Musiri Subramania Iyer with RK Venkatrama Sastry, Nagercoil Ganesa Iyer. TK Govinda Rao in the back.

Musiri Subramania Iyer (1899 -1975) and his bani

What is the Musiri bani?  Listen to what his star sishya Suguna Purushottaman had to say about him during Musiri Margam, an illuminating tribute she paid to his memory—during the late evening of her own life. 
Chitravina Ravikiran

Chitravina N Ravikiran as composer

Ravikiran is among the more prolific composers in Indian Music with over 800 compositions to his credit. About half of these are traditional classical pieces which include about 400 krtis, 30 varnams, 35 tillans besides javalis, padams, pushpanjalis, kavittuvams, shabdam, bhajans, chindus etc. Several of Ravikiran’s works have been presented by leading musicians and dancers.
An Online Performing Arts Festival

Ties That Bind: the pandemic, technology and the arts

We, in Columbus, Ohio, have been in the isolating grip of a viral pandemic for three months now. Social interactions have been impacted in ways one could never have imagined before its onset. Our diverse humanity has been united via this singular…
We Stand With You

We Stand With You

It is with deep sadness and anguish that we have all been observing the events surrounding the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Our emotions are also mixed with the knowledge that the circumstances and behavior which led to his death are all too common.

COVID 19 aka Coronavirus Response

Since early March, Dhvani Music School has been proactively taking steps to promote the safety of all our students, teachers, members and participants, We proactively moved to online instruction and other virtual platforms for all our classes, events and activities.
In class with Sri. Ramachandra Sastry at Kalakshetra

Why Carnatic music matters more than ever by Ludwig Pesch

For this musicologist and author, there are good reasons to believe that Carnatic music matters, perhaps more than ever and almost anywhere in the world.  So why not perform and teach it in the service of better education for all,…

The problem with Carnatic in the Bay

What would you like to do this Friday?” my husband asks. As I peruse the listings for concerts, I am amazed to see how many youngsters are performing Indian classical music. This is true not just in India but also in the US. From Boston to San Diego, classical music and dance schools are flourishing. And this isn’t a phenomenon limited just to big cities.

A Student Remembers; experiences accompanying MS Subbulakshmi

"Siddheshwari Devi, the doyen of Hindustani music is sitting on a chair, with a japa mala in her hand. Seated in front of her, are M.S.Subbulakshmi and her daughter Radha Viswanathan." R.K.Shriram Kumar, well-known carnatic violinist brings the scene from Kalki Gardens, MS’ home alive to the audience. In an intimate lecture-demonstration, from his unique vantage point as her accompanist and disciple, Shriram Kumar spoke of what made MS (whom he refers to as Amma) a truly special musician.

Setlur Ramaswami Iyer in San Diego

The Indian Fine Arts Society of San Diego is having a concert by Vidhushi Trivandrum Seethalakshmi. The concert is in memory of of S.A. Ramaswami Iyer (1855 -1936) the principal disciple of Walajapet Krishnaswamy Bhagavatar who was the son and disciple of Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar .

70 Years Young; an interview with C.V. Chandrasekhar

The eminent Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, composer and teacher Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar shared his memories as we were seated at the Kalakshetra auditorium with his dancer wife Jaya, waiting to watch the program of the evening. “You know I am 70 years old, don’t you,” he says with a wide smile and a chuckle.

Muthuswami Dikshitar – A Creative Genius

Dikshitar's songs bring in a mood of meditative devotion of sublime nature which transcends words and feelings. Dikshitar was probably the most complete classical composer and one of the most versatile men world has ever seen. He was a man who had early and purposeful exposure to Carnatic, Western, Persian, Arabic and Hindustani styles of music. Dikshitar had proficiency in different languages like Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English and different branches of academics such as History, Mythology and Science, not to mention proficiency in numerous musical instruments.

About the Music of South India

South India comprises a geographical area as large as that of Western Europe where four major languages (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam) are spoken. Although there are two metropolises (Madras, now known as Chennai, and Bangalore), and a few other important cities, most people still live in villages and small towns. This explains the great diversity of traditional South Indian music.