Indian Classical Vocalist Dr. Balamuralikrishna to perform in Kuwait, on May 24

By Vinod Lewis
Bellevision Media Network

Kuwait, 18 May 2012: Kalanjali Kuwait, an Indian organization, working to promote Indian Culture and Traditions since 2011 is planning to organize a Carnatic Concert of Padma Vibhushan Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna on 24th May 2012, in Integrated Indian School, Jleeb Al Shyoukh from 6.30 pm onwards.

Kalanjali Kuwait has the reputation of presenting the most popular artists to the residents of Kuwait in the past including Carnatic Concert by Dr. M Bala Murali Krishna (in 2006), Ghazal Concert by Sri Anup Jalota (2007), Musical Nite by Sadhana Sargam (2011) (well known Bollywood and South Indian Film Singer), Musical Nite by Preeti Bhalla (2011), Comedy Show by Ranjan Sahu (2011) and Rajasthani Folk Dance by Kailash Raj (2011), Musical Nite by Mukesh, Kalpana & Compeer by B H Abdul Hameed (2010), Whistle Concert by Sri Elapata Siva Prasad, Musical Nite by Smt. Vijayalakshmi, Miss Malavika, Sri Samson “Mukesh”, Sri Mohamed Irfan (Star Amul Voice of India fame & Zee Sa Re Ga Ma fame), Sri G V Prabhakar, Tamil Drama by Sri S Ve Shekher (2007), Flute Concert by Dr. Padmesh, Carnatic Concert by Ajay Warrier, Drums Concert by Youngest Drummer in the World - Master Siddharth (2006), Ganithavadhani by Youngest Mathematician in the World - Master Nischal (2206), Felicitation to Sri Suman (2009), Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad (2010), Folk Songs by Goranti Venkanna, Mimicry by Ramesh, Dance Competition Apr 2011 (Raghu – well known South Indian Film Choreographer was the chief judge), Memory & Vedic Maths Classes by Mr. Sai Kiran and conducted local programs including Kuch Kar Dikhana Hai (Prove your Talent), Sa Re Ga Ma (with over 169 local participants), Indian Carnival 2009, Picnics, Paattukku Paattu by Sri B H Abdul Hameed & Musical Nite by Mukesh (well-known Tamil Film Singer) and Kalpana (well-known Tamil & Telugu film singer), Dance Competition & felicitation to well-known film Choreographer B H Tarun Master (2011), T-20 Summer Cricket Tournament (Conducted every year, to coincide with India’s Independence Day), Champions Trophy T20 Cricket Tournaments, Women’s Throw Ball Tournaments and Blood Donation Camps, to name a few.

 

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna is a Carnatic music singer, instrumentalist, as well as a playback singer. Balamuralikrishna is also a celebrated poet, composer and appreciated by all Indian classical musicians for his expertise in Carnatic Music. This Carnatic Music vocalist became legendary personality who has composed a number of songs. For his owe-inspiring creations, Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna has received critical acclamation throughout his performing career. The Government of India has also bestowed him with the Padma Vibhushan.

Balamuralikrishna first performed in a concert at Thyagaraja Aradhana, Vijayawada, at the age of 8. He was identified as a Top Graded artist of All India Radio. Moreover, he was selected for seven different performance areas.
He has also bagged the honour of being the only National Award winner musician who has won this award for his execution in classical music, music direction and film playback singing. In 1952, the Janaka Raga Manjari as released and the 9 volume Raagaanga Ravali were recorded by the Sangeeta Recording Company. Due to the increased number of concerts, Balamuralikrishna could not continue his studies.

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna at a short span of time proved himself to be a versatile artist who can play the Kanjira, Mridangam, Viola and Violin equally excellent. By the age of 16 years, he exhibited his mastery over all these 72 melakarta ragas and to his credit; he has composed Kritis in all of them.

Balamuralikrishna has composed near about 400 carnatic musical composition. He has attempted to incorporate new ragas (Ganapathi, Mahati, Sumukham, Trisakthi, Sarvashri, Omkari, Janasamodini, Manorama, Rohini, Vallabhi, Lavangi, Pratimadhyamavathi, Sushama etc) with only 3 or 4 notes, and a new Tala system and these have been reckoned as his innovation. Some famous compositions done by him are Sri Sakala Ganadhipa Palayamam, Mahadevasutham, Gam Gam Ganapathim.

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna has performed in all most all the countries of the world including USA, Canada, UK, Italy, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Middle East etc. Throughout the world, he has given more than 26000 performances. He has executed Jugalbandhis with maestros like Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Kishori Amonkar, among others.

Padma Sri Dr. Yella Venkateshwar Rao

Started giving public performance at the tender age of seven, playing along with and accompanying topnotch stalwarts, musicians and maestros in Carnatic and Hindustani music concerts in India and abroad. A World record holder entered in the Guinness Book of Records for his achievement in non-stop performance for thirty six (36) hours playing on Mridanga Maha Yagnam organized by the department of cultural affairs, Government of Andhra Pradesh at Sankar Mutt, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh on 16th August 1981.

He has to his credit of about more than 20,000 performances at regional, national and International level. He is a recipient of many National and International Awards, Citation and Felicitations. Also performed several times since 1955 in All-India radio and since 1971 in Doordarshan Conferred “PADMASRI” in 2008 by Smt. Pratibha Patil, President of India. In 1961 won President’s Award from Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishna the then President of India, in AIR Music Competitions - All India - First Prize. He has also won National Award – National Award for the best music feature directed for Sivathandavam in 1994, produced by AIR

Dr. Yella is an Astana Vidwan, Government of Andhra Pradesh from 1981 to 1986 and Astana Vidwan of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Yadagiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple and since 1977 for Srikalahasti Temple in Andhra Pradesh.
Has won Life Time Asthan Vidwan, Datta Peetam of Sri Ganapati Sachidananda Swamiji, Mysore since 1993. He is also Life Member Thyagaraja Festival Committee, Tiruvayur, Tamilnadu.

Profile of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi is the daughter and disciple of the Great Maestro Padma Bhushan Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. The fifth generation in the Lalgudi dynasty, Vijayalakshmi grew up in an atmosphere of reverberating rich music early signs of her musical inclination was apparent. She was only two when she could identify the Solfa Syllables in any musical phrase. These early trends were nurtured further when she commenced her lessons at the age of six under the watchful eyes of her perfectionist father. At thirteen, she went on stage for the first time with her father. Since then, she has been performing regularly in Violin duet and trios with her father Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman and brother Lalgudi G J R Krishnan. She is a leading exponent of the Lalgudi style, which is characterized by boundless innovation while strictly adhering the tradition and eloquently capturing the mood and essence of any composition. Along with her brother Lalgudi Krishnan, she has been diligently going about the task of maintaining the stylistic grandeur and singularity of the Lalgudi tradition.

She also has provided excellent violin accompaniment to several leading musicians. She has rendered several programs as a soloist on the violin, thereby making it possible for the today’s audience to get a glimpse into the great tradition and bani, established by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. She has also performed concerts in the Jugal Bandhi format and some fusion concerts with international musicians.

Vijayalakshmi also has the credit of leading a music ensemble of the Violin, the Venu or flute and the Veena. This is a concept originally introduced by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. Vijayalakshmi has led the ensemble in over 50 concerts all over India.
She has led the first of its kind ALL WOMEN Violin – Veena – Venu Ensemble on a tour to the US.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi has the unique distinction of also being a vocalist. Rendition of Shri LGJ’s composition on composer’s day and the innovative combination of her vocal rendition of select compositions along with Shri Krishnan on the violin and Shri Anil Srinivasan on the Piano / Key Board are worth specific mention. The hard work and practice required being able to perform in all these facets as a violinist and a vocalist is a testimony to the dedication she brings to the profession.
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi by herself and along with her brother have delivered many lecture demonstrations on many simple and complex subjects in the area of Carnatic music in India and abroad. During her recent tour to the US, she gave few lecturers and demonstrations in few universities including University of Pennsylvania.

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi has been amidst her busy professional career offering classes both vocal and violin to students across the world. She has made a mark over many students as a uniquely talented teacher, who brings the best out of the student leaving them inspired and motivated. As aptly put by one of her students, “A mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. A superior teacher demonstrates. But a great teacher inspires”.

Vijayalakshmi’s focus on teaching is to continue to spread the specialty of the Lalgudi bani. She has taught many students across the globe, including Germany, Australia, USA, UK etc. The lessons are offered on a personalized one to one basis, and combined during her travels to these countries on musical tours.

She has travelled widely on concert tours both in India and abroad and has performed in countries all over the world, including USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia and Middle East.
She holds a Master of Arts in English Literature and followed it up with a Diploma in Music.

She has been accredited with several awards such as:

• “Tantri Nada Mani” by His Holiness Jayendra Swamigal – Kanchipuram
• Award for Excellence from Maharajapuram Santhanam Foundation – Chennai
• Best Accompanist Award from Prestigious Music Academy – Chennai
• Kalki Krishnamoorthy Memorial Award from the Kalki Krishnamoorthy Foundation
• Yuva Kala Bharathi Award from Bharat Kalachar
• Creataalent Award
• Best Juniors Artiste by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha - Chennai

Profile of Ghatam Giridhar Udupa

Ghatam Giridhar Udupa is one of the leading musicians in the world of rhythm. Thumping into the musical world at an age as tender as 4, Udupa has been mesmerizing the audience with his immaculate style and innate creativity.
Born into a family of music and literature, rhythm flows in his blood. He had his initial tutelage under his father and well-known Mridangam artist Vidwan Ullur Nagendra Udupa and later became a disciple of Vidushi Ghatam Sukanya Ramgopal and Vidwan Ghatam V Suresh.

Udupa performs on the Ghatam, the Indian claypot. He also performs on varied South Indian percussion instruments including Mridangam, Kanjira and Morsing. He renders Konnakol (syllables) with equal aplomb. He has accompanied eminent South Indian Classical Musicians including Sarvashree L Subramaniam, M Balamuralikrishna, M S Gopalakrishnan, R K Srikantan, T N Krishnan, T K Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, A K Palanivel, Trichy Sankaran, T V Sankranarayanan, Mysore Nagaraj & Manjunath, Ganesh & Kumaresh, T N Seshagopalan, Jayanthi Kumaresh, R K Suryanarayana, Kadri Gopalanath, Trichur V Ramachandran, Hyderabad Brothers, O S Thyagarajan, T M Krishna, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, P Unnikrishnan, Sanjay Subramanyam, N Vijay Siva, Malladi Brothers, Shashank, Sudha Raghunathan, Aruna Sairam, Bombay Sisters, Nithyashree Mahadevan, S Sowmya, Bombay Jayashri, M S Sheela and others.

Udupa has given concerts under the auspices of prestigious Sabhas all over India and abroad, including United Nations (New York), The Kennedy Centre (Washington), other places in USA, Royal Festival Hall- UK, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, El Violin Festival - Spain, Switzerland, Theatre de la ville & Theater Guimet – Paris (France), De Bouche a oreille – Parthenay (France), Denmark, International Percussion Festival – Krakow (Poland), Italy, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Romania, Java Jazz Festival – Jakartha (Indonesia), Mauritius, Re Union Island, Singapore, Rainforest World Music Festival - Malaysia, Bangkok Jazz Festival – Bangkok, Sri Lanka and Middle East.

Apart from playing authentic Carnatic Classical music, he has performed in many Fusion, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Flamenco, Symphony Orchestra, Celtic Music, Latin Music, DJ Music, World Music, Arabic Music, Japanese Music, Talavadya (Percussion Ensemble), European Folk Music and Jugalbandhi concerts and has been part of numerous International Music Festivals with renowned Indian Musicians like Dr. L Subramaniam, Trilok Gurtu, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Ustad Fazal Qureshi, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Sivamani, Ganesh Kumaresh, Mysore Brothers, Louis Banks, Niladri Kumar, Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Amit Heri, Lucky Ali, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam, Ranjit Barot, Bikram Ghosh, Rahul Sharma, Selva Ganesh, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Western Musicians like Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Ernie Watts, John Kaizan Neptune, Chico freeman, Kai Eckhardt, Hubert Laws, Corky Siegel, Ivry Gitlis, Airto Moreira, Fritz Renold, Lewis Pragasam and others. He has also worked with many leading music directors in India.

He has been part of several Global symphony and Chamber Orchestra including Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (USA), Kwazulu – Natal Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa), State Philharmonic Orchestra of Sibiu (Romania), Sinfonia Baltica (Poland), Leipzig Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra (Germany) and Royal Symphony Orchestra of Oman.

He is a founder member of “Layatharanga” a team of Indian classical musicians who have embarked on creating new waves of music blending different forms of classical, folk and world music. To take his music to the global audience, he has teamed up with Poland based Flamenco Group “Indialucia” and France based Cletic band “Nasha”. He has conducted many workshops & lecture demonstrations for many prestigious institutions all over the world. He has also composed and conducted for many world music projects. He is the FIRST INDIAN PERCUSSIONIST to perform at the prestigious Krakow International Percussion Festival (2005).

Radio France, Polskie Radio (Polish Radio), Radio Luxembourg and several radio networks have broadcast his solo concerts and interviews. He has recorded albums for Autogram, a leading German audio recording company and CM records of Poland.

 
Key Achievements:

• “Asthana Vidwan” of the Sri Matam of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, 2010.
• Conferred with the title “Yuva Kala Bharathi” by Bharath Kalachar, Chennai, 2004.
• First Prize at the National Level All India Radio competition in 2000. CMANA Award 2007 (Carnatic Music Association of North America) by Percussive Arts
• Centre, Bengaluru.
• Recipient of the prestigious Central Government Scholarship for Ghatam from 2002.
• Best Ghatam Artist Award from Gayana Samaja, Ganakala Parishat and
• Malleshwaram Sangeetha Sabha for the years 1992, 1996 and 1999.
• Founder Member of Layatharanga – an Ensemble of Percussions. Layatharanga
• released their first album Punarnava, The Revivial in 1999, Thandava in 2000,
• Pranava in 2003, Anandam in 2011 and Smirit in 2011.
• Aryabhata Award – 2000
• Ananya Yuva Puraskara, for “Best Percussionist of the Year” in 2003.
• Vijaya Kalashree title in 1997
• Rotary Youth Award in 2008
• Lions International Award in 2011
• Yuva Laya Prabhibhamani title in 2009.
For more details, kindly contact 66457286 or send an email to kalanjaliq8@gmail.com