Hamilton Happening
The first of these would be a Gottuvadyam performance by Ganesh Parthasarathy in aid of Shri Balaji Temple Trust (Hamilton), scheduled to be held from 6 pm on May 31 at Phoenix Hall, 22 Richmond Street, Hamilton. The programme would include dinner and the Annual General Meeting of the Trust.
Tickets, priced at $50 (Premium) and $15 (General) can be obtained from Secretary Bhaskar Tikkisetty on 021-589-915 or Treasurer Malathi Vasudevan on 021-942699
Email: balajihamilton @gmail.com
Mrs Vasudevan said that the Trust is a charitable organisation, established four years ago with the prime purpose of constructing a Temple for Lord Venkateswara, also known as Balaji.
“We are currently negotiating to purchase land for the Temple. As a part of our efforts to mobilise the necessary financial resources, the Trust had organised a professional Carnatic music concert by Ganesh Parthasarathy last year. Encouraged by its success, we have invited the same artiste to present a Gottuvadyam concert this year,” she said.
Auckland Agenda
June 1
The scene will shift to Auckland on June 1, with the New Zealand Carnatic Society organising a three-day Music Festival, featuring a number of artistes of international reputation providing a wide repertoire of vocal and instrumental music.
Society President Malathi Vasudevan said that the Festival, sixth in an annual series will provide a rare opportunity for New Zealanders evincing interest in Carnatic Music.
“It coincides with the Queen’s Birthday weekend, which in itself is a celebration, affording enthusiasts longer nourishment of great music by great artistes,” she said.
The Festival will begin with a concert by Carnatica Brothers K N Shashikiran and Ganesh Parthasarathy on June 1 at 5 pm at the Fickling Convention Centre in Three Kings, Royal Oak.
June 2
Nithyashree Mahadevan, one the brightest performers of Carnatic Music will take to the stage on June 2 at 530 pm at Mt Albert War Memorial Hall 773, New North Road, Mt Albert.
June 3
Sanjay Subrahmanyan, another maestro will present his concert on June 3 at 5 pm at Fickling Convention Centre.
According to Mrs Vasudevan, he returns to New Zealand after six years.
The supporting artistes for all the above mentioned concerts are H N Bhaskar (Violin) and Tanjore Murugabhoopathy (Mridangam).
Tickets, priced at $30 per concert or at $90 for three days, $20 for single concert and $55 combo for children and seniors are available at a number of outlets.
Email: mvat2000@gmail.com; secretarynzcms@gmail.com; Website: www.nzcms.org
Students Contest
The Society will conduct its second New Zealand Carnatic Star Competitions in vocal, instrumental and percussion segments on June 2 from 9 am at Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, with the judging panel comprising the visiting artistes.
Parthasarathy Ganesh
Raised in a family of musicians (his grandfather Narayana Iyengar was one of the greatest Gottuvadyam artistes), Parthasarathy Ganesh came under the tutelage of Chitravina Narasimhan and Chitravina N Ravikiran.
He created a record three years ago (May 27, 2010) in Chennai, with his marathon 33 plus hours of Gottuvadyam performance, during which he rendered more than 120 kirtis, taking just one five-minute break.
Nithyasree Mahadevan
Nithyasree Mahadevan is a name popular not only in Carnatic music circles but also in television shows as a judge of competitions and in the film industry as a playback singer. She belongs to a legendary family of great performers including (her maternal grandmother and great singer D K Pattammal, maternal grandfather and famous Mridangist Palghat Mani Iyer and granduncle D K Jayaraman).
Chitravina Shashikiran
Shashikiran also hails from a family with remarkable talent in music. He is the grandson of Gottuvadyam maestro Narayana Iyengar, son of Narasimhan and brother of Ravikiran, both of who have ‘Chitravina’ prefixed to their names.
His performance in partnership with his cousin Chitravina Ganesh has earned both of them the affectionate reference as ‘Carnatica Brothers.’
Chitravina Ganesh
Chitravina Ganesh is award winning slide instrumentalist and vocalist, who set a world record by commencing his career in Carnatic Music when was only two and half years old. A grandson of Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar and a nephew of Chitravina Narasimhan, he is proficient in identifying and rendering at least 225 ragas and 175 talams in Carnatic Music.
Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Sanjay Subrahmanyan began as a violinist under V Lakshminarayana but later shifted to vocal music with Rukmani Rajagopalan as his Guru. He continues to learn from Nadaswaram maestro Semponarkoil SRD Vaidyanathan.
He is an avid fan of Cricket.
He appeared in ‘Aaraar Aasaippadaar,’ a documentary film released in 2006, depicting the compositions of Trinity of Carnatic Music.
Emails: mvat2000@gmail.com; secretarynzcms@gmail.com; Website: www.nzcms.org
What: Gottuvadyam by Parthasarathy Ganesh Who: Shri Balaji Temple Trust (Hamilton) Where: Phoenix Hall, 22 Richmond Street When: Friday, May 31 at 6 pm Tickets: $50 (Premium) and $15 (General) Contact: Bhaskar Tikkisetty on 021-589-915 Malathi Vasudevan on 021-942699 Email: balajihamilton @gmail.com |
New Zealand Carnatic Society Music Concerts
June 1: K N Shashikiran and Ganesh Parthasarathy
Fickling Convention Centre at 5 pm
June 2: Nithyashree Mahadevan
Mt Albert War Memorial Hall at 530 pm
June 3: Sanjay Subrahmanyan
Fickling Convention Centre at 5 pm
Tickets: $30 ($90 for three days) $20 for single concert
$55 combo for children and seniors
Contact: Malathi Vasudevan on 021-942699
Email: mvat2000@gmail.com; secretarynzcms@gmail.com; Website: www.nzcms.org