AMRUTHA VENKATESH – VOCAL
RAJEEV MUKUNDAN – VIOLIN
ARJUN GANESH – MRIDANGAM
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Amrutha Venkatesh is an A Grade artist of AIR. She is the recipient of numerous recognitions and awards, including the Senior outstanding vocalist prize from the Madras Music Academy for 2016 and 2017. She has performed widely in India and abroad and has given a number of thematic concerts. She has also composed a number of pallavis and tuned many popular songs.
Her other awards include:
- Prizes from from The Madras Music Academy
- Best Vocalist Prize in the Spirit of Youth series (2006)
- CMANA Endowment Prize(2007)
- Outstanding Lady Vocalist in the Sub-senior slot – 2013, 2014 and 2015
- Senior Outstanding Vocalist Prize from the Madras Music Academy – 2016, 2017
- ‘Ramabhadran Centenary Award’ from TAG Centre, Chennai
- Dr MLV Award from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (2018)
- Best Main Artist Award from Hamsadhwani, Chennai (2007)
- Best Performer from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (2014)
- All India Radio Music Competition Prize (2004, 2005)
- ‘Raga Laya Prabha’ from Sri Rama Lalita Kala Mandira, 2014
- Yuva Purandara Award from Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, Bangalore. Jan 2016
- Voleti Venkateswarulu Award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha
- D K Pattamal Award from Kartik Fine Arts
She has learned and trained with a number of gurus, including Sri. MT Selvanarayana, Smt Charumathi Ramachandran, Prince Rama Varma and Professor Parassala Ponnammal.
Rajeev Mukundan (M Rajeev – Violinist)
Rajeev was initiated into this art form at the tender age of four. He is currently under the tutelage of the legendary Kalaimamani A.Kanyakumari for almost a decade.
Received scholarship from the Government of India from 2001 to 2009. One of the youngest ‘A’ graded Artiste of All India Radio (AIR).
Rajeev is a receipient of several prestigious awards like ‘Spirit of Youth Award’ given by ‘The Music Academy, Madras’ in the year 2008, “The Best Violinist Award” from ‘The Music Academy, Madras,’ in December 2011, etc.
Rajeev has given many violin duet concerts with his Guru A.Kanyakumari, and also has toured and accompanied leading artistes like Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.V.Sankaranarayanan , Dr. N.Ramani, Malladi Brothers, Vijay Siva, T.M.Krishna, Osccar nominee Bombay Jayasri, Dr Nithyashri Mahadevan & Ranjani Gayathri.
Arjun Ganesh Sankara Narayanan Jayalakshmi (aka Arjun Ganesh) – Percussionist
Born in Kumbakonam, a city well known for its rich musical tradition, Arjun Ganesh started learning mridangam at the age of five from notable mridangam Vidwan Poongulam Sri. R. Sabesa Iyer, who developed the Thiruvarur Bani (Method). Subsequently, he migrated to Chennai and became a full-time mrudangam artiste. He continued to learn the nuances of the instrument from Vidwan Poongulam Sri. S. Subramanian, son and senior disciple of Arjun’s first guru, Vidwan Sri. R. Sabesa Iyer. Today, Arjun is one of the most sought after artists of his generation. He has been fortunate to accompany some of the senior most artists in the field such as Sri. T.K. Govinda Rao, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Sri. T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Sri. T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Sri. O.S. Thyagarajan, Sri. Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Smt. Aruna Sairam, Malladi Brothers (Sri Ravikumar and Sri Sreeramaprasad), Neyveli Sri Santhanagopalan, Smt. S. Sowmya and Smt. Visaka Hariji, among others. He has also performed in prestigious venues in India and around the world, and has completed concert tours in Malaysia and the USA.
In addition to his career as a performing artiste, Arjun Ganesh imparts his mridangam knowledge on over forty students whom he has been training for the past seven years in Chennai. He holds an A-grade from All India Radio, Chennai, and has received the praise of rasikas and critics alike
