storytelling, dance, and screen music.
Years of travel between Chennai and Texas, and a deep love for ballroom dance and Tamil music, shape a voice on the violin that is equally at home in a kutcheri, a concert hall, or a film score.
Events
Recent and upcoming.
Concert and festival highlights from the archive. More flyers and a full calendar are on the way.
Concert series
Samarpana Series
A highlight from the Samarpana concert series.
Festival appearance
Chithirai Thiruvizha Mahotsavam
A cultural festival appearance.
The film
The Waltz of Chennai
An award-winning short film blending violin, dance, and movement. Anchored by the Viennese Waltz, it traverses seven iconic Tamil film songs by AR Rahman and Anirudh Ravichander.
Festival awards & laurels: see the recognition
ViolinAchi Bala
DirectorShara Shanth
Production37Factor
Made over18 months
Recognition
Awards and recognition.
Laurels, certificates, and letters, many of them earned by The Waltz of Chennai. Festival and citation links are coming soon.
Listen & watch
Music for screen, stage, and stream.
Stream the records on Spotify, or step into the video archive on YouTube.
Press
Features and releases.
Coverage and announcements. Each card opens the full story as the articles are linked.
Gallery
Performance moments.
A responsive gallery balances portraits, live shots, and square social crops without forcing them into one rigid size.
Studio & services
Bring your sound to life.
Commission original music, polish a release, or record with a violinist-engineer who understands story and performance.
Music Composition
Original scores for films, dance productions, arrangements, and theme development.
Get your production scoredAudio Engineering
Mastering, restoration, and mix insight so tracks translate cleanly everywhere.
Master your tracksRecording Services
Studio hire, session violin, voice-over, and acoustic instrument recording.
Book the studioThe school
Roopa Fine Arts
Roopa Fine Arts is Achi Bala's teaching school for Carnatic violin, Carnatic vocal, and music theory with exam preparation. Established in 2016, built on formal teaching since 2014.
Students take Carnatic music lessons in Austin and Houston in person, and online worldwide. They have completed arangetrams and won prizes in competition.
roopafinearts@gmail.com
2016School established
2014Teaching since
ArangetramsCompleted by students
Prize winsIn competition
The writing
Achritique
Notes, essays, and criticism by Achi Bala.