2024 Alumni Service Award
Along with Manu Narayan’s success as an actor, singer, composer, and saxophonist, he is a notable champion of Carnegie Mellon University, giving generously of his time and resources over the past 25 years.
Manu served as a young alumni term trustee on the university’s Board of Trustees and is chair of the first governing committee of the College of Fine Arts Dean’s Council. He helped to enlist other committee members and craft a charter document, which was unanimously approved. His dedication to the School of Music and its music education program is contagious, and he leverages his outstanding connections and leadership talents to make the committee more engaged and cohesive. Along with his board and committee work, Manu is a regular visitor to campus, speaking at events such as Industry Insights, emceeing the School of Music Centennial Celebration, hosting Spring Carnival karaoke, giving career advice, and mentoring countless Carnegie Mellon students. He is also a member of the Order of the May and Andrew Carnegie Society through his generous philanthropy.
He holds dual bachelor of fine arts degrees in music with concentrations in saxophone and vocal performance from the College of Fine Arts where he studied privately with Charlotte Black, Lee Cass, Robert Page, Tommy Thompson and Eric Kloss. He won the CMU concerto competition on saxophone as a first-year student and was a member of music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Over his decades-long career filled with award-winning performances, Manu has achieved tremendous success especially in an era when opportunities were limited for actors of color. His Broadway musical credits include the 2022 Tony-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company,” the original 2018 cast of Lincoln Center Theater’s Tony-nominated revival of “My Fair Lady” and “Gettin’ the Band Back Together.” Manu’s debut on Broadway was starring in A.R. Rahman and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Bombay Dreams,” Broadway’s first South Asian musical, which earned him a Drama League nomination. He also performed in “The Who’s Tommy” at the Kennedy Center. On film, Manu co-starred with Mike Myers in “The Love Guru.” He has played supporting roles in fellow CMU alumnus Billy Porter’s directing debut “Anything’s Possible,” “99 Homes,” “Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song,” “The Last Airbender” and “Quarterlife Crisis.” For the Indian market, he was the lead in the independent films “Good Night Good Morning,” “Walkaway” and “Sabaash Naidu” with Kamal Haasan.
An accomplished singer, Manu has performed for the Queen of England and the Royal Family, President George W. Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. As lead singer and co-songwriter of the band Darunam, he can be heard on multiple film soundtracks.
Attending Carnegie Mellon, as an undergraduate was one of the best decisions I made in order to become a working, professional performing artist . Engaging with Carnegie Mellon post graduation has been personally transformative — it has brought me closer to a community of alumni whom I admire and respect, shown me the transformative power of individual generosity and service, and fills me with immense gratitude to those who work for the university, who give to the university, and of course, who attend the university.
Manu Narayan (CFA 1996, 1996)