A S Murali (Carnatic Vocal)
Hailing from a family of musicians, Sri Anikode Krishna Sundaram Murali (A. S. Murali) is one of the most sought-after leading vocalists of today in the field of South Indian Classical Music (Carnatic Music). Sri A. S. Murali has performed more than thousand concerts with a global career of great repute spanning over two and a half decades. Sri Murali started his journey in music from his parents Sri. A. K. Sundaram and Smt. Parvathi and continued under his uncle Sri A. K. Ganesha Iyer and Kalaimamani Smt. S. Rajeswari. Later, his musical skills were honed by none other than Padma Bhushan Awardee Sri P. S. Narayanasamy, who himself is a leading sishya of the doyen, Bhishma Pithamaha Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, thus becoming the torch bearer of one of the most traditional schools of Carnatic music with a rich musical lineage. His fascination towards laya and the distinctive sound of the pot instrument - “Ghatam”, drew him to get trained under Ghatam Maestro Sri T. V. Vasan, was instrumental in shaping Sri Murali’s musical career.
Sri Murali is an “A Graded Artist” of the All India Radio, Chennai – both in Carnatic vocal as well as Ghatam, hence making himself a complete musician. His resonant and mellifluous voice and strict adherence to classicism have enriched his art progression over the years. His music is marked with a very high level of aesthetics in conception and execution. He is known for his tremendous blend of Manodharma (imaginative) and Sampradaya (traditional) Sangeetham (music) in his concerts. His complete involvement and his ability to unfold ragas with ease have left many a listeners getting lost in his music.
Sri Murali has received numerous awards and accolades from various leading institutions globally, few of which include “Asthana Vidwan” of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, “Sangeetha Bhushanam”, “Yuva Kala Jyothi”, “Sri Sushmeendra Puraskar”, “Gandharva Kala Rathna”, “Senior Fellowship in Music” by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. His music has been applauded and enjoyed by audiences in various parts of the globe such as the United States of America, Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Japan, Australia, various Middle East countries, South America, New Zealand, etc. Sri Murali invariably falls in the list of senior and favorite students of his guru and has also been one of the few preferred by his guru Sangeetha Kalacharya Sri P.S. Narayanasamy, to accompany him on vocal support during his concerts.
Academically, Murali is a qualified Cost accountant and holds a First Class Post graduate degree in Carnatic Music. Apart from being a main stream performer, Sri A. S. Murali is also one of the most sought after teachers in the Carnatic Music fraternity. He has produced several hundreds of students, all over the world, who have been proving themselves in various fields of music. He has also been to several countries on various tutorship programs and have trained students in such a way that their whole perspective on Carnatic Music changes for betterment. His teaching techniques are unique and most appealing such that, any student who joins him seldom wishes to leave his classes. He has also been awarded several awards for his dedicated teaching. Sri Murali has also been a panelist in the selection committee for the Department of Arts and Culture, Government of India.
Currently, Sri Murali is working as a faculty in the Department of Vocal Music in the most reputed Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts, Chennai.
(Biography sourced from https://chennaievent.com/artist_details.php?x=1910)
Nagai Sriram (Violin)
Nagai Sriram hails from a family of musicians. He was initiated into Carnatic Violin music at the age of 10 by his grandmother, Smt R. Komalavalli. Currently, Nagai Sriram is receiving advanced training from his uncle Vidwan Kalaimamani Nagai Shri R. Muralidharan and is an A-grade artist of All India Radio. He began his career as an accompanist at the age of 12 when he played for Shri Neyveli Santhanagopalan in New Delhi, India. Since then, he has been accompanying various leading artists including Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna, K.V. Narayanaswamy, T. N. Seshagopalan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, O. S. Thyagarajan, Hyderabad Brothers, Dr. N. Ramani, Sanjay Subramaniam, P. Unni Krishnan, and T. M. Krishna, to name a few. Nagai Sriram has many awards and laurels to his name including, Shanmukha Sangeetha Sironmani (Shanmukhanandha Sabha, Mumbai, 2007), Best Violinist (Music Academy, Chennai, 2001 through 2008), Best Violinist (Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer Trust, 2004), and Yuvakalabharathi (Bharath Kalachar, Chennai, 2002).
Thanjavur Murugabhupathi (Mridangam)
Thanjavur K Murugaboopathi belongs to a family of artists and musicians. He had his initial training under Sri T.R.Srinivasan, a Mridangam Vidwan and Lecturer in the Tamilnadu Government Music College. After receiving the 'Vadhya Visharada' with distinction from the Music College, he came under the guidance of Late Sri Tanjore Upendran. He learnt from the late maestro in the age old tradition of Gurukulavasam. Sri Murugaboopathi has won numerous awards including the Vadya Kalaimani from the Music College, Chennai, the Laya Kala Ratna from the Tiruppur Murugan Mandram, the Best Artiste Award from the South Indian Music Club, Andhra Pradesh, the Music Academy and the Sivan Mandram, Sydney, Australia. Murugaboopathi can adapt his playing to any style of singing or instrumental music and has won the appreciation of the artists as well as the rasikas. With his uncompromising orthodox style of playing he gracefully blends the best of the Pazhani Subramania Pillai and the Palghat Mani Iyer schools making him one of the most sought after mridangam players today. Boopathi as he is fondly known with his contemporaries, regularly accompanies leading artists such as Sangeetha Kalnidhis Shri Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, Dr. N. Ramani, Shri T V Sankaranarayan, the Hyderabad Brothers, Mandolin Srinivas, Sudha Ragunathan, and other contemporary artists such as Sanjay Subramaniam, T M Krishna, Bombay Jayashri and Aruna Sayeeram to name a few. Within India, he has performed in various venues in most metros including New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and across Tamil Nadu. Internationally, he is widely travelled on tour with the above reputed artists in North America including USA and Canada, in Europe including Great Britain, Scotland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Turkey, South Africa, the Middle East at Dubai, Muscat, and Doha, South East Asia in Singapore and Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.
Sri Sundarkumar (Kanjira)
Sri Sundarkumar is one of the leading Kanjira artists in the world of Rhythm music. Having entered the musical world at the age of three, he has been mesmerizing audience with his intricate rhythm beats and innate creativity, that he inherited from his musical family.
After the initial tutelage under his father, a renowned Mridangam player, Dr. K. B. S Mani, he underwent rigorous training under legendary Guru Karaikudi Sri R. Mani. It was under his guidance that Sundarkumar perfected the art of playing Mridangam, and then took to playing his most favorite percussion instrument, the Kanjira. His mastery and understanding of the subtle nuances of playing this instrument is unparalleled.
(Biography sourced from http://www.kanjiraman.com/)
