Heartbeat Ensemble concert in Bay Area - October 16th, 2011 4 P.M. @ Santa Clara Convention Center

Tickets for this concert: http://www.sankritilaya.org

Heartbeat ensemble Tour of North America and Canada in Progress!

Sankritilaya is pleased to announce North American tour of world-renown HeartBeat ensemble.  HeartBeat ensemble is led by Vidwan Dr. Gatam Karthick, and the other members of the ensemble are:
Vidwan Embar Kannan on Silent Violin,
Vidwan Poongulam Subramanian on Mridangam,
Vidwan Master Sathya on keyboard,
Vidwan Arunkumar on Rhythm drum pads, and Vidwan Sree Sundarkumar on Kanjira.
Heartbeat ensemble has been performing worldwide from 1999 and has a wide following even outside the carnatic music circle.
Artists' website: http://www.ghatamkarthick.com/heartbeat.php
Here is a link to the Youtube video introduction to a performance by the ensemble: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CMtQepFFlY&feature=related

Spring 2011 - Vidwan T.M.Krishna Concert tour of North America

SanKritiLaya is pleased to announce the North American tour of Vidwan T.M.Krishna accompanied by Vidwan R.K.Shriramkumar and by Vidwan K.Arun Prakash for the Spring 2011 season.

Vidwan TM Krishnai s at the forefront of classical vocalists in India today. His tremendous stage-presence, his aweinspiring voice, his great scholarship and his ability to transcend cultural borders makes him the greatest ambassador of his chosen field, the South Indian Classical Tradition. His youthful and innovative approach also draws a vast teen audience appeal – key for this tradition to survive and thrive.

Born into a traditional business family, his blazing talent was recognized by his mother who placed him under the guidance of a series of great Gurus, including Shri B Seetharama Sarma, culminating with the greatest of them all, Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. His resonant and mellifluous voice, strict adherence to classicism, the high level of aesthetics in his music and his deep involvement with the ragas makes every concert a treat for the listener.He is deeply involved in research in the field of Carnatic Music. He is presently working on audio-archiving the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini a musical treatise of great importance in relation to the compositions of Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar. In the tradition of his Gurus, he has many students from India and abroad. He has also founded several organizations to promote Carnatic Music in many ways like promoting culture and art in temples, encouraging youth talent, spotting and sponsoring talent from rural areas to learn music, getting the youth interested in Carnatic Music through youth festivals and so on.

Widely performed and performing to various parts of the world, TM Krishna is a recipient of numerous awards in the field of Music; has numerous audio and video albums released. He holds the distinction of co-architecting the first ever Concert Musical Movie of its kind in the world, Margazhi Raagam, released in 2009 to audience worldwide. All the three artists of this team have starred in the film.

R. K. Shriramkumar is a top-flight Classical Violin artist of India. 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 fromV idushi Smt.Savitri Satyamurthy, Shriramkumar was trained by his grandfather. 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, including the prestigious Isai Peroli (2009) , 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 the son of the renowned music composer Kalaimamani Sri L. Krishnan. He began learning the art of playing the mridangam from Kalaimamani Ramanathapuram Sri M.N. Kandaswamy Pillai from the age of 9, and began performing in concerts by the age of 11. Since then, Arun Prakash has had the honor of accompanying musicians like the great Smt.D.K. Pattammal, Palghat Sri K.V. Narayanaswamy, Sri T.N. Krishnan, and Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. He has performed throughout India, the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Arun Prakash's style can be described as a blend of tradition and modernity with which he enhances the overall concert experience. His accompaniment, during all aspects of a concert, is musical and he weaves in unique and complex mathematical calculations without sacrificing the aesthetics of the music. Arun Prakash has won various awards including Best Young Mridangist from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (1984), Best Mridangist from The Music Academy (1994.1996,1999, 2002, 2005), Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar (1996). He also has the distinction of being the first percussionist to receive the Kalki Krishnamurthy award (2000)

Spring 2011 - Priya Sisters Vocal Concert tour

SanKritiLaya is proud to announce the first of the 2011 concert tours - A vocal concert tour by Priya Sisters accompanied by B.V.Ragavendra Rao on Violin and by Neyveli Skanda Subramanian on Mridangam.

Vidhushi Shanmukha Priya and Vidushi Hari Priya, are the renowned musical duo popularly known as the  'Priya Sisters', in the sphere of carnatic music. Born to Smt.V.Lalitha and Sri.V.V.Subba Ram, Priya Sisters  started learning Carnatic Vocal Music since the age of five under the tutelage of their father Sri. V.V.Subba Ram who is a post-graduate in music. Later they had their advanced training under the renowned duo Kalaimamanis Radha & Jayalakshmi. Presently they are under the scholarly guidance of Prof.T.R.Subramaniam. Priya Sisters started performing since 1989 & have given more than 2000 concerts all over India & abroad till date. Besides performing for all the major organizations in India, they have also toured countries like USA, Canada, Maurtitius, UK, UAE, Australia & Sri Lanka.
Busy artists in the national and international circuits, Priya Sisters have traveled widely for concerts in India and abroad, touring countries like U.S.A., Canada, U.K., Mauritius etc. They have performed in a number of prestigious festivals such as the spirit of unity concerts, Duo festival, Festival of Hyderabad, World Tamil conference etc. They were one of the chosen few to have been invited to perform in the 69th and 70th Birthday celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba at Puttaparti. They also had the privilege of performing at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi in the presence of the then President of India, Sri. R. Venkataraman.
Priya sisters have been the recipients of the 'Best Female Vocalists' awards from Music Academy, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and the Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. They have also received the M.L.V. memorial award. They have been conferred the titles 'Sangeeta Sarada' and 'Gayani  Sironmani'. Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya have received the prestigious 'Ugadi Purashkar 2000' from the Madras Telugu Academy for their achievements in Carnatic Classical Music.
Many recording companies have released a number of  albums of Priya Sisters. Including the popular 'In  Harmony', Bhadrachala Ramdas Kritis, Gaanam, Serene Moments, Annamayya Lahari, Giridhara Gopala, Devi Kritis to name a few.
Their art form is characteristic of the G.N.B.  Bhaani (style), with their  sruti-aligned, attractive,  brigaa-oriented voices lending them ready support to leave an enduring impression on the listener.

Vidwan B.V. Raghavendra Rao hails from a distinguished family of musicians. He was initiated into the niceties of music at an early age of five by his father B.Sudarsana Rao.Attracted by the lure of classical music from his childhood, he trained rigorously on the violin for several years under Guru Shri Balan, Shri Sangeetham Meerasahib and became the disciple of the violin maestro Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri T.N.Krishnan. Later he received invaluable guidance and concert experience from Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna, arguably one of the greatest musician India has produced in the 20th century. As a young artiste he received the appreciation of the President of India for accompanying the celebrated musical genius. The melodious and mellifluous music that he brings  out through the violin illustrates his strong creative imagination that scales great heights.
He has won several prizes and awards from various  Sabhas in Madras. He has participated in the prestigious  Bharat Cultural Integration Committee's (BCIC) music festivals organized all over India.
Raghavendra Rao has performed internationally and has participated in numerous music festivals of I.C.C.R., and the prestigious "Festival of India" programs. He has widely traveled all over the world, including the U.S.A., Canada, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and the Middle Eastern countries.
Raghavendra's devotion and his quest for perfection find their expression in his violin-play.

Vidwan Neyveli Skandasubramanian is a disciple of Vidwan Tiruvarar Shri. R. Krishnamoorthy and Vidwan 'Kalaimamani' Tiruvarur Shri. Bhakthavatsalam. He has been giving performances with most top-ranking artists at major Sabhas all over India and abroad. He has traveled and performed widely around the world and is the recipient of many awards. He is a prominent preferred accompanist for many of the
leading vocalists.