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)