Equally fascinated by mridanga beats, Anirudh has been learning to play the mridangam from vidwan A.S. Krishnan of Chennai. As early as 2004, Anirudh won two prizes in the junior category at the competitions conducted by the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana festival. In 2009, he bagged a total of six prizes (five of which were first prizes) in different categories in the competitions conducted by the Madras Music Academy. To top it all, he has been equally brilliant in academics and is an undergraduate student of engineering in the prestigious Stanford University.
Anirudh Venkatesh started learning carnatic music from Smt.Padma Kutty in California, U.S.A. He is learning also from vidwans P.S. Narayanaswamy and Palai C.K. Ramachandran, both spreading the legacy of Sri. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Anirudh’s singing carries the briskness and vitality of the Semmangudi bani.
Equally fascinated by mridanga beats, Anirudh has been learning to play the mridangam from vidwan A.S. Krishnan of Chennai. As early as 2004, Anirudh won two prizes in the junior category at the competitions conducted by the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana festival. In 2009, he bagged a total of six prizes (five of which were first prizes) in different categories in the competitions conducted by the Madras Music Academy. To top it all, he has been equally brilliant in academics and is an undergraduate student of engineering in the prestigious Stanford University. Nama Japam or Nama Sankeertanam is the japa (repetition) or Sankirtana of nama (name) of the Almighty. Great Saints have proven that Namasankeerthanam (Bhajan) is the easiest way of attaining Moksha. Namasankeerthanam involves singing and chanting the glory of Lord, individually or in chorus. Namasankeerthanam was propagated by Great Gurus in ancient times across South India and North India and the tradition is still being followed with a little improvisation. Sruti Sarathy is a versatile artist in the South Indian classical violin tradition. She is trained in the Lalgudi style of Carnatic violin under the esteemed guru, Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, Director of Trinity Center for Music in the Bay Area. Sruti is also a student of Hindustani music under the tutelage of Vid. Kala Ramnath and receives advanced training in layam (rhythm aspects) from renowned mridangam artist Mannargudi Sri. Easwaran. Sruti has performed with leading Indian classical musicians, such as Sangita Kalanidhi Chitravina Sri N. Ravikiran, Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan and Dr. Vijayalakshmi Subramaniam. Sruti has been featured in several prestigious venues and festivals across the world, including the San Francisco and Chicago World Music Festivals, Music Academy (Chennai), Shanmukhananda Sabha (Mumbai), Chowdiah Hall (Bangalore), the American Folk Festival (Bangor), the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, the International Arts Festival (London), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MOMA), the Indian Embassy in Paris, and the American Consulate in Chennai. Having trained for over ten years in vocal music, Sruti often lends her voice and violin to collaborative projects and jugalbandhis. In 2018, she composed and sang the music for "Krishna!," a Bharatanatyam fundraiser for Chinmaya Mission directed and choreographed by Smt. Kanchana Venkat of Isha Dance Company. Sruti also recently composed and performed the original score for "GRID," a percussive dance theater work (featured in the San Francisco World Percussive Arts festival) directed by Bruce Mui-Ghent that reflects on the complexities of immigration. Sruti is the recipient of many accolades. She is the recipient of the “Best Junior Violinist” award from the Madras Music Academy in 2018. She was awarded the titles “Parivadini Pratibha” by Parivadini in 2017 and “Yuva Pratibha” by Naadharpana in 2016. Sruti also won the “Best Violinist” award at both the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (2014) and the Spirit of Youth Festival conducted by the Madras Music Academy (2012). Sruti won the best violinist award from the music academy in 2019. In 2016, Sruti was granted the Fulbright Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State to perform and research cross-genre violin technique in Carnatic Music. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Master’s Degree in French Literature. Gopal Ravindhran started learning mridangam at the age of 6 years and was under the tutelage of Shri Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan until College. When he visits India he is under the tutelage of vidwan Sri Neyveli Narayanan. Gopal has won many prizes in competitions conducted in Bay Area, Chicago and Cleveland. In 2009 he had his Mrudangam Arangetram accompanying Sri Delhi P. Sunderrajan on vocal,Sri Vittal Ramamurthy on Violin and Sri A. Mahadhevan on Morsing. He has accompanied several leading artists across US and also performs regularly in Chennai during the December music festival. In December 2014, Gopal was conferred the title of "Laya Kala Ratna" by the prestigious BKS Trust founded by Shri Issai Mazhalai Ramjhi. |
AboutHCMA organizes Carnatic music concerts in the greater Los Angeles area, with a mission to promote young and upcoming artistes and foster a community of music lovers Archives
February 2024
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