Venkat Raman
A versatile artiste with a high level of proficiency in Carnatic Music is scheduled to perform in Auckland next month.
New Zealand Carnatic Music Society is organising a vocal recital by Dr Pantula Rama at 530 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2019 at Blockhouse Bay Community Centre (Jim Gilbert Room), located at 524 Blockhouse Bay Road, Auckland.
She will be accompanied by M S N Murthy on the Violin and Sai Giridhar on Mridangam.
Tickets, priced at $20 for adults and $15 for Seniors and children under 12 years of age are now available.
Please contact Jay Jeyashankar on 021-630914; Leena Mani on 021-0495262; Mala Nataraj on 021-620930; Priya Vijay on 021-1084098; Ravi Nagarajan on 021-2401356; Shanthi Swaminathan on 027-6479580; Sreeranganath Koilkandadai on 021-682957 or Yashwanth Kumar on 021-02429863.
Multitalented Artiste
Born and raised in a culturally abundant family of musicians, poets, scholars and astrologers, Dr Pantula took to the performing art naturally. Her mother Padmavathi is a Veena artiste, while her father Pantula Gopala Rao was her Guru, who initiated her into the world of music and coached and encouraged her to pursue excellence.
She later came under the tutelage of the late Ivaturi Vijayeswara Rao who helped her to lift her proficiency and become a seasoned professional.
According to her peers and critics, “Dr Pantula is highly regarded for her chaste, aesthetic and intellectual style of singing. She is popular for an ever-fresh approach in her concerts.”
Academic Achievements
With a doctorate (PhD) in Music from Andhra University, she is a recipient of several honours including ‘Gayatri Sangeeta Vidwanmani,’ ‘Nightingale of Andhra’ and ‘Melody Queen of Andhra.’
She has also been honoured with the ‘Outstanding Lady Vocalist’ and ‘Best Pallavi Award’ given by The Music Academy of Madras.
Dr Pantula has been a favourite with the press and audio-visual media and has received rave reviews and critical acclaim from almost all critics.
Dr M S N Murthy
Dr Mutnuri Srinivasa Narasimha Murthy hails from a music family with a record of excellence for many generations. His mother Mutnuri Jalajakshi is a veteran vocalist and was groomed by the late maestro Nallan Chakravartula Krishnamacharyulu.
Beginning his career as a Violinist at the tender age of ten, Dr Murthy became a Casual Artiste of All India Radio four years later. Purity of style, flawless execution, fine aesthetic sense and total command over the instrument are the exceptional qualities of this artiste.
He has been awarded ‘Top Grade’ in Violin, ‘A Grade’ in Vocal and ‘A Grade’ in Viola by All India Radio.
Sai Giridhar
A Mridangam artiste of exceptional talent, Sai Giridhar was trained by M L N Raju and Parupalli S Phalgun.
An ‘A’ grade artiste of All India Radio, he has performed in many prestigious music festivals in India and abroad.
He received the Gold Medal for his performance on mridangam at the 12th National Youth Festival at Pune in 2007. With many recordings and workshops to his credit, Mr Giridhar was awarded the ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ by Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2016.
