Carnatic Vocal Concert by Amritha Murali

R K Shriramkumar, a musician par excellence wears many hats with aplomb – solo and accompanying violinist, vaggeyakara, vocal and violin Guru, music scholar, polyglot and mentor. He belongs to the Rudrapatnam family of musicians and is the grandson of the much respected Vidvan Shri R K Venkatarama Shastri. Apart from training under his grandfather he has also received guidance in violin playing from Vidushi Smt Savitri Satyamurthy and from Vidvan Shri V V Subrahmanyam and in vocal music from Sangita Kalanidhi Shri D K Jayaraman. His skills were further honed through the association and knowledge that he gained by accompanying the doyens of Carnatic music like Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Smt M S Subbulakshmi, Smt D K Pattammal, Shri D K Jayaraman, Shri Palghat K V Narayanaswamy, Smt T Brinda, Smt T Mukta. Shri M Balamuralikrishna and others. A recipient of numerous prestigious awards, Shriramkumar has traveled far and wide on concert tours. His solo performances, lec-dems and workshops are a conoisseurs delight and have been appreciated by audiences world-wide. Shriramkumar is a versatile composer with many compositions to his credit. He has set to music the sahitya of various composers and also composed and structured the music for many dance productions of reputed dancers.

Son of music composer Shri L Krishnan, Arun Prakash is one of the leading percussionist of our times. Having learnt the art of mridangam playing from Ramanathapuram Shri M N Kandaswamy Pillai, Arun Prakash’s mridangam artistry combines the best of tradition and modernity. While his technique of handling the instrument is very traditional, his playing is characterized by mathematical innovation, brilliance, and modernity. Having accompanied several doyens, his accompaniment is characterized by pleasing aesthetics and sensitivity, thus enriching the concert experience for the listener. Gifted with a playing style that is highly musical, his presence of mind and his composing skills add a different dimension to the concert experience making it immersive and enjoyable. His composing skills extend over kritis, korvais, pallavis and special productions. Arun has several prestigious awards to his credit from premier institutions all over the world.

An accomplished Kanjira artist, teacher and stage performer, Sunil Kumar is an ‘A’ grade artiste in All India Radio, Chennai. In his early age, He learned under the guidance of his father Thavil Vidwan Triplicane K. Sekar . Later, he started learning kanjira from kanjira maestro V. Selvaganesh. He is accompanying with many stalwarts and senior vidwans and Vidushis.

He received many Awards & Titles such as

• Sri Kanchi kamakoti Peetam Asthana Vidhwan.
• ‘Yuva Kala Bharathi’ by Bharath Kalachar, Chennai.
• Laya Rathna Award from Trinity Arts Festival.