Concert August 9, 2009

Shri. Sankaran Namboodiri Shri Prasad Mantraratnam, Violin Vasudevan Namboodiri (Mridangam)

When: Sunday, August 9, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Where: HCC Temple
8580 Hickory Creek Road Lenoir City, TN 37771
Adults/Children above 12: $ 20; Students $ 10 per person
Members free.
Tickets can be purchased at the door. For information on membership, or purchase of tickets, please contact:
Radhakrishnan: (865) 675-0118; Amit Vora (865) 531-0078

About the Artists:

Mr. M. K. Sankaran Namboothiri, son of Mr. Krishnan Namboothiri (a Kathakali Dancer and singer) and Mrs. Adithi Devi Antharjanom, was a child prodigy who has become a very successful and traditional professional in the Carnatic music world. Sankaran started learning music at the age of 10 with Sri. C. S. Narayanan Namboothiry; continued studies under great masters like Sri. T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Prof. Mavelikara R. Prabhakara Varma and Late Sri. Palghat K. V. Narayana swamy.Sankaran was the youngest ‘A’ grade vocalist with All India radio (AIR). He was honored by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Government of India with a scholarship (1990-1992) and with a Junior Fellowship from Department of Culture (1999-2000). Sankaran was also a lecturer of music at the Teacher’s College of Music run by Madras Music Academy and at the Swathi Kalakendra in Calicut, Kerala. Sankaran has traveled and performed in various countries such as Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Kenya, Kuwait, Qatar, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and United States of America. For the last 25 years, he has published numerous audio cassettes and CDs on traditional Carnatic music, devotional songs on Ayyappa, Ganesha, etc. AIR-Chennai plays recordings of his concerts and CDs on a regular basis. Trivandrum Doordarshan and Podhigai channels have shown his classical music videos. Earlier Trivandrum Doordarshan telecast a documentary on Sankaran. In 1982, when he was 11 years old, Sankaran was privileged to perform in front of Mr. Zail Singh, the President of India. He considers it as one of the luckiest moment in his life. The praise and the prize he received from the President are still in his heart. Other memorable experiences he remembers from his public concerts include praises from Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, introduction by Sri. T. V. Gopalakrishnan and the Ahsirvadham (blessings) he received from Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer at the Navarathri Mandapam at Trivandrum in 1991. He is also thankful to Dr. K. J. Yesudas for many of his most valuable and critical advices. Sankaran is also very proud of the many artists who have accompanied him such as Sri. T. N. Krishnan, Sr. Sikkil Bhaskaran, Sr. M. Chandrasekharan, and Kumari Kanyakumari on Violin and Dr. T. K. Murthy, Sri. Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Guruvayur Dorai, Sri. Mushnam Raja Rao, Late Sri. Tanjore Upendran, and Late Padmasree Mavelikkara Krishnan Kutty Nair on Mridangam. As a playback singer, he has sung for movies such as ‘Vadakkumnathan’, ‘Madhu Chandralekha’, ‘Kanaka Simhasanam’, ‘Suryan’, ‘Anchil Oral Arjunan’, ‘Romeo’, ‘Swarnam’, and ‘Nivedyam’. For ‘Nivedyam’, he received the Best Playback Singer Award from Gandhi Study Center, Doordarshan Kendra and Ragam Cultural Center in 2008.

Prasad Mantraratnam, from Huntsville, AL is originally from Warangal, Andhrapradesh in India. He is the disciple of Sri "Akella Mallikarjuna Sarma", a leading violinist in Andhrapradesh. Prasad has been a performing violinist both Solo & Accompaniment since 1989. He has performed at several sabhas and organizations widely within India and abroad as well as in All India Radio & TV. He has accompanied on violin for senior musicians like his Guru Sri Akella Mallikarjuna Sarma, Gottuvadyam Ravikiran, Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, Puranam Purushottama Sastry, Hyderabad Brothers (Raghavachary &Seshachary), M.S. Sheela, Karlapalem Chandramouli, Manda Balarama Sarma, Bangalore S Shankar, Prapancham Sitaram, Sankaran Nambuthiry, Malladi Brothers and several others. Prasad has received scholarship from Indian HRD ministry in 1991 for advanced learning in Violin, which was awarded to about 8 persons in the field of Music. Prasad worked at ISRO satellite center, Bangalore, India for about 4 years and then joined Intergraph India (Hyderabad) where he worked for about 11 years before moving to Intergraph Corporation Headquarters at Huntsville AL in March 2008. Academically, Prasad has a Mech Engg degree from JNTU Hyderabad and a Masters degree in Computer Science from Illinois Institute Of Technology, Chicago.

Vasudevan Namboodiri is a senior disciple of Mridangam Vidwans Shri. Palghat Rajamani, Shri. Trichur C. Narendran and Prof. Velukutty Nair. He has accompanied various well known artists such as Shri. M. K. Sankaran Namboodiri, Veena S. Srinivasan (AIR, Madras), Prof. Nagamani Srinath, Dr. Sreevalsan J. Menon, Shri. Jayan of Jayavijaya, Dr. Nirmala Sundararajan etc.. For the last 3 years he is being invited to play in Cleveland aradhana concerts. He is also proficient on other percussion instruments such as Edakka, Ghatam and Kanjira. He has a Ph.D. from IIT Madras and is currently working with US EPA, Cicinnati.

Concert April 4, 2008

Pt. Ronu Mazumdar - Flute
Ramdas Palsule – Tabla

Pt. Ronu Mazumdar - Flute
Ramdas Palsule – Tabla

When: Friday, April 4, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
Where: Goins Auditorium, J. L. Goins Administration Building
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933
http://www.pstcc.edu/maps.html
Adults/Children above 12: $ 20; Students: $ 10 per person
Members Free.
Tickets can be purchased at the auditorium. For information on membership, or purchase of tickets, please contact:
Radhakrishnan: (865) 675-0118; Amit Vora (865) 531-0078

About the Artists:

Ronu Majumdar was born in Varanasi and was initiated into the art of flute playing by his father, Dr. Bhanu Majumdar, a gifted flautist. Later, Ronu received valuable guidance from Pandit Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale, who was a legendary vocalist. Pandit Vijay Raghav Rao, a scholar and a well-respected performer, groomed Ronu into a concert flautist. Expert guidance, hard work, and natural talent enabled Ronu to establish himself as one of the most accomplished exponents of his instrument and a fine concert artist. Awards and recognition have followed Ronu all along the way. The first place award in the All India Radio Music Competition in 1981 was one of the first. He won special praise when he performed at the Asia '82 in Delhi and in the Festival of India in Moscow, as a performer in the musical ensemble Pandit Ravi Shankar led. Ronu has, in recent years, given performances extensively in Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and the Middle East.

Ramdas Palsule Having achieved Bachelor's degree in engineering, he has developed his career as a talented, promising young tabla player. He is a disciple of eminent tabla player, Taal-Yogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. He is an accomplished soloist as well as versatile accompanist. He has traveled widely all over India and abroad to USA, Germany, Gulf Countries, Australia, and Africa among many other places for his tabla performances. He has accompanied many great artists such as Late Pandit Jeetendra Abhisheki, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt, Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya, Dr. N. Rajan, Pandit Ronu Majoomdar, Mrs. Malini Rajurkar, Mrs. Veena Sahastrabuddhe, Mrs. Rohini Bhate, Mrs. Shama Bhate, and Smt. Shashwati Sen, among many others. He is well known for tabla solo performances as well as accompaniment of vocal, instrumental and dance.

Concert October 19, 2007

Malladi Brothers - Vocal Neyveli Narayanan - Mridangam Embar Kannan - Violin

When: Friday, October 19, 2007 @ 7:30 PM
Where: Goins Auditorium, J. L. Goins Administration Building
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933
http://www.pstcc.edu/maps.html
Adults/Children above 12: $ 20; Students: $ 10 per person
Members Free.
Tickets can be purchased at the auditorium. For information on membership, or purchase of tickets, please contact:
Radhakrishnan: (865) 675-0118; Amit Vora (865) 531-0078

About the Artists:

Malladi Brothers Sreeram Prasad and Ravikumar were born with a legacy and rich tradition accrued through their grand father Late Malladi Srirama Murthy and through their father, a great Harikatha exponent of his time in Andhra Pradesh. Both the brothers received musical training from their father - vocalist, Malladi Suri Babu, himself a disciple of the great Late Voleti Venkateswarulu. Sangeetha Kalanidhi Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, realizing the potential of Malladi Brothers took them under his guidance to represent his rich style of music. 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.

Neyveli Narayanan (Percussion - Mridangam)-Hailing from a family of music connoisseurs at neyveli, Narayanan was initiated into the art of mrudangam playing at the yound age of seven, under the guidance of sri.S.K.Ganesa Pillai. He made his debut at the age of 11 and ever since, he has been rising in his art by furthering his horizons and making a mark in the field of carnatic music. An intensive training under the Maestro Late Thanjavur.Sri.Upendran brought about a great amount of professionalism in Narayanan's playing. His guru taught him the intricacies and specialities of the Thanjavur style of playing on the mrudangam. Narayanan is now blessed with the rare opportunity of being one of the favourite disciples of the Mrudangam Legend Padmabushan Umayalpuram. Sri.K.Sivaraman. This great influence has brought in a great amount of clarity, precision and perfection in Narayanan's style.

Embar S. Kannan (Violinist)-Kannan was born on 19th Feb 1975. A Post Graduate in Commerce from Madras University, Kannan took to the stringed instrument at the age of 6 years. He had his initial classical tutoring under Subbanna Bhagavatar, Vittal Ramamurthy and western classical music under music director Diwakar master. His formal training on Carnatic music on the violin was under Kum. Kanyakumari. Kannan has inherited the mantle of the illustrious Embar family from his father Vidwan Sangeetha Bhooshanam Shri Embar Sadagopan and is acknowledged as a violinist par excellence. He is a Grade ‘A’ artist with All India Radio, a recognition given only to top artists. His bowing technique is of a high quality and his playing is marked by sweetness and clarity; even the great critic Subbudu had nothing but praise for Kannan.

Concert April 27, 2007

Ulhas Kashalkar

When Friday April 27, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Where: Goins Auditorium, J. L. Goins Administration Building
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933
http://www.pstcc.edu/maps.html
Adults/Children above 12: $ 20; Students: $ 10 per person
Members free.
Tickets can be purchased at the auditorium. For information on membership, or purchase of tickets, please contact:
Radhakrishnan: (865) 675-0118; Amit Vora (865) 531-0078

About the Artists:

Ulhas Kashalkar, one of the prime representatives of Gwalior and Jaipur Gharanas, has earned wide recognition in India and abroad. He was initiated to music by his father Shri N.D.Kashalkar an able musicologist. A gold medalist at his post-graduation in music, he was later on trained by Pandit Ram Marathe and Pandit Gajananbua Joshi, stalwarts of Hindustani Classical Music. Gifted with a melodious voice, with superb flexibility, Kashalkar's music appeals to every music lover. His gaykee is especially noted for pure traditional rendering with his own asthetic interpretation. Renowned cassette companies of India and abroad have brought out many cassettes and compact discs of his music, a testimonial to his immense popularity. He has performed extensively in India and abroad. Ulhas Kashalkar is one of the most sought after artists, both in India and in several other countries. The number of record companies that have released his cassettes and CD’s world over is a reiteration of his popularity. For over a decade now, he has been with the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, as a Guru, producing numerous students of high calibre. A torchbearer of our pristine tradition, Ulhas Kashalkar continues to enthrall and take his audiences on an ecstatic journey through his music.

Pandit Suresh Talwalkar (Percussion - Tabla), one of the great exponents of tabla has contributed immensely to the field of Indian classical music. He comes from an illustrious family of famous Keertankar Dholebua. His father Shri Dattatrey Talwalkar, a noted pakhawaj player initiated him into tabla at a very young age. He studied the art of tabla from veterans like Pt. Pandharinath Nageshkar and Pt. Vinayakrao Ghangrekar. Besides Suresh ji has taken training on `layashastra' from Pt. Ramnad Ishwaran, a renowned mridangam player and vidwan from the South India. This diverse training enabled Pt. Talwalkar to imbibe the intricacies of both North and South India, thus making him a unique tabla artist. He has introduced vocal accompaniment to tabla solo, which has given a new dimension and direction to tabla solo performance. One of the greatest `gurus' of his time, his name is revered by all musicians with great respect. Pt. Talwalkar has accompanied all major artists in Hindustani music including Pt. Ulahs Kashalkar and Kathak dance, and given solo performances all over the world.

Sudhir Nayak (Harmonium), a familiar face at most music festivals in India, has gained recognition as a sensitive harmonium accompanist to several reputed vocalists. A disciple of Tulsidas Borkar, Sudhir also took guidance from the noted vocalist, Jitendra Abhisheki. Sudhir’s performances are regularly featured on Indian television and commercial recordings. He has performed in the USA, Europe, the UAE, Australia, among other countries. He has been accompanying Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar for a number of years. Sudhir is equally at home with harmonium solo renditions as he is with accompaniment. He has also gained recognition as a composer and a participant in cross-cultural musical experiments.

Concert October 6, 2006

Shruti Sadolikar Katkar
Samar Saha – Tabla
Sandip Bhattacharjee – Harmonium

When Friday October 6, 2006 at 7:30 pm
Where: Goins Auditorium, J. L. Goins Administration Building
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37933
http://www.pstcc.edu/maps.html
Adults/Children above 12: $ 15; Students: $ 8 per person
Members free.
Tickets can be purchased at the auditorium. For information on membership, or purchase of tickets, please contact:
Radhakrishnan: (865) 675-0118; Amit Vora (865) 531-0078

About the Artists:

Shruti Sadolikar Katkar is the daughter and disciple of Pandit Wamanrao Sadolikar, who was a disciple of Ustad Alladiya Khan Sahib, the pioneer of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana, and his son Ustad Bhurji Khan Saheb. Shruti was also fortunate enough to receive training from Ustad Gulubhai Jasdanwala, the repository of rare compositions and complex Ragas of the Gharana, for a period of 12 years. At present she continues to learn from Ustad Azizuddin Khan, the son of Bhurji Khan Saheb.A Masters in Music and a “Sangeet Visharad" with distinction , Shruti is also an "A" grade artist of Akashvani and Doordarshan. Shruti has participated in all major Sangeet Sammelans in the country. She has been a Visiting Professor at the Rotterdam Conservatorium in Netherlands and has delivered lecture-demonstration in many Universities in India and abroad. Winner of numerous awards, Shruti has also won several prestigious scholarships as well as the Homi Bhabha fellowship from NCPA (National Centre for Performing Arts). The Maharana Mewar Foundation of Udaipur honoured her with the Dagar Gharana Samman.Among the noteworthy contributions of Shruti are "Gayakee Raga and Tala" in which she has sung twenty Ragas. She has also recorded two volumes of traditional Thumris in over ten Talas. She received the Shanmukha Sangeet Shiromoni Award in the year 2000. She is currently a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Samar Saha (Tabla Player): Trained in Banaras gharana style of tabla playing, Samar Saha showed a great promise at a very young age. Born in Calcutta, Samar's initial training started at a very tender age under the guidance of his father Shri Sudhangsu Bhusan Saha and brother Shri Tarak Saha, a tabla player of repute. His formal training started under the tutelage of Shri Satchidananda Goswami and then flowered under the able guidance of Shri Krishna Kumar Ganguly (Natubabu) of Banaras Gharana. It was he who shaped up Samar into a performer of great promise. Frequently featured by Radio and Doordarshan (T.V) in their musicals, Samar has participated in almost all the prestigious music conferences in India. His talent took him to the Festival of India, USA. He also participated in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of India's independence at the Carnegie Hall and elsewhere abroad. Fame and recognition came his way wherever he performed, be in Bangladesh or Belgium; America, Canada, UK, or Germany. A highly sought after tabla accompanist, Samar has the privilege of accompanying almost all the top ranking artists like Pt. Mallikarjun Mansoor, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt. Balamurali Krishna and many others. Samar Saha is a full time senior faculty member of ITC Sangeet Research Academy since its very inception in 1978. He has toured USA with ITC-SRA musicians six times.

Sandip Bhattacharjee (Vocalist / Harmonium Player): Currently a scholar of the Academy under Mashkoor Ali Khan, Sandip Bhattacharya began his musical training at the age of four. Sandeep's musical milestones include standing second in the All India Radio Music Competition (1999) in khayal, topping the West Bengal State Music Competition in bhajan and receiving the National Talent Search Scholarship in 2001. In 2005, he was conferred the title 'Surmani' by the Sur Singar Samsad. A B-High graded artiste of AIR, Sandip also has several concerts to his credit.

Concert March 17, 2006

Sanjay Subrahmanyan (Vocal) Nagai Muralidaran (Violin) Guruvayur Dorai (Mridangam) Neyveli Venkatesh (Khanjira)

When: Friday, March 17th, 2006 at 7:30 PM
Where: Pollard Technology Conference Center
210 Badger Ave.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830
For maps and directions, visit www.pollardcenter.org
Tickets:
Members: Free
Non-members: Adults $15, Students $8

About the Artists:

Sanjay Subramaniam was introduced to Carnatic music, at the young age of seven. He received his initial training from his grand aunt, Smt Rukmini Rajagopalan. His further training under Calcutta Sri K S Krishnamurthy, led to innovations and blending of tradition and modernity further sharpened his skills. Sanjay is a Graduate in Commerce and a qualified Chartered and Cost Accountant. Sanjay has performed with excellence and has enthralled the music loving audience in Chennai as well as in Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and other places all over India. He has toured Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, USA, Canada, UK and Oman. Sanjay has performed in all the major institutions, festivals and sabhas in India and has been applauded by critics and rasikas. Sanjay is an `A` Grade artiste of All India Radio, Madras and is a regular performer on Doordarshan TV and Sun TV. Sanjay is the recipient of several awards from reputed institutions. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Junior Musician award from the Annual Conference of the Madras Music Academy. He received the Spirit of Youth Award for Outstanding Performance from Krishna Gana Sabha under its talent promotion scheme. Bharat Kalachar awarded him the title of Yuva Kala Bharathi in 1991. Sanjay received the Isai Peroli award from Kartik Fine Arts, the `Yuva Kala Bharathi’ title from Bharat Kalachar in 1991.Sanskriti Award from the Sanskriti Prathishthan for performing art in 1997. Sanjay is a musician, whose music is a happy and healthy synthesis of the traits in the styles of many maestros of the past, but not even for a moment appearing to be imitative of anybody. He is an achiever in all branches of classical music with a fine awareness of sruti values, an excellent grip on the idiom of ragas and rhythm, has a rich repertoire of classical compositions, and expertise in gamakas, particularly jaaru. Sanjay has been acclaimed as one of the most serious exponents of Carnatic music in his generation. With the rare combination of conviction and idealism, he has given an innovative and interpretative quality to his sensual kind of singing.

Nagai Muralidaran had his initial training in music from Smt. Komalavalli at the age of seven and further training in violin under Shri R.S. Gopalkrishnan. He has performed for over 35 years and has accompanied many leading vocal artists from the late Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer to Shri T.M. Krishna. He has the unique distinction of accompanying other leading artists like T.R. Mahalingham, Master Shashank and various leading instrumentalists. He has been awarded innumerable titles and awards during his span of service. Since 1980, he has toured almost all countries in the world as an accompanying artist and has been acclaimed as one of the eminent accompanying artists.


Guruvayur Dorai, the mridangam maestro, has been performing for the last 50 years and is among the most sought-after mridangam players by leading Carnatic musicians today. Guruvayur Dorai has played in almost all the prestigious music meets in India and has travelled extensively all over the world. Carnatic music lovers in US are familiar with his style since his first tour in 1974. Guruvayur Dorai has also taught at several music schools. He was a visiting Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle between 1977-78. In 1979, he taught at the Sydney University, Australia in conjunction with Prof. T.N. Krishnan. Dorai is currently the Dean of Temple of Fine Arts, an international organisation for the promotion of Music and Dance in Kuala Lumpur. Dorai is the recepient of numerous awards. Noteworthy among them are: Kalaimamani - title conferred in 1990 by the TamilNadu government; Asthana Vidwan of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam – 1991; Kala Shiromani - conferred by Percussion Arts Center, Bangalore, 1996; Laya Gnana Vibushan - title conferred by Yazh Sangeetha Sabha, Perth, Australia; and the Sangeeth Natak Academy award- 1997.


Neyveli Venkatesh was initiated in the art of percussion at a tender age of seven by his father A.S. Balaraman. As he grew older he studied under P.P.Venkatesan & Ramanathapuram M.N.Kandaswamy. He made his mark on the music world when he performed a 28 Hrs non-stop marathon session in Neyveli. He is skilled in playing the ‘gumuki style’. Adept in playing kanjira konnokal he stormed the world with his percussive expertise. He is an ‘A’ grade artist in AIR in Mridangam and a ‘B’ grade artist in Kanjira.
Past Local Concerts

The first local concert was held on January 25, 2003, in Knoxville. Ms. Medhavini Mulay was the featured Hindustani vocal exponent. She recited an hour-long khayal in Raag Madhukauns, followed by a short khayal in Raag Bhhop. These were followed by two bhajans - a Gorkhnath Bhajan and a Meera Bhajan in Raag Bhairavi. Despite the bad weather, we had a nice, small crowd of about 25 individuals.

The second local concert was held on March 29, 2003. Ms. Padma Venkatesan gave a Carnatic music performance that lasted well over an hour and was a major success.

The third local concert was held on December 19, 2004. Dr. Radhakrishnan Balasubramaniam and Ms. Sudha Radhakrishnan were the Carnatic classical music vocalists, while Dr. Saji Gopinathan provided Mridangam accompaniment.