Thyagaraja Music Festival of Utah - Zmagazine - Featured Musicians

Musicians featured in 2007

Padmasri. Dr. N. Ramani

Padmashri Dr. N. Ramani (also known as Flute Ramani) is a renowned Carnatic flautist from Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India. A disciple of the legendary T. R. Mahalingam (commonly known as "Mali," who first popularised the Carnatic flute to the world of Indian music, Ramani was born in what Carnatic followers consider the sacred sanctuary of Carnatic music, the city of Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu (the birthplace of the "trinity" of Carnatic composers, who laid the foundation for the tradition: Saint Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Shastri).It was "Mali" and Dr. N. Ramani, who brought international attention to the Carnatic flute both in their own distinct flute playing techniques, with the latter improvising the former's methods.

The "Mali" bani encompassed facial expressions and movement of the head and body to bring a type of style into the playing of the Carnatic flute that unlocked the gamakas of Carnatic vocal music by altering the position of especially the lip and the head to play a specific note which can only be delivered vocally in previous times as compared to the dominating still and stationery style of Sharaba Shastri. As Mali was self-taught, his skills became fundamental in vocalising the playing of the Carnatic flute.

Bringing out more of the tradition Mali introduced in the playing of the Carnatic flute, Ramani's distinctive style is the transformation of the Carnatic flute into the voice of a proficient Carnatic vocalist. Stressing such importance on the emphasis of vocal style of playing, he displayed characteristics of the human voice in his concerts often observed in his fast paced yet melodious performances. In 1996, he awarded the most prestigious title/award in Carnatic music, Sangeetha Kalanidhi.

As a regular performer and an 'A' grade artist on All India Radio (AIR), his style and improvisations in the rendition of many compositions of Carnatic music brought him instantaneous fame from state level to national level and famous musicians from all walks of classical Indian music praised his genius including the world famous sitar player Ravi Shankar, who was so impressed and mesmerised with Ramani's unique and brilliant control of sruthi and laya made a personal visit all the way to Ramani's home in South India the very next day to praise Ramani and requested Ramani to stage the world's first Carnatic flute jugalbandhi concert (a North-South collaboration of Indian classical music).

Such concerts continually received international popularity and demand with the Carnatic flute, and with Dr. Ramani rendering both Carnatic and Hindustani ragas, he was the first Carnatic flautist to create the transparency between Hindustani and Carnatic music across India and in the world.

Considered an ace jugalbhandi flautist in the local and international arena, Dr. Ramani's contributions to the world of the Carnatic flute are immensely popular, especially the introduction of the duet flute concerts which have gained popular appraisals. He also introduced the long bass flute to increase the reach in the lower octaves. In addition, he introduced the 2.5 pitch flute, which is ideal for violin and veena concerts, keeping the strict tradition of Carnatic music.
At present, Ramani is also actively involved in improving flute playing techniques by experimenting with the sizes of the instrument's finger holes and the length of the flutes, especially in the area where fast tempo ragas can be delivered with ease and ultimately improving the quality and diversity of Carnatic music pieces delivered by the flute.
Scientifically, he is also actively involved in music research, especially in the effects of Carnatic music on improving the quality of new flutist by exposing the music to the young, and also the possibilities of curing diseases or improving immunity against diseases in humans by exposing to Carnatic music.

Dr. N. Ramani's performances in All India Radio (AIR) have received numerous praises from renonwned Hindustani and Carnatic musicians alike and his performances overseas had been recognised with numerous awards.

Sri. Nagai Muralidharan is one of the top ranking violinists and is the most sought after artiste by all the leading vidwans of Carnatic music. He was initially trained by his mother Smt.R. Komalavalli. Later he advanced his playing skills under the tutelage of Vidwan Sri R.S. Gopalakrishnan. Sri. Muralidharan has accompanied most leading musicians including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna, Dr.N. Ramani, K.V.Narayanaswamy, T.V.Sankaranarayanan, T.N. Seshagopalan, and many others. He was the regular accompanist for the late Sri. Maharajapuram Santhanam during the 80’s. Sri. Muralidharan is renowned for his skillful handling of the instrument and for excellent grasp of the raaga and laya. There are numerous recordings to his credit as an accompanist. He has been a regular visitor to the US and Canada for the past two decades in concert tours. Sri. Muralidharan has received raving reviews in many prestigious concerts all over the world. His several recognitions and awards include the prestigious title Kalaimaamani from the government of Tamil Nadu..

Simushnam Rajarao was a childhood prodigy and started performing at the age of 7. He has an illustrious musical heritage going back to his great grand father Sri Sethumadhava Rao, a renowned mridangist cum musician.

Sri. Rajarao got his initial training from his father Vidwan Venkataramana Rao and subsequently from the well-known Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer.

Sri Rajarao has captured the hearts of music lovers in India as well as abroad with his versatile and masterly performance on the mridangam. His artistry, consistent technical perfection have made Sri. Rajarao one of the leading mridangist in the Carnatic music scene.

Sri. Raja Rao has an illustrious musical heritage. He was trained in vocal music by Papanasam Sri.Sivan, Calcutta Sri.K.S.Krishnamurthy and Mayavaram Sri.Vaidyanatha Iyer. Sri.Raja Rao started performing at the age of 7 and has 34 years of experience. He has accompanied all the leading Carnatic Musicians, as a Top Ranking artist in All India Radio. He has captured the hearts of music lovers in India as well as abroad with his versatile and masterly performance on the mridangam. His artistry, consistence and technical perfection have made him an outstanding and one of the leading mridangam players in the music field. He is also a great exponent of the kanjira and mohersing. Apart from performing all over India, Sri.Raja Rao has visited various other countries also. He worked as Visiting Professor of Mridangam in the Music Department of University of California at Berkeley during 1978. He has been honored with several titles and awards. Sri.Raja Rao has released many CDs and cassettes with several leading artists in India and abroad.

Sri Rajarao has been conferred numerous titles and has won several awards including “Kalaimamani” (Government of Tamilnadu), “Rasika Kalaratna” (Sydney), “Sangeetha Ratnakara” (Cleveland Aradhana Committee) and Best Mridangist award (Music Academy, Madras). Sri Rajarao has performed all over the world including numerous visits to USA.

Smt. Rajarajeshwari Bhat hails from a family of musicians. Her initial training was from her mother Smt. Krishnaveni and from Sri Madhur Balasubramanyam. She then developed her interest under the guidance of her brother and violinist Sri Vittal Ramamurthy. Performing artists Sri Sethalapathy Balasubramanian, Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan and Sangita Kalacharya Chengalpet Sri Ranganathan have also guided her. She holds a Vidwat degree (equivalent to MA) in music from Karnataka government.

Smt. Rajarajeshwari Bhat is a graded All India Radio artiste. She has performed regularly on Radio, Doordarshan TV and in various sabhas all over India and USA. ). She has performed for fund-raising efforts for charity organizations and festivals. At Houston (TX), she has been serving the community in music education by teaming with Swaralayam Arts Forum . She has many recordings to her credit. Smt. Bhat has received raving reviews in Indian news papers for her performances.

B U Ganesh Prasad is a young violinist who, in recent times has been making good strides in the music world. Trained initially in Bangalore, his skills were further sharpened and shaped by Shri V.V.Subramaniam. Ganesh is known as a stock accompanist for the flute wizard Sashank, but also accompanies many of the leading vidwans during the december festival. Ganesh’s style is basically faithful to the VVS bhani and he supplements this with his knowledge gained from learning vocal music from Shri P.S.Narayanaswamy. Tonal purity, good fingering technique and fluid style of presentation are his assets.

Ashwin Krishnakumar is a talent par-excellence in all aspects of carnatic music. During his training under Flute vidwan Sr. B. N. Suresh, he has shown his multifaceted talents in Bangalore in many competitions. Since he moved to the US, he has performed concerts. A few of the prestigious stages include the 2002 winter Olympics cultural show. He has also proven to be an excellent vocalist and a leading performer in several light music productions. In this festival he is expanding his area of expertise as a natwangam. As an computer engineer, his limitless contribution is also prominent in the art of music recording.

Vijay Ganesh is a mridangam player trained under the tutelege of Sri. Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer at Chennai. He is settled in Washington DC as an engineer. The musical career of this percussionist has already been established in the US with many prestious performance with leading artistes. He has many stage performances to his credit both in India and in the US.

Tara Priyadarshini Bikkasani is student of the legendary Krishnaveni . Her choreography of Thyagaraja krithis in bharathanatyam style is special attraction in 2007 festival. Tara has been regularly performing in various parts of the country since she migrated to the US.

Vatsala Naageshwaran
Principal gurus - Seetharama Sharma and Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan. Started learning at age 5 from Venkatrama bhagavathar ( student of Musiri), later learnt from Alathur Panchpakesa Iyer , my mother's guru. Joined Kala Peetam a music school started by Dr Ramanatham and learnt from Sharma sirand Vairamangalam sir. Also learnt music theory from Shri SR Janakiraman. Was a youth artiste at AIR. Was a member of YACM and Spic Macay. Performed mini concert at Tyagaraja swami temple in Mylapore. Vatsala . Presently live and teach music in Salt Lake City where she currently lives with family. She holds a masters in Molecular Genetics from Mt Holyoke College.

Mahesh Subramanian was initiated into music at the age of 12. He started learning mridangam from Shri Thiruvidaimarudur Sakaran. He won the schorship from the Central government of India(CCRT) to pursue advanced training under Shri Sankaran. He got the unique opportunity to learn from the great master Shri Guruvayur Dorai under whom he continues to learn. He has undergone training on the Kanjira from Shri. Mayavaram Somu. Mahesh has played mridangam and kanjira for a variety of vocal, instrumental, dance and jugalbandhi conerts. He is working currently as a Software engineer in Phoenix, AZ.

Sri. S. Swaminathan started learning Mridangam at the age of 16, in Delhi, India. His Guru is Sri V Raghuraman, a well respected teacher and Son-in-law of Dr S. Ramanathan, is presently heading the Alapana Fine Arts in Singapore. Swaminathan has given numerous performances in Delhi including performances for All India Radio and Doordarshan. In addition, Swaminathan has learnt vocal music from Smt. Sushila Vishwanathan. Swaminathan is working for American Express and is currently deputed in Salt Lake City.

Deepa Ramachandran and Divya Ramachandran are sisters who grew up in Salt Lake City, UT.. They had their initial training on violin in Western classical music. They later switched to carnatic style under the guidance of Dr. Susheela Narasimhan. They had their advanced training under Sri. Mullaivasal C. Chandramouli . They have been performing concerts either as accompanists or in violin duet. Some of the concerts include Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. Chennai based sabhas, Salt Lake City Thyagaraja Festival, ’02 Winter Olympics Cultural Festival etc. Professionally, they are engineers pursuing PhD.

Poornima Mahesh (veena player) grew up at Bangalore in a family of musicians. Her parents Mrs. Chandra Venkatesh and Mr.D V Venkatesh and brother Sri.Niranjan D V (mridangist). After the initial lessons from her brother, she advanced her musical skills from her gurus Smt Saraswathi and Mrs. Lakshmi Swaminathan. She switched her interest in playing veena under the guidance of Vidwan Sri Srikanth. Some of her awards in the art of veena playing include first prize in State level music competition in Bhavageethe at Bangalore, and the second prize in inter- collegiate music competition..
She is now settled in US . She performs in the festival with her students Kum. Keerthana Ravindran and Kum. Abirami Balaraajan.

Mohana Ramesh is a sophomore at Leland High School and has been learning Carnatic music since the age of five under the guidance of Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan, Founder/Director of Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandir school of Fine Arts based in Sunnyvale, California. She has been a dedicated and enthusiastic student of music with great promise. Aside from singing, Mohana is also a Bharatanatyam student and studies under the tutelage of Smt. Jayanthi Sridharan of Bharata Kalakuteeram.

Vinay Ramesh is a talented 8th Grade student at the Bret Harte Middle School in San Jose and has been learning Carnatic music since the tender age of six under the guidance of Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan, Vinay was one of the lead singers in the 10 CD set of 100 Bhajans called Bhakta Rasamrutam released by the Chinmaya Mission, San Jose. He participated and sang all 100 songs on the CDs. Aside from singing, Vinay also learns Mridangam under the tutelage of Sri. Sriram Bhamanandam.

Smt. Jaya Radhakrishnan hails from a well-known family of musicians. She learnt music from her uncle in the GNB bani, as he was a student of Sri. G. N. Balasubramaniam. Smt. Jaya Radhakrishnan has been teaching music during the past two decades at Tampa . Florida and performing regularly. She was the first one to start the karnatic music school in Tampa, Florida area and organize the annual Sri Tygaraja Swami Sangeetha Aradhana in her town. She has performed in several places in the US and appeared as vocalist in many bharathanatyam performances.

Sri. Keshava Kumar was trained in music under Mysore 'Asthaan Vidwan' Chennakeshavaiah and later under his Uncle Vidwan H R Radhakrishna in Bangalore.

He has performed around the globe with the group 'Ramananjali'. As an AIR artist in the early 80s, he has won All India Award twice in a row for being the Best Singer in Indian Revenue and Income Tax Department. Sri. Keshava Kumar retired as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in Oct 2004 and has been continueing his musical practice.

Sri. Keshava kumar will offer a duet concert with his son Shyam Kumar., an accomplished performer with several excellent concerts in many US Cities.

Shyama Krishnan grew up amidst musicians as his mother, noted carnatic vocalist, Prof. Palkulangara K Ambikadevi and his father late Shri Chennithala Krishnankutty, the distinguished professor of percussion at Sree Swathi Thirunal College of music , Trivandrum. His family was closely associated with many musical activities of this town. He had the opportunity to learn both vocal and mridangam from his illustrious parents. Syama Krishnan’s musical talent was nurtured by eminent stalwarts in the music field, like Prof. Mavellikkara R Prabhakara Varma, G. Seethalekshmi, Dr. Omanakutty, and his mother. The mentors of his mridangam skills were from eminent artistes like, Prof. Parasala Ravi and Prof. Mavelikkara Velukkutty Nair. In addition, he was also trained by Sangitha Kalanithi Thanjavur Dr. T K Murthy, whose guidance shaped Syama Krishnan into a sought-after percussionist by many artistes. His recognitions include a first rank in the Ganabhooshanam Diploma and the Ganapravina Post-diploma courses, Ammaluamma Endowment Award and the Puthucode Krishna Murthy Endowment Award and MA degree in music from the Kerala University. Syama Krishnan has accompanied many leading artistes and apperared as vocalists in AIR,and doordrshan before he migrated to the US.

Smt. Sripriya Raghavendran learnt music under the guidance of Smt Lalitha Seshadri who is a student of Sri. Maharaja puram Santham. Sripriya has been trained in carnatic music for 12 years and has learnt scores of krithis before she migrated to the US. She had the opportunity to sing with Smt Prema hariharan in Houston Thygaraja aradhana and constantly work towards perfecting her skills .She is an analog IC design engineer by profession. And is pursuing her Ph.D in electrical Engineering.

Shreyas Hoskere is a talented musician. He had his training under guidance of vidwan Sri. S.N. Shashidhar at Bangalore. He has been performing as a flautist as solo performances and as an accompanist in Bharathanatyam recitals all over the US. Since he moved to the US, he has expanded his talent to play carnatic music in saxophone.

Deepti Navaratna is an upcoming carnatic vocalist trained under the tutelege of Smt. Rohini Manjunath, Bangalore. She has won the All Indian Radio National music competition in the categories of Carnatic devotional and light classical music . Deepti has represented South India at the National Youth Festival at Banaras in 1999 and 2001. She teaches a course on carnatic music titled - "Music of South India"at the Department of music, University of New Mexico and has given several lecture demonstrations on elements of carnatic performance and theory in the US. Deepti Navaratna is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Cell Biology and Physiology at the School of Medicine, University of New Mexico.

The following aspiring individuals will join the rest in making the festival an interesting educational experience :
Arjun Naageshwaran, Eeshaan Narsipura, Aalaap Narsipura, Advaith Achan, Pooja Jayram, Satya Naageshwaran, Aishwarya Achan, Vidya Iyer, Pooja Jairam, Megan Orton , Pooja Jaiprakash, Thulasi R. Seshan, Keerthana Ravindran and Abirami Balaraajan.

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Musicians featured in the year 2006

Chief guest of the event: The world renowned percussionist - Srimushnam Sri V. Raja Rao
Simushnam Rajarao was a childhood prodigy and started performing at the age of 7. He has an illustrious musical heritage going back to his great grand father Sri Sethumadhava Rao, a renowned mridangist cum musician.
Sri. Rajarao got his initial training from his father Vidwan Venkataramana Rao and subsequently from the well-known Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer.
Sri Rajarao has captured the hearts of music lovers in India as well as abroad with his versatile and masterly performance on the mridangam. His artistry, consistent technical perfection have made Sri. Rajarao one of the leading mridangist in the Carnatic music scene.
Sri. Raja Rao has an illustrious musical heritage. He was trained in vocal music by Papanasam Sri.Sivan, Calcutta Sri.K.S.Krishnamurthy and Mayavaram Sri.Vaidyanatha Iyer. Sri.Raja Rao started performing at the age of 7 and has 34 years of experience. He has accompanied all the leading Carnatic Musicians, as a Top Ranking artist in All India Radio. He has captured the hearts of music lovers in India as well as abroad with his versatile and masterly performance on the mridangam. His artistry, consistence and technical perfection have made him an outstanding and one of the leading mridangam players in the music field. He is also a great exponent of the kanjira and mohersing. Apart from performing all over India, Sri.Raja Rao has visited various other countries also. He worked as Visiting Professor of Mridangam in the music Department of University of California at Berkeley during 1978. He has been honored with several titles and awards. Sri.Raja Rao has released many CDs and cassettes with several leading artists in India and abroad.
Sri Rajarao has been conferred numerous titles and has won several awards including “Kalaimamani” (Government of Tamilnadu), “Rasika Kalaratna” (Sydney), “Sangeetha Ratnakara” (Cleveland Aradha Committee) and Best Mridangist award (Music Academy, Madras). Sri Rajarao has performed all over the world including numerous visits to USA.

Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande
Amongst the vocalists of the younger generation of the Jaipur-Atrauli tradition of Khyal singing, Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande is an artiste of great caliber. She has been performing in a number of prestigious music conferences in India for over the past fifteen years and have had successful concert tours in Europe as well as in North American continent.
Ashwini Bhide began her training at the age of five under the guidance of Pandit Narayanrao Datar. After graduating with a "sangeet visharad" from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, she started receiving guidance and meticulous attention from her mother, Smt. Manik Bhide, a great Khyal singer herself. Ashwini has inherited all that was best in her mother's style and was able to add a lot to her repertoire with great sensitivity and intellect. Currently she is receiving guidance from Pandit Ratnakar Pai, a veteran of the Jaipur gharana. Systematic exposition of the Raag structure, brilliant phrasing, variety of taan patterns, ease and grace in all of the three octaves mark her singing. She does not merely present the gammer of a Raag, but can build it up into an aesthetically pleasing experience.

O S Thyagarajan
O.S.Thyagarajan got his initial taining in music from his father Sangeetha Bhushanam O.V.Subramaniam. He was also trained under the guidance of several well known musicians like Tiger Varadachariar and Tanjore Ponniah Pillai. Sri. Thygarajan had advanced training from Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman and Sri. T.M.Thyagarajan. He has received numerous excellent reviews highlighting his traditional approach in delivering brilliant performances. Sri. Thyagarajan has many prestigious concerts to his credit and has released an album in the 'Guru Sishya' series of HMV.

R.Suryaprakash
Sri.Suryaprakash is one of the leading young vocalists in the field of Carnatic music today. His uncle, Tirukkodikaval Shri.V.Rajamani initiated him into Carnatic music at a very young age. Sri. Suryaprakash is a prime disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri.T.V.Sankaranarayanan, trained in the esteemed baani of Ganakaladhara Shri. Madurai Mani Iyer for more than a decade. He has received numerous awards during the past 15 years. He has also many concerts in prestigious music festivals to his credit. Sri. Suryaprakash has released several CDs with excellent reviews.

Pakkala Ramadas hails from a family of musicians and is the son of Shri Pakkala Munirathnam, a violin vidwan and lecturer from the Shri Venkateshwara Music College in Tirupathi. After the initial training under the violin vidwan Shri P.P.Somayajalu, Sri. Ramadas was under the guidance of the violin maestro Shri Padmabhushan Lalgudi G.Jayaraman. He is an A-Grade artiste in both television and AIR Chennai. Sri. Ramadas has accompanied several artistes throughout the world and is currently a violin lecture at the Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai.

Melakaveri Balaji is an upcoming mridangam artist who had his training from his father, Shri Melakaveri K.Krishnamurthy. He was awarded the title of Yuva Kala Bharati in 1995 and since then has accompanied several artists in India and on tours around the world. He is an A-Grade mridangam artist of AIR-Madras.

Kaushik Lakshminarayanan
Starting at the age of six, Kaushik underwent flute training from Smt.N. Kesi, one of the seniormost disciples of the Shri. T.R. Mahalingam, for around a decade. During that period, he also received vocal training from his aunt Smt. Rajeswari Gopal. Currently, Kaushik is fortunate to be under the expert guidance of veteran vidushi Smt. Suguna Purushothaman.

Kaushik has won many awards and prizes including the "Junior Instrumentalist Award" from the Music Academy, and the "Flute Mali Endowment" from Krishna Gana Sabha. He is a B-grade artist at the All India Radio (AIR) by virtue of getting a prize in the AIR competition in 2003. He has performed in both vocal and flute concerts in several sabhas all over India; recently, he was selected and sponsored by Iyal-Isai-Nataka Mandram to perform in various sabhas in Tamil Nadu. Kaushik is a junior undergraduate majoring in Computer Science at IIT
Madras.

Karthik Lakshminarayanan
After learning basics from Smt. Sivakami Narayanan, Karthik underwent further training in violin from Smt. Radha Narayanan. Recently, Karthik has been learning from Mullaivasal Shri. Chandramouli. In addition, for the past four years, he has also learnt vocal music under the guidance of Smt. Suguna Purushothaman. Karthik is a PhD student in Computer Science at UC Berkeley.

B U Ganesh Prasad is a young violinist who, in recent times has been making good strides in the music world. Trained initially in Bangalore, his skills were further sharpened and shaped by Shri V.V.Subramaniam. Ganesh is known as a stock accompanist for the flute wizard Sashank, but also accompanies many of the leading vidwans during the december festival. Ganesh’s style is basically faithful to the VVS bhani and he supplements this with his knowledge gained from learning vocal music from Shri P.S.Narayanaswamy. Tonal purity, good fingering technique and fluid style of presentation are his assets.

Mridanga Vidwan Poongulam S. Subramanian was born in the year 1966. His father, Maha Vidwan Poongulam R. Sabesaiyer, was also a well-known mridangam vidwan. Subramanian started his sikshya with his father. Later he shifted to Chennai, from Kumbakonam, and was a student of Srimushnam Raja Rao for nine years. He is an eminent percussionist.

Poongulam Subramanian has won the hearts of many by his accompaniment skills. He has travelled widely both in India and abroad. In 1991, he got the 'best percussionist' award from YACM. He has also been honoured by Vasantha Priya (1992) and Krishna Gana Sabha (1993). The other awards include Yuva Kala Bharathi (Bharat Kalachar), Full Prince (Muzhu Ilavarasu - Tamil Isai Mandram,Thiruvaiyaru), Laya Gana Sudaroli (Kumbakonam).

He has made successful concert tours to Oman, Sri Lanka, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain, etc. He has been showered with lavish praise for his accompaniment and his distinct style.

The well known critic Subbudu, had this to say, "Poongulam Subramanian is literally toying with the mridangam. One is awe struck by the music that comes out of his mridangam, the way it comes out. When he is playing it looks like his hands are under some spell! Like Ramabadran and Umayalpuram, Poongulam's fingers too have a special bonding with his mridangam, and the music that comes out is top class. He is admired by his fans. He gets the nod of the critics also."

Percussionist George Grant and guitarist Craig Green, the Jazz, world music and fusion innovators, formed PADAYATHRA to express the freedom of jazz improvisation, inspired by the melodies of India, for the purpose of surrender in Bhakti Yoga.

A New Orleans native, Mr. Green has scored music for stage, film, ballet and string ensembles. A traveler, he has performed and trained in the US, Canada, Mexico, throughout Europe, and India, always seeking unique collaborations to inspire composition and improvisation. He has worked with serious composers from Cuba and Spain, drummers from India and Brazil, and many famous jazz musicians, singers, and rock bands. www.craigjgreen.com

George studied tabla for one summer with Pandit Shashi Nayak of Varanansi, then continued to fuse and apply the tabla within jazz, classical, and modern dance projects. He has performed with Hindustani artists Aashish Khan, Vidyadhar Vyass, virtuosos from Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Mongolia, and several others from the extended Thyagaraja community. www.DrumTalk.com

George’s nephew Willie Moran began performing on stage at five years old, helping George teach his unique DRUM TALK method at universities, public schools and summer camps. Willie’s tabla debut was two years ago at this Thyagaraja Festival, but today he is needed on ghatam.

Ramakrishnan Murthy is a young vocalist with an impressive talent and great promise. He is a student of Smt. Padma Kutty. He has already performed at many prestigious stages in Chennai and in Bombay and has received excellent reviews. He is a high School student at Los Angeles and has been selected to perform in this festival in the Amazing Talent category.

Vijay Ganesh is a mridangam player trained under the tutelege of Sri. Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer at Chennai. He is settled in Washington DC as an engineer. The musical career of this percussionist has already been established in the US with many prestious performance with leading artistes. He has many stage performances to his credit both in India and in the US.

Vatsala Naageshwaran
Principal gurus - Seetharama Sharma and Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan. Started learning at age 5 from Venkatrama bhagavathar ( student of Musiri), later learnt from Alathur Panchpakesa Iyer , my mother's guru. Joined Kala Peetam a music school started by Dr Ramanatham and learnt from Sharma sirand Vairamangalam sir. Also learnt music theory from Shri SR Janakiraman. Was a youth artiste at AIR. Was a member of YACM and Spic Macay. Performed mini concert at Tyagaraja swami temple in Mylapore. Vatsala . Presently live and teach music in Salt Lake City where she currently lives with family. She holds a masters in Molecular Genetics from Mt Holyoke College.

Mahesh Subramanian was initiated into music at the age of 12. He started learning mridangam from Shri Thiruvidaimarudur Sakaran. He won the schorship from the Central government of India(CCRT) to pursue advanced training under Shri Sankaran. He got the unique opportunity to learn from the great master Shri Guruvayur Dorai under whom he continues to learn. He has undergone training on the Kanjira from Shri. Mayavaram Somu. Mahesh has played mridangam and kanjira for a variety of vocal, instrumental, dance and jugalbandhi conerts. He is working currently as a Software engineer in Phoenix, AZ.

Sri. S. Swaminathan started learning Mridangam at the age of 16, in Delhi, India. His Guru is Sri V Raghuraman, a well respected teacher and Son-in-law of Dr S. Ramanathan, is presently heading the Alapana Fine Arts in Singapore. Swaminathan has given numerous performances in Delhi including performances for All India Radio and Doordarshan. In addition, Swaminathan has learnt vocal music from Smt. Sushila Vishwanathan. Swaminathan is working for American Express and is currently deputed in Salt Lake City.

Deepa Ramachandran and Divya Ramachandran are sisters who grew up in Salt Lake City, UT.. They had their initial training on violin in Western classical music. They later switched to carnatic style under the guidance of Dr. Susheela Narasimhan. They had their advanced training under Sri. Mullaivasal C. Chandramouli . They have been performing concerts either as accompanists or in violin duet. Some of the concerts include Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival. Chennai based sabhas, Salt Lake City Thyagaraja Festival, ’02 Winter Olympics Cultural Festival etc. Professionally, they are engineers pursuing PhD.

Hemmige V. Srivatsan:
Hemmige V. Srivatsan was born in Bangalore, India and was introduced to music at an early age by his parents, Shantha and Hemmige D. Varadarajan. Expressing a keen desire to play the violin, he started at age eight, initiated by Gomathi Sundaram of Long Island, New York. As he showed promise, he continued with Prof. Anoor S. Ramakrishna, principal of the Ayyanar Music College in Bangalore for further training. Srivatsan spent a total of four years undergoing rigorous training with Prof. Ramakrishna. During this period, he gave several solo concerts, including his first at age eleven.
In 1984, the renowned vocalist "Sangeetha Kalanidhi" Palghat Prof. K.V. Narayanaswamy came to San Diego State University on a nine-month teaching assignment. During this period, Srivatsan had the unique opportunity of accompanying Prof. KVN in a series of concerts in the U.S. and Canada. Since then, Srivatsan has been a disciple of Prof. KVN, learning vocal music under him as well.
Srivatsan has been visiting Madras regularly since 1986 and has accompanied numerous leading musicians such as K.V. Narayanaswamy, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, D.K. Jayaraman, Prof. T. Viswanathan, Dr. N. Ramani, Trichur V. Ramachandran, and T. N. Seshagopalan. He also participated in the 1988 Adelaide Arts Festival in Australia as accompanist to Prof. KVN. Srivatsan has also been recognized as a vocalist in the tradition of Sri Ariyakudi and Sri KVN, and provided vocal support to his guru. He also performs individually at key venues in Madras during the music season and has won critical acclaim for his adherence to Sruti, layam and lyrical purity.
Srivatsan is a Senior Design Engineer and resides with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area.

2005:

Grandsons of the legendary Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar, Ganesh & Shashikiran are cousins who perform as a Vocal Duo - the 'Carnatica Brothers'.

Carnatica Brothers-K.N.Sashikiran and P.Ganesh started as child prodigies at the age of three and have performed over 2000 concerts both in India and abroad. They have won the Best Concert Award, The Best Ragam Tanam Pallavi Award at the Music Academy Fest 2003, 2004, Yuva Kala Bharathy Award in 2002, and the Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Award for the Most Talented Young Artistes in November 2004.

K.N.Sashikiran musical talents were nurtured by his father and guru ‘Citravina’Narasimhan. He later had the privilage of learning under stalwarts like Sangita Kalanidhis T.Brinda and T.Viswanathan and Calcutta Krishnamoorthy. K.N.Sashikiran is a techno-savvy musician is also co-founder of Carnatica Group along with Smt.S.Sowmya. He has won the CMANA Award USA from Music Academy in 1998. P.Ganesh mesmerized the world of carnatic music at the age of two and a half where he was able to identify and render around 225 ragas and 175 talas and answer numerous other technical questions. He was trained by his maternal uncle “Chitravina”Narasimhan and cousin Ravikiran as a vocalist. He also had the privilage of learning from Sangita Kalanidhi T.Brinda for a few years. He is one of the youngest to be an ‘A’ Grade artist for All India Radio.

'Chitravina' Ganesh, son of Gayathri and Parthasarathy, was trained from very young age by his maternal uncle, an acclaimed musical wizard and guru, 'Chitravina' Narasimhan. Ganesh. He stormed into the world of Carnatic music even at the tender of age of two and a half, just like his cousins 'Chitravina' Ravikiran, Shashikiran and Kiranavali. He was able to identify and render around 225 Ragas and 175 Talas and answer numerous other technical questions with ease.

Ganesh then continued his musical training under Narasimhan and also from Ravikiran as a vocalist. He also had the rare privilege of learning from Sangeeta Kalanidhi T Brinda for a few years. Even at the age of 8, Ganesh developed an interest in the 21-stinged fretless instrument, Chitravina. Combining his natural musicality with assiduous practice, Ganesh has now emerged as one of the most distinguished artistes in this instrument. His style is marked by an easy flow of movement and effortless handling of multiple speeds without eschewing on the artistic elements of the music.

An A - grade artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Ganesh has been featured in a number of radio and TV events. Besides performing in tandem with cousin Ravikiran, he has also provided accompaniment for top-notch artistes like T Mukta and Dr. M Balamuralikrishna in several concerts and recordings.

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2004:

Ms. Sowmya began learning music at the age of six from Sangita Kalanidhi Dr S Ramanathan. Before that she had her beginnings in this art form with training under her father Mr. M Srinivasan, a chemical engineer by profession. Under Dr S Ramanathan she acquired a strong grounding in this field and on his advice she began learning from T Mukta from the age of 12. Today she maintains that 85% of her singing style is Dr Ramanathan's, with touches of Smt. Mukta. Years of rigorous training under such stalwarts left a deep impression on Sowmya, who has made a name for herself as one of the brightest stars of her generation. Her technique - faithful to the centuries-old traditions of Carnatic music - is recognizable for both the parts that she inherited from her distinguished teachers as it is for her own improvisations that have left audiences around the world spellbound by her erudition. She is known and appreciated by purists and populists alike, as much for her obvious dedication to her craft as for her ability to please even lay listeners not normally attracted to classical music.

Since she first started performing about a decade ago, Sowmya has performed in venues in virtually every continent around the world. She has won several awards from organizations dedicated to the promotion of music in India, including the state governments of Tamilnadu and the Government of India's Academy of Music and Dance, an organization notorious for not dispensing its patronage lightly.

Sowmya also acquired a post graduate degree in Chemistry from IIT Madras. It was a tough decision for her to choose between music and chemistry. Happily for music, she made her choice and became a career musician. Sowmya also was one of the earliest to see the advantages of the IT boom. She was one of the first to bring out a CD ROM on Carnatic music and post that a VCD also. She also runs a web site on Carnatic music called www.carnatica.com. Yet another activity is the management of the Carnatica Archival Centre which holds seminars on Carnatic music and helps in maintaining our tradition in this field.

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2003:
Mysore M. Nagaraj & Dr. Mysore M. Manjunath, the sons and disciples of renowned violinist Sangeetha VidhyaNidhi Prof. S.Mahadevappa. they later learnt violin from Sri Mysore T. Puttaswamayya, the brother of Veteran Violinist Sri Chowdaiah (in whose memory the Chowdaiah memorial hall is built in Bangalore). Raised in an atmosphere redolent with music , the brothers mastered an unique style characterized by pristine purity, lucidity, melody, super clarity and perfect rhythm. Individually both are complete musicians having established themselves as artists with rare insight, classicism & technical sophistication. Their exceptional musical talents were first revealed at very tender age of 9 when they stormed into the music world sweeping all the music lovers & critics off their feet by their extraordinary musical acumen and technical virtuosity. Acclaimed as child prodigies, Nagaraj and Manjunath matured blossoming into one of the leading Instrumentalists in the country. Mysore Brothers make a formidable violin Duet team and are one of the leading exponents of Classical Instrumental Music in India today. Their performances feature an extraordinary range of musical expressions from the deepest meditations to astonishing virtuosity with outstanding artistic imagination. As critics admit, their concerts are filled with peace, tranquility and exhilaration-result of superb fingering & bowing techniques creating breathtakingly beautiful melodies.

Both Nagaraj and Manjunath have won the coveted Best Violinist awards from the prestigious Madras Music Academy many times. In 1986, Nagaraj was declared to be one of the top 22 musicians in Carnatic music & today, he is among a handful of A'Top artists in the country. Excelling academically as well, Manjunath graduated from the University of Mysore, securing First Rank and 3 Gold Medals in Masters in music with a distinction of scoring the highest marks in the entire arts faculty. The University of Mysore awarded him the Ph.D for his scholarly thesis on Violin. Currently he is on the faculty of Department Of Music at the University of Mysore.

Being true performing artists, the Mysore Brothers appeal to varied audiences & know how best to blend good artistry, virtuosity & concert-craft, developing rapport with the listeners. The brothers are a musical phenomenon to whom perfection of tone and execution come as spontaneously as the free & unfretted flow of their ideas. Laurels & accolades kept pouring in from their childhood. Their Violin Concerts have been featured in innumerable festivals & conferences all over the world. Mysore brothers received innumerable awards including the Best Violinist awards from Music Academy and Indian fine arts society, Excellence award from American Institute of World culture, State award from the government of Karnataka, Sangeetha Samrat, Sangeetha Rathna, Ganakalashree etc. Mysore Nagaraj& Mysore Manjunath, the true cultural ambassadors of India, have enthralled audiences in USA, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, England, Germany, France, Gulf countries, Switzerland, Austria-etc. Their dexterity at their art has taken them to perform in several prestigious Universities as well.

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2002:

The leading musician Dr.Omana Kutty hails from a family of musicians Her elder brother M.G. Radhakrishnan is a carnatic vocalist, music composer and play back singer and her younger brother M. G. Sreekumar is also a well known musician. Both her parents were renowned musicians. She started her tutelage under her father the late Shri.Malabar Gopalan Nair and mother Smt. Kamalakshi Amma. Her talent was nurtured by Dr. Semmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, G.N. Balasubramaniam and Prof. Mavelikkara Prabhakara Varma, among others. She has won several awards including the Sangeeta Nataka Academy award. Her extensive research on Swati Tirunal kritis led to the publication of a three-volume set, 'Swati Madhuri'. Her research on Kathakali music has led to her doctorate. She has also given interpretations on Dikshitar's Navagraha Kritis with detailed meaning and explanation. Her disciples include M.G. Sreekumar, K.S.Chitra, B. Arundhati and Renjini Varma. She is a Professor and Head of the Department of Music at the University of Kerala. Her recitals reveal her fascination for different facets of carnatic music.

Ragavan Manian is a well sought carnatic vocalist. His father PKS Manian, a lyricist in his own right, and his mother Vanaja, an erstwhile Bharatanatyam dancer, nurtured within him a love for music and exposed him to a wide array of musicians. He commenced his formal vocal music training with Tenkasi PK Rajammal, his aunt, at the age of 7. He then went on to learn under Pallavi Sri. T. Narasimhachari. He met his idol, Dr.Balamurali Krishna at a music festival (aradhana) near Tambaram, Chennai when he was 11 years. The young boy gave a 30 minute performance in front of the maestro and earned his blessings through his sincere and spirited rendition. It was then that Dr.Balamurali Krishna agreed to take him as a disciple. Inspired by his guru's multi-faceted personality, he also learnt a number of musical instruments, among them the violin from Kanchi Sri.Janardhanam of Chromepet, Chennai. By the time he was studying High School at Padma Sheshadri Bala Bhavan, Nungambakkam, he had bagged the prestigeous Best Pallavi Singer Award from Krishna Gana Sabha, the Outstanding Young Musician Award from Bharath Kalachar and the Government of India Senior National Talent Scholarship for music. He joined the challenging Electrical Engineering program at Indian Institute of Technology Chennai in 1992. At IIT, he managed to remain active as a performer and continued to take lessons from his guru. He marked his stay at IIT with several concerts within and outside his college campus. At this period, he also provided vocal support to his guru in several of his concerts. One such performance was at Mardi Gras (now Saarang), IITM's famous cultural festival.

He earned a scholarship for graduate study at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville in 1996. While working in Pittsburgh Pa at FORE Systems (now Marconi Inc), Ragavan got more opportunities to perform and teach. During this time he sang at the Venkateswara Temple Pittsburgh, SPIC-MACAY of Charlottesville Va, and at the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana (solo and accompanying Dr. Balamurali Krishna).

Presently, Ragavan is based in Silicon Valley Ca, and works for Cisco Systems Inc

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2001:

The leading musician duos, the Malladi Brothers were born with a legacy and rich tradition acquired through their grand father late Sri Malladi Srirama Murthy of Andhra Pradesh who was an accomplished Classical Musician & Harikatha exponent. The brothers received musical training from their father Sri Malladi Suri Babu a great musician highly respected for his traditional, soulful, sruthi soaked presentation of classical music. Sri Malladi Suri Babu is an illustrious disciple of the musical legend, late Sri Voleti Venkateswarlu. They received advanced training from Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Nedunuri Krishna Murthy and Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. Sri Pada Pinakapani a great musician who is the guru of Sri Voleti & Sri Nedunuri. Both the brothers hold Post-Graduate Degrees in Music from the Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. The brothers are A-Grade Artistes performing for All India Radio and Doordarshan since the early 1990s.

Performing as duos always have their merits and defaults. Comparisons become inevitable, the louder of the two voices suppresses the other completely, rendition of `krithi' gets limited to a set pattern, synchronization becomes a challenge, tendency to use `kalpitha swaras' increases. All said and done, the Malladi Brothers, Ravi Kumar and Sreeram Prasad, handle the challenge with excellent poise and come out with flying colors at the end of performances.

The Brothers, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, had the advantage of knowing the essence and depth of the Telugu compositions of Tyagaraja, and hence their rendition of the `krithis' were crisp and lucid, with the `sahitya' never being a casualty, as it usually is with many artistes. Their melodic improvisations and elaborations of neraval and swaras are pregnant with soulful phrases. Malladi brothers possess a large repertoire of carnatic compositions and possess a vibrant and powerful voice. The brothers have been the most sought after young maestros. They have traveled extensively all over India and abroad promoting and preserving the rich traditional music they represent. Malladis have several audio publications to their credit.