Announcing Fall 2009 Violin Solo Concert Tour- R.K.Sriramkumar/K. Arun Prakash/Guru Prasad

SanKritiLaya is pleased to announce their Fall 2009 classical instrumental concert tour by R.K. Sriramkumar. The schedules for this tour as well as Hyderabad Brothers' tour will be announced shortly.

R K Shriramkumar belongs to the Rudrapatnam family of musicians, a family with a glorious musical tradition. He is the grandson of the much respected Vidvan Shri R K Venkatarama Shastri.

Having had his initial lessons in violin playing from Vidushi Smt Savitri Satyamurthy, Shriramkumar was trained by his grandfather Shri R K Venkatarama Shastry. He later received guidance from Vidvan Shri V V Subrahmanyam and also had training in vocal music from Sangita Kalanidhi Shri D K Jayaraman. His skills were further honed through the association and learning he gained by accompanying the doyens of Carnatic music like Sangita Kalanidhis Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Smt M S Subbulakshmi, Smt D K Pattammal, Shri D K Jayaraman, Shri Palghat K V Narayanaswamy, Smt T Brinda and others.
Shriramkumar has provided violin accompaniment in several commercial recordings and has had the blessed opportunity of participating in a very unique recording entitled ‘Divine Unison’ featuring the great veterans Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Smt M S Subbulakshmi. A recipient of many awards, Shriramkumar has traveled far and wide on concert tours. He also directed the music for a special television presentation on the Sringeri Sharada Peetam and has set to music a few compositions of the Acharyas of the Sharada Peetam.

K. Arun Prakash is a dynamic young Mridangist who hails from a musical family. He is the son of Shri L. Krishnan, a composer. He started learning Mridangam from the age of nine under the late Sri Ramanathapuram M. N. Kandaswamy (a disciple of Palani Subramania Pillai). Arun Prakash has performed in all leading music Sabhas and over the years has accompanied famed artists like D. K. Pattammal, K. V. Narayanaswamy, D. K. Jayaraman, T. N. Seshagopalan and U. Srinivas. Arun Prakash has won many awards for his Mridangam playing and has performed in USA, Canada, Middle East and U. K.

Guru Prasad is a dynamic young Ghatam percussionist who has built a reputation as a front-line accompanist in the Carnatic Music community in India. He is much sought after and is a strong support percussionist in many performances with the top carnatic musicians.

BharathaNatyam Concert tour - Saraswathi Gana Nilayam (Smt. Ranganayaki Jayaraman and students)

SanKritiLaya is pleased to sponsor a BharathaNatyam concert by the well known Saraswathi Gana Nilayam School from Chennai, for Spring 2009 season. Kalaimamani Smt. Ranganayaki Jayaraman, Director of SGN, is accompanied in this tour by her senior students - Binesh K. Mahadevan, Deepthi Swaroopini, Mahathi Achyutan, Namratha Naidu, Padmalaksshme Suresh, Padmashree Kodaganti,Preethi Muthuraman, Shivapriya and Sivasankari.

The tour schedule:
6/07/2009 San Jose, CA South India Fine Arts (SIFA)
6/13/2009 Fremont, CA Nrithyollasa Dance Company
6/14/2009 ICC of Utah, Salt Lake City
6/21/2009 Sacramento, CA
6/28/2009 Milpitas, CA South Bay Hindu Center (SBHC)
7/05/2009 Saratoga, CA Ragamalika School of Music
7/12/2009 Houston, TX

About the Artists:

Sri Saraswathy Gana Nilayam (SGN) was founded in 1939 by Late Smt. K. Lalitha, a disciple of Late Kattumannar Koil Muthukumaraswamy Pillai, to impart training in Bharatanatyam, Veena, and Vocal music to the children in the Triplicane neighborhood of Chennai. Today, the institution focuses on Bharatanatyam and continues to spread the art all over the world. The institution has trained numerous students in Bharatanatyam and so far 420 students have performed their arangetram (debut performance). Many SGN students now run their own Bharatanatyam schools throughout India, Middle East and United States.

Smt. Ranganayaki Jayaraman, the first student of the institution, took over the leadership of the school after the demise of Smt. Lalitha. Smt. Ranganayaki is one of the leading exponents in the field of Bharatanatyam today. She is specially known for her group choreography and is hailed as a master in the art of Nattuvangam. She is a versatile artist who is also well-versed in Carnatic vocal, veena, flute, harmonium and mridangam. She choreographs and produces unique thematic dance dramas and is considered a highly creative and imaginative dance teacher. She has received outstanding reviews for her work and some of her popular group productions include:
--- Shakti Prabhavam
--- Shiva Prabhavam
--- Krishnanjali
--- Shanmuga Prabhavam
--- Bhavayami Raghuramam
--- Gurunama Smaranam
--- Navarasa Nayaki
--- Deiveega Vahanangal
--- Kandhapuranam
--- Bhaktiyin Shakti
--- Lalitha Prabhavam

She has released six full length Bharatanatyam dance audio cassettes and CDs – Lalitha Vandanam, Nrithya Geetham, Bharatha Geetham, Guru Samarpanam, Nardhana Priya, Krishnam Smarami, and Pranamamyaham.

Smt. Ranganayaki received the prestigious Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamilnadu in 1995, for her contribution to the art. She has been awarded the following titles/awards.
-- Natya Kala Bhooshani from Sankarabaranam Trust in 1992
-- Natana Kalai Vithagi from Pollachi Sabha in 1994
-- Vocational Excellence Award by Rotary Club, Chennai in 1995
-- Peacock Par Excellence Award by Rotary Club, Chennai in 1997
-- Natya Acharya from Kapali Fine Arts in 2001
-- Natya Kala Sarathy by Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai in 2004
-- Bharatha Sri Award by Dance Master Sri. Raghuram in 2006
-- Acharya Kala Bharathi by Bharath Kalachar, Chennai in 2007
-- Long Service Award by Kapali Fine Arts, Chennai in 2006
-- Meritorious Award by International Dance Alliance, in 2008

Smt. Ranganayaki is a graded Veena artist in the All India Radio and has composed some popular Veena ensembles, such as ‘Pancha Tala Priya Malika’ and ‘Pancha Raga Oudava Malika’ for Doordarshan TV, India.

Photo Courtesy: Chidambaram Arts Blogspot
Smt.Ranganayaki photo courtesy by B. Jothi Ramalingam (Hindu review)