Venkat Raman
Those watching the Super Singers Programme to explore and expose talent among Seniors and Juniors on Star Vijay Tamil Television Channel would not like to miss a rare opportunity of watching a few of them perform in Auckland.
The star attraction of the event coming up on Saturday, July 15, 2017 (from 630 pm) at Dorothy Winstone Centre at Auckland Girls Grammar School will undoubtedly be Rajhesh Vaidhya, one of the most talented and ‘vigorous’ Veena artistes of our times.
His performances as a ‘Support Artiste’ at the Super Singer Competition have overshadowed the rendition of young contestants, but nobody objects, for such is his repertoire that popular music directors such as A R Rahman and participants and judges in the competition adore him.
Charity to benefit
Anand Aravindakshan, the young singer who created waves and raised eyebrows when he was declared Super Singer of the Year in 2016 and Hari Priya, who won the acclaim of all the judges during the audition, knock-out, quarterfinals, semi-finals and final round at the Super Singer Competition held in 2015 will be added attractions.
Organised by our community leaders and musicians including Suren Surendran, a part of the proceeds of the programme will be donated to ‘Gandhi Illam New Zealand Trust,’ a charity organisation that supports children in Sri Lanka.
Further details can be obtained from Suren on 021-952747. Email: surendran@xtra.co.nz
Rajhesh Vaidhya
Those of us who have grown with world-renowned Veena masters such as S Balachander, Chitti Babu and Doraiswami Iyengar would appreciate the divinity of this great instrument – it is believed to be the gift of Goddess Saraswathi, who is always seen with the Veena in her hands. We have watched and applauded these maestros perform miracles with this stringed instrument.
Rajhesh is a chip of the old block. Born into a musically endowed family, he inherited the talent of his father K M Vaidyanathan, a Mridangam and Ghatam master. Inspired and encouraged by him, Rajhesh was also highly influenced by the mastery of Chitti Babu. With such pedagogues, he began to fine-tune his nuances on the Veena and the result has been magical. He later came under the tutelage of Lakshminarayana Shankar (or Shenkar).
Amazing Speed
Apart from his blistering speed, Rajhesh’s performances are distinguished by his use of electric and amplified strings. Besides his stage instrumental concerts, he is deeply involved with recordings for leading cine music directors and documentary filmmakers.
He is a part of the multi starred phenomenal International album ‘Playing for change’ www.playingforchange.com
Honours and Associations
Among the honours that he has received include ‘Shree Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Aasthana Vidwan’ (2001) and ‘Kalaimamani’ (2011) given by the Tamil Nadu government. His appointment as ‘Roland Endorsee’ is an international acclaim.
As the brother-in-law of famous comedian S Ve Shekher, Rajhesh was drawn into the film industry, and scored music for his Tamil film ‘Vegam.’ He has also worked with music directors Vidyasagar, Harris Jayaraj, Bharathwaj, Deva, Devi Sri Prasad, Srikanth Deva, Ilaiyaraaja and A R Rahman.
He composed the music for K Balachander’s television series ‘Sahana.’
He collaborated with ‘Playing for Change,’ for the album ‘Songs Around the World,’ published in 2008. He has performed with several global stars including Sir Elton John.
Within the Veena and South Indian music tradition, Rajhesh is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and technically beguiling artistes of our times.
Anand Aravindakshan
Anand Aravindakshan was the Star among top 33 contestants in Airtel Super Singer 5 shown on Star Vijay TV.
Born, raised and educated in Chennai, he acquired his higher education in Sound Engineering and Recording at the Soundtech Media School Pune.
A well-trained classical musician, Anand is an emerging playback singer in Tamil films.
Hari Priya
Hari Priya (also Haripriya) was a top finalist in Super Singer Junior 4 of Star Vijay TV.
Although she did not win in the Contest, she is rated high as a singer of great talent. She has been performing at concerts in many parts of the world and the forthcoming event in New Zealand would be the first in this country.
Indian Newslink is promoting this Programme through its Print and Web Editions, Bi-Weekly Newsletter, Facebook and Twitter.
