Sri Krishna Gana Sabha has organised a Karnatak classical vocal music concert  by Vid. Aditya Prakash on Jan.31 (Thursday) at 6 pm at Alwar Kala Bhavan in Gokulam 3rd Stage. He will be accompanied by Vidu. Aditi Krishna Prakash on violin, Vid. Akshaya Anand on mridanga and S. Manjunath on ghata. The concert is sponsored by Rtn. S. Sundaram

Another vocal music concert by Vid. Aneesh V. Bhat is arranged by Krishna Gana Sabha on Feb.4 (Monday) at 6 pm in Alwar Kala Bhavan. The accompanying artistes are Vidu. Pruthvi Bhaskar  on violin and Vid. A. Radhesh on mridanga. The concert is sponsored by Sri Thyagraja Sangeetha Sabha Charitable Trust, Mysuru.

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Vid. Aditya Prakash, born in Los Angeles, was musically inclined from a young age. His mother Viji Prakash is the Founder of Shakti Dance School of Bharatanatyam, and his sister Mythili Prakash is a well-known Bharatanatyam dancer. Musicians from India would frequently stay with his family when they visited Los Angles and as a result, he was heavily exposed to Karnatak music.

He began learning Karnatak vocal music at the age of eight and mridanga at the age of six. When he was 12, he performed a two-hour-long debut vocal performance. By 16, he started touring with Pandit Ravi Shankar. He credits Ravi Shankar with giving him the idea to pursue music as a full-time profession. From then onwards, Prakash began spending four to six months each year in Chennai and learnt Karnatak music from various gurus.

By spending adequate time in India, he familiarised himself with various musical forms of Indian classical music. He spent extensive time learning from leading vocalists such as P.S. Narayanaswami and Palai C.K. Ramachandran, and learnt mridanga from Neyveli Narayartan.

He has performed at prominent venues worldwide, including the Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, Hollywood Bowl and Boston/Chicago Symphony Halls. As a solo Karnatak vocalist, Prakash has been a regular performer both in India and North America. He has sung at all leading Indian venues such as the Music Academy (Chennai), Gayana Samaj (Bangalore), Ravi Shankar Performing Arts Centre (New Delhi), Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha (Mumbai) among others.

Aneesh V. Bhat,  a traditional vocalist hailing from Puttur, is a name to be reckoned with in the Karnatak classical field in all of Southern Karnataka. From the tender age of 9, he has taken to the stage boldly and developed his rendition style into a very divine, traditional form. Aneesh’s music has been mentioned by many as very soulful and simplistic, coupled with rhythmic improvisations.

A ‘B’ graded artiste of All India Radio, he is presently working as a Karnatak music instructor at Shankar Mahadevan Academy as well as honing his nuances in Vidwat-level training of the percussion instrument, mridanga. Apart from being active through numerous performances and scholarships in music, Aneesh exceeds expectations in academics as well. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Construction Technology) and simultaneously working as an Assistant Professor in Canara Engineering College, Mangaluru.

He has won T.R. Krishnan Memorial Young Talent Award-2009; Gold Medal in classical music-2007; Best Concert Award; ‘Gana-Laya-Gandharva’ title; Fellowship from Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy among others. Audio CDs titled ‘Sunada Vinodini’ released by Lahari Audio is a series of Live Concert shows sung by Aneesh Bhat, one of the Founder-Members of Aarabhi Cultural Foundation. He has his own Aarabhi Music Academy which is an online teaching portal.