A founding member of Bala, Seelan Manickam began playing the trumpet at the age of ten. As a top prizewinner of several solo competitions Seelan has also appeared as a soloist on numerous occasions with the Boston Chamber Orchestra, Cambridge Choral Society, South Coast Community Chorale and most recently The University of Massachusetts Orchestra. Other professional experience has included playing with The Indian Hill Symphony, New Hampshire Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, Thayer Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Taipei Sinfionetta and Cape Ann Symphony.

Seelan received his Bachelors of Music at the University of Victoria where he studied with Louis Ranger. He has also finished his Graduate work in trumpet performance at The Boston Conservatory where he studied with Steven Emery. Additional studies have been with Jens Lindemann of the Canadian Brass and Charles Schlueter, principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony. In addition to performing with Bala, Seelan maintains an active teaching schedule and is currently on faculty at The University of Massachusetts, Boston.