Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more commonly referred to as) Music Academy (Tamil: சங்கீத வித்வத் சபை, sangeetha vidhwadh sabai)[1] It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music Indian art form.

It played a vital role in the revival of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam in the 1930s when it faced near extinction due to a negative connotation caused by conservative societal standards.

The prime reason for this conference was E. Krishna Iyer who had played a vital role in reviving the south Indian dance art form—Bharatanatyam.

[4] Before the present building (T. T. Krishnamachari Auditorium) was constructed, the annual conferences and programmes were held in various locations around the city.

In 1955, Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the music academy building that exists today on TTK Road in Mylapore.

Kasturi Srinivasan's nephew's son, N. Murali, the Joint Managing Director of The Hindu, is the current President of the academy.

Performances with entrance fees for the annual dance festival were recently given by:[13][14][15][16] Music Academy received a donation of Rs.

Books on both music and other general subjects donated by the families of P. Sambamoorthy, Sangita Vidvan K. C. Thyagarajan, V. Raghavan, Venkatakrishnan, S. R. Janakiraman and other individuals.