keertana August 2009... a bridge to the rich South Indian cultural heritage... Thursday, 27 August 2009 7:30 pm to 9 pm Glen Waverley Community Centre 700 Waverley Road, Glen Waverley Vic. 3150 Melway Ref: (71B4) Saturday, 29 August 2009 7 pm to 10 pm Performing Arts Centre Rowville Secondary College - Eastern Campus Humphreys Way, Rowville Vic 3178 Melway Ref: (82 F1)
Sikkil Gurucharan is the third generation musician from a reputed family of flautists. He is the first vocalist in the family. His grandparents are Padmashri Sangeeta Kalanidhis Sikkil Sisters - Kunjumani and Neela. Born and brought up in an environment full of music, he was trained in vocal music by Sri. Vaigal Gnanaskandan of the Semmangudi School of Music. He also learns from his aunt, Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar and is now under an advanced training program with Vidwan B. Krishnamurthy through a fellowship from Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi. His sonorous voice and a presentation method that adds glamour to the traditional way of singing has been applauded by critics and listeners alike. Sikkil Gurucharan He has won numerous prizes and awards from several prestigious institutions from his school days. His first concert was under the banner of Gnanaskandan Trust at Music Academy Chennai in 1994. Since then he has been performing at all important sabhas in Chennai during the music season. He has won numerous awards like Yuva Puraskar from Sangeet Natak Academy, Yuva Kala Bharati, Isai Chudar, Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar award from the Music Academy for 3 consecutive conferences. Since 2005, he has been touring USA, UK, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East frequently for concerts not to mention his busy schedule in India as well. Gurucharan became a graded artist of All India Radio Chennai in 2000 by winning their All India Competition. All India Radio awarded him the A Grade directly from B Grade in 2002. Gaana Prabhavam, Kaaveri Pattinam, Ramayanam, December 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Live, Ganapatyam, Madhirakshi(with Piano), Peranandam and many more. He has been applauded by all and he is fortunate to have been accompanied by several stalwarts like Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Dr T. K. Murthy, Vellore Ramabhadran, Guruvayur Dorai, Parur M. S. Anantharaman, Thiruvarur Bhaktavasalam, Srimushnam Raja Rao, Nagai Muralidharan, Mannargudi Easwaran and many others. He has released several Albums like Thiruppavai, Thiruvembai, Bhajans,
B. U. Ganesh Prasad B. U. Ganesh Prasad hails from a family of great connoisseurs of classical Indian music. He had his initial training from Basavanagudi Natraj of Bangalore and advanced training from renowned violinist V. V. Subramaniam of Chennai. Ganesh Prasad is one of the most sought after violin accompanists and has accompanied several leading musicians of India. He has traveled widely all over the world performing for different spectrum of audiences. He has won many accolades and awards for his performance: Best Violinist Award from the Music Academy in Chennai Title of NADA OLI Anaya Yuva Puruskar Award Ganesh Prasad has been featured in many CD and DVD recordings. Neyveli Skandasubramanian Born on 11 April 1970, Neyveli Skandasubramanian, is a disciple of Vidwan Thiruvarur Sri. R. Krishnamoorthy and Vidwan Kalaimamani Thiruvarur Sri. Bakthavathsalam, with whom he learnt under Central Government of India scholarship. He has been giving performances since 1986 and has performed with all top ranking musicians at major sabhas allover India and has also toured USA, Canada, Srilanka, UK, UEA, France, Norway, Spain, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Morocco and Greece. Some of the senior artists that he has accompanied include: Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. K. S. Narayanaswamy Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. N. Ramani Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. M. S. Gopalakrishnan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. T. V. Sankaranarayanan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt. Mani Krishnaswamy Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri. T. N. Seshagopalan Sangeetha Choodamani Sri. O. S. Thiagarajan Padmashree Smt. Sudha Ragunathan. He has won many awards during his career: Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar Youth Excellence Award from Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Trust Best Mridangam Artiste Award from a number of leading sabhas in Chennai: Madras Music Academy, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha and Indian Fine Arts Society.
Sikkil Gurucharan: an Interview Chitra Sudarshan Chitra : Although very young, you have produced many albums, received awards and performed in numerous venues around the world. What is your ambition what would you like to achieve? Gurucharan: Until now, I have not worked towards achieving a long term ambition: I think and focus on the next concert or series of concerts that I will have to do. Generally I prefer working on concerts and albums one at a time that seems a more realistic thing to do at the moment; I like to concentrate on my immediate commitment, and I plan my set of concerts usually one month ahead at any time. Right now, my main aim is to complete the Australian tour successfully, and achieve audience satisfaction. My main ambition at present is to showcase my abilities and keep the Sikkil family name and tradition alive. Chitra : Do you have a vision for Carnatic Music say a few years from now? Gurucharan: For carnatic music itself, I wish to popularise it and do my part in taking it to different corners of the world; it has spread more widely today than ever before, and I should like to contribute to the cause of promoting and increasing awareness of carnatic music in any way I can, and making it a medium of communication for many music enthusiasts of the world; as well as exploring new media through which these things can be done. Chitra : You have on your website and there is a U-tube rendition too of your vocal performance with Anil Srinivasan on the piano. There was another melody with sarangi accompaniment; were they deliberate, planned and arranged by you? Gurucharan: It was not deliberate nor was it planned. I was rehearsing for a performance when Anil Srinivasan entered my musical career. He was my senior at school although we didn t know each other really well then. He turned up at our school s Golden Jubilee celebrations, and we decided to record this for the school on that occasion. People quite enjoyed the duet: We each adhered to our musical traditions I sang in the traditional carnatic style and he played the piano - yet rendered a melody that everyone could enjoy and appreciate: audiences liked it. We then decided to collaborate and include more instruments like the sarangi, percussion and so on. My aim is to keep undiluted the lyrical beauty of carnatic music, while engaging in musical collaboration with artistes from various traditions. Chitra : What are your thoughts on fusion music which in a sense is a departure from that mould. Gurucharan: I quite enjoy all kinds of music and listen to them: fusion music has developed well and has fanned out in many directions. When fusion is done with a lot of planning and respect for the different genres involved, it can be beautiful to the ear. There are many western bands that have experimented and are still experimenting with it, and I enjoy it. Some very exciting and interesting things are happening with artistes like Shakti, Ghatam Kartik, etc to name a few. If the melodies produced are pleasing to the ear, it can be beautiful. Chitra : Do you have any special memories you would like to share with us? Gurucharan: Whenever people come up to the stage at the end of a concert and tell me how much they enjoyed my performance; when people tell me how my CD or a live performance - had moved them they are all memorable moments that I cherish. We artistes thrive on such appreciation from the audience. When I have performed abroad, people have often approached and told me We couldn t understand why your music went from slow to fast and back; why you were slapping your thighs, yet still felt drawn into the music soaked in its beauty, felt uplifted listening to you ; all these are memories that I cherish.... a bridge to the rich South Indian cultural heritage... Become a CMC Member and support the cause
Acknowledgement Concert Arrangement Venue Audio Artiste Hosting Design Sponsors Tour Partners Staff at Rowville Secondary College Charles Walker, Imperial Audio Yamuna and Gopal Narayanan Family Shoba and Ramnath Iyer Family Jaysree and Vasu Srinivasan Family Oviam Creations Atech Solutions Pty Ltd Ram & Associates Pallavi, Sydney SIFA, Canberra Yarl Music Society, Perth Shruthi Adelaide, Adelaide Arundathi and Sriram Family Chitra and Sudarshan Family Chitra and Soundarajan Iyer Family Gita and Sub Subramanian Family Maithili and Naga Nagasundaram Family Shoba and Ramnath Iyer Family Subhadra and Sankaran Ramesh Family Sunitha and Shankar Raman Family Yogam and Ramanan Family Yamuna and Gopal Narayanan Family CMC wishes to acknowledge the assistance provided by all music schools of Melbourne in the publicity of this concert. Contacts Gita - 9886 4284 Ramesh - 9800 4612 Vasu - 9887 4232 Shoba- 9886 8406 Yogam - 9545 3148 CMC offers family membership packages that are economical and provide substantial discounts. Become a CMC Member and support the cause. For more details contact one of the volunteers. Are you interested in contributing to CMC s community service mission? You can do so by making voluntary donations to CMC s activities, contributing your time to a community cause, and by attending and supporting CMC events. Please register your interest in any of the above with one of the CMC volunteers.... a bridge to the rich South Indian cultural heritage... For more information please contact: Gita 9886 4284 Ramesh 9800 4612 Vasu 9887 4232 Shoba 9886 8406 Yogam 9545 3148 Oviam 0403 353 424
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