Mysuru: Shruthimanjari Foundation and Rotary Club of Mysore West have jointly organised the 22nd Annual Music Festival at Rotary West Auditorium in Saraswathipuram here from Jan.16 to 19.

The Fest will be inaugurated on Jan.16 at  6 pm. Dr. S. Ayyappan, Vice-Chancellor, Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Assam, will be the chief guest. Rtn. Reginald Wesley, President, Rotary West, will preside.

Schedule

Jan.16 (7 pm): ‘Laya Lahari’ instrumental ensemble by Vid. H.L. Shivashankaraswamy and troupe.

Jan.17 (6 pm): Violin Duet  by Violin Maestros Vid. Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath (Mysore Brothers). They will be accompanied by Vid. H.S. Sudheendra on mridanga and Vid. Giridhar Udupa on ghata.

Jan.18 (6 pm): Vocal Duet (Karnatak Classical Music) by Bangalore Brothers (M.B. Hariharan and S. Ashok). They will be accompanied by Vid. Mysore M. Sumanth on violin, Vid. B.R. Srinivas on mridanga and Vid. S. Srishyala on ghata.

Jan.19 (10 am): Presentation by students of workshop on ‘Compositions in rare ragas,’ concert by winner of Mosale Krishnamurthy Raaga Taana Pallavi competition. Sri Purandara – Thyagaraja Aradhana Mahotsava. Goshti Gayana by renowned musicians of Mysuru; 6 pm: Vocal Concert by Vidu. Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath. She will be accompanied by Vidu. Nalina Mohan on violin and Vid. B.S. Prashanth on mridanga.

Profiles

Laya Vidya Pratishtana, Mysuru: The percussion Academy is the brainchild of Vid. H.L. Shivashankaraswamy. He is the son of Manjulamma and Lakshminarayana Sharma, a well-known Keerthanakara and Gamaka Vidwan. He is one of the leading mridanga artistes of India. Born in the family of musicians, he had his training in mridanga from renowned artiste Vid. B.R. Sridhar of Mysuru.

Shivashankaraswamy has accompanied almost all the leading musicians and Vidwans of Karnatak Music. He has also given many performances in All India Radio, Doordarshan including National Programmes, Sangeetha Sammelana and South Zone Music Concerts. Apart from this, he is also a well-known name in the field of Jugalbandi and Fusion. 

Shivashankaraswamy has toured abroad extensively. He has been awarded the Best Mridanga Artiste in Sangeetha Sammelana in the year 2002 conducted by Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat, Bengaluru. An ‘A’ grade mridanga artiste of AIR and Doordarshan, the Laya Lahari, conceived and directed by him, has been appreciated  by one and all.

Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath: Amazingly gifted Violin Maestros, Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath, the sons and disciples of renowned violinist Prof. Mahadevappa, were child prodigies who matured quickly to emerge as Top Ranking Violinists today. Their exceptional musical talents were first revealed at a very tender age of 8 when they stormed into the music world sweeping all the music- lovers and critics off their feet by their extraordinary musical acumen and technical virtuosity. 

From Royal Albert Hall-London to Sydney Opera House-Australia, from Common Thread Music Festival in Oregon to Santa-Fe Festival in New Mexico, from Oxford University to World Music Festival in Chicago, from Royal Palace in Italy to Federation Square in Melbourne, Mysore Brothers have enthralled audiences all over the world.

With The international Press describing them as “The Bright- Visible Cultural Ambassadors of India”, Dr.Manjunath and Nagaraj have brought laurels and glory to the field of Indian Classical Music. Excelling academically also, Dr. Manjunath holds a Master of Music Degree, securing First Rank and 4                                                               Gold medals and has Ph.D in Violin from the University of Mysore.

He has the credit of being the first ever-Indian violinist to be invited to perform at the prestigious International Violin Conference held in Sandiego and Persian Academy in Iran. The Brothers have the distinction of being invited for violin concerts at some of the top venues in the world  including Prestigious Jazzar Festival in Switzerland, Bozar Music conference in Belgium, SAARC Summit, Milano Musica in Italy and National Centre for early music — UK etc. 

Bangalore Brothers: The duo was formed under the direction of Ganakalashree Vidwan H.S. Sudhindra, one of the most sought after mridanga artistes in Karnatak Music scene today. M.B. Hariharan received rigorous training in vocal music since 1989 from Vid. S.N. Sreenivasa Prasanna while S. Ashok received rigorous training in vocal music since 1989 from Gurus Vid. D.S. Srivathsa, Vidu. Vaidehi and Vid. K.R. Ramesh.

Both Hariharan and Ashok received further training under the tutelage of Ganakalanidhi late Vid. Salem P. Sundareshan. Both are continuing their music training in vocal music under Ganakalashree Vid. H.S. Sudhindra.

A-Grade artistes in All India Radio, Bengaluru, for Karnatak Vocal Duet, both are Mechanical Engineering (BE) graduates. Post-graduates in Karnatak Music (M.Music) from University of Madras. Secured first rank in the ‘Vidwat’ Examination conducted by the KSSEB.

Recipients of Sangeetha Koustubha and scholarships by Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India, they have performed for TV channels like DD Chandana, Amrita TV, SVBC Nadaneerajanam (TTD), Udaya TV, Sankara TV, DD Malayalam and Kasturi Kannada.

Ashok is also an A-Grade mridanga artiste of AIR Bengaluru and has provided mridanga accompaniment to many eminent artistes in numerous Sabhas.

Aishwarya Vidhya Raghunath: An A-graded artiste of the All India Radio and Doordarshan, Aishwarya has the honour of being the disciple of musical stalwarts — Sangita Kalacharya (late) Seethalakshmi Venkatesan, Padma Bhushan P.S. Narayanaswamy and Sangeetha Kala Sagaram Vegavahini Vijayaraghavan — thus being moulded into the Semmangudibani and the Veena Dhanammalbani. She began learning music at the age of 3 and her first performance was at the age of 13. 

Aishwarya has presented Karnatak Music to a variety of audiences, including many national and international academic forums. In early 2018, she completed a two-month tour of USA and Canada with CMANA (Carnatic Music Association of North America).

She is the recipient of numerous awards like ‘Outstanding Lady Vocalist’ Award (conferred by Madras Music Academy), Yuva Purandara (awarded by Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha), D.K. Pattammal Award, M.S. Subbulakshmi Award, Seerkazhi Govindarajan Award, RMKV Award of Excellence and Government of India Scholarship from Ministry of Culture. 

Academically, Aishwarya is a Biotech Engineer and has worked as an executive at Biocon before being a full-time music professional. 

Aishwarya is also proficient in oil painting, acrylic painting, water colours and charcoal drawings. In April 2017, Aishwarya’s art was recognised by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath through the exhibition, Akanksha. This year, her painting on endangered Indian wildlife species were exhibited at the international art exhibition — Artists for Wildlife and Nature 2019.