Residents of the Greater Auckland and Wellington regions will have a rare opportunity of witnessing a flute concert by one of the foremost artistes from an illustrious musical family of Tamil Nadu.
Mala Chandrasekhar of the famous Sikkil and (Bharat Ratna, the late) M S Subbulakshmi families will present a concert each in Auckland and Wellington early next month.
Rasikas New Zealand is organising the programme at Selwyn College in Kohimarama in Auckland on May 7, and in association with the New Zealand Indian Fine Arts Society in Wellington on May 8.
Hirisave Narasimhamurthy (H N) Bhaskar and Palladam Ravi (Ramachandran) will accompany Ms Chandrasekhar respectively on the Violin and Mridangam at the concerts.
Born into a family of musicians (she is the daughter of Sikkil Neela and the niece of the late Sikkil Kunjumani), she is married to Chandrasekhar, son of Radha Viswanathan (daughter of M S Subbulakshmi), thereby gaining a unique combination of flute and vocal music.
Ms Chandrasekhar began learning the flute at the age of five from her mother and aunt, who casually taught her the techniques of the instrument, how to create sound and a few songs.
“I was slow and non-receptive and it took me months to play some songs on the flute and while flute is in itself a challenging instrument, making it in a profession dominated by men was even more formidable,” she said with modesty, during a conversation with Indian Newslink.
But she has come a long way, to be a shining star on the galaxy of musicians and instrumentalists. She has won the accolades of music masters, famous flutists and critics as “one of the most talented artistes of our time.”
An interview with Ms Chandrasekhar will appear in our next issue.
What: Flute Concert by Mala Chandrasekhar & Party
Organised by: Rasikas NZ (Auckland) & NZIFAS Wellington
Where: Selwyn College Auditorium, Kohimarama Road, Auckland
When: Saturday, May 7 at 6 pm
Where: Adam Concert Hall, Victoria University, Kelburn
When: Sunday, May 8 at 4 pm
Contact: Priya Srinivasan (09) 4160165 Email: rasikas.nz@gmail.com
Balajee Thirupukuzhi (04) 9724032 Email: nzifs.secretary@gmail.com
