Performing at the prestigious Carnegie Hall, New York, is a dream for any musician. And a 12-year-old Bengaluru girl is all set to live this dream. Nilanjanaa Jayant will join a handful of musicians like Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain when she performs at the hall in October. The honour follows her victory at the Golden Voices of America competition. In March, Nilanjanaa's mother asked her to send an entry for the event. The girl sent a clipping of her performing Frank Sinatra's popular jazz number Fly me to the Moon. Declared a winner in the Musical Theater/Disney/Broadway/Jazz category a month later, Nilanjanaa will perform live the same song at Carnegie Hall this October. Winners in other categories will also perform with her.

Music and Nilanjanaa go a long way, recalls her mother, Sangeeta Ananth. "Even as a young girl, she'd hum the tunes of songs really well. When she turned six, we made her join Carnatic music classes. Though she was left-handed, she was expected to put the tala only with the right hand. This she couldn't digest and refused to attend the classes."

"I didn't understand why I had to use my right hand," says Nilanjanaa, who was later introduced to Bengaluru-based music school Taaqademy, founded by musicians Rajeev Rajagopal and Bruce Lee Mani.

"It was so much more fun learning music at Taaqademy. They encourage you to do what you want to rather than what you are expected to do," said the 12-year-old.

The only child of JP Nagar residents Jayant Ananthkrishnan and Sangeeta Ananth, Nilanjanaa studies in class VIII at The Samhita Academy, Bannerghatta Road.

Not just Nilanjanaa, even her teacher Ragini Ramanathan will get a certificate of recognition from the Golden Voices of America for having trained her. "When she came to Taaqademy, she showed a lot of potential. Her voice was loud and clear and her pitch would hit the right notes. She is so determined to learn and so hard working that she wouldn't give up even if she didn't get it right after trying 3-4 times," said Ragini, 25, faculty at Taaqademy.

For IT professional Jayant Ananthakrishnan, Taaqademy was the best thing that happened to his daughter.

"The experience with the music school has been very fulfilling. This success is the result of the training she has been getting there. Coming from a south Indian background, people kept advising us against western music, telling us that she will get used to using the right hand to put her talas. But we know we weren't wrong in choosing Taaqademy," he said.

"I have a bit of stage-fright. I'm just going to try and calm myself down before I get on the stage there," said Nilanjanaa, gearing up for an experience of a lifetime.

Golden Voices of America is an international competition, open to all countries for vocalists of different age groups. It began in 2009 under the American Fine Arts Festival.