Stalwarts to perform at Carnatic Music Festival

Four stalwarts including a sister-duo and a rising star will perform at the annual Music Festival of the New Zealand Carnatic Music Society (NZCMS) this weekend.

They will perform nightly at the ‘Sangeethotsavam 2011’ scheduled to held from June 4 to 6, 2011 at Mt Roskill Intermediate School Hall.

Ranjani & Gayatri will present their concert to the accompaniment of B U Ganesh Prasad (Violin) and Poongulam Subramanian (Mirdangam) on June 4 at 530 pm, while Abhishek Raghuram will perform the following day (June 5) at 530 pm. P Unnikrishnan will perform on the concluding day (June 6) at 5 pm.

Nagai Sriram (Violin) and Trivandram Balaji (Mridangam) will accompany the two artistes on the respective days.

Renowned Violinist and Society President Dr Ashok Malur said the performance of the renowned musicians of India would add value to the annual Sangeethotsavam and inspire the members and upcoming singers, many of who have been evincing interest in Carnatic Music.

“Our young men and women will participate in the ‘Yuvabharthi Concerts’ scheduled to be held on June 4 and 6 from 930 am to 1230 pm,” he said.

Dr Malur said the Music Festival began in 2008 to mark the 10^th Anniversary of the Association and has since then continued as an annual traditional event.

“As well as hosting well-known artistes from India, ‘Sangeethotsavam’ provides an opportunity for local singers to demonstrate their talent. As a three-day event, music, food and rustle of silks is in the air,” he said.

Auckland City Council and Balaji Industrial Corporation are the main sponsors of the programme this year.

The Duo

Ranjani and Gayatri are artistes with versatile talent, born and raised in a musical family. Their parents and mentors N

Balasubramanian Meenakshi encouraged them to seek Violin lessons from Professor T S Krishnaswami, vocals from P S Narayanaswamy and Hindustani music from Vishwas Joshi, Manek Bhide and Appasaheb Deshpande.

‘Corporate’ Singer

Residents of Chennai in general and those with a penchant for Carnatic Music in particular, would know the location and importance of ‘Kesari Kuteeram’ (‘Lion’s Abode), the home of prolific singer P Unnikrishnan. His love for music (which also led to playback singing in Tamil films) ended a three-year stint at Parry’s Confectionery Limited.

Since then, he has dedicated his life to Carnatic Music, performing at concerts all over the world and collecting in the process a number of citations and Awards from Governmental and Non-Governmental Organisations.

Percussion to Vocal

As the grandson of the legendary Palghat Raghu, his initiation to music was understandably Mridangam but his talent in vocal music turned his career into singing. Which is why, Abhishek Raghuram understands and appreciates the intricacies of rhythm on the hand and the efforts of the supporting artiste playing the instrument on the other. He is also a talented Kanjira artiste.

On Facebook, he has been described as “a rare taoist of Carnatic Music, who
belongs to Nyasa Sangeetha Samrajyam, where the Pranaanala Samyogada
Nadhanubhava music is attained by a very few intuitive musical geniuses.”