Grand Carnatic Vocal Concert By Sanjay Subrahmanyan

SRUTI is pleased to present a Grand Vocal Concert by Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sanjay Subramanyan, accompanied by Varadarajan Santhanam on the Violin, and Neyveli Venkatesh on the Mridangam

Sanjay Subrahmanyan (Vocal)

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sanjay Subramanyan is one of the most popular names in Carnatic music today. He began learning music at age eight, studying the violin with V. Lakshminarayana and vocals from his aunt late Sukanya Swaminathan. He studied under Rukmini Rajagopalan for eight years, and later with Calcutta K. S. Krishnamurthi, who helped sharpen his skills. This experience helped Sanjay in innovating the fine blending of traditional and modern styles of Carnatic music. He continues to train under Nadaswaram Vidwan SRD Vaidyanathan.

Sanjay has been influenced by the great G.N. Balasubramaniam. His style shows characteristics of yesteryear maestros like Madurai Mani Iyer and M.D. Ramanathan. Sanjay Subrahmanyan is known for exploring vivadi, Hindustani, and rare ragas in ragam-tanam-pallavis. Sanjay has traveled widely and is a recipient of a string of prestigious awards, the latest being the "Sangeetha Kalanidhi" by the Madras Music Academy.

A Carnatic musician of great caliber, Sanjay is a Chartered Accountant as well. He was the subject of a documentary film made by Prasanna Ramaswamy in year 2006. He has taught for 15 years and his students like Sandeep Narayan, and Prasanna Venkatraman are accomplished vocalists.

Varadarajan Santhanam (Violin)

Another violin legend-in-the-making, Varadarajan initially learnt violin under Kanchi Janardhanam. He later learnt from the multi-faceted genius T.V. Gopalakrishnan. At a very young age Varadarajan has accompanied many leading artists of Carnatic music and has established himself as a leading violinist. His style of play is characterized by excellent control over the instrument with brilliant repartees that inspire the main artist.

He has been conferred with several titles and awards. Varadarajan has widely traveled in India and around the world for over 20 years as a solo artist, as well as an accompanist for leading musicians.

Neyveli Venkatesh (Mridangam)

Neyveli Venkatesh’s training in Mridangam started at the age of seven under his father A.S. Balaraman and his first stage performance was at the age of ten. He underwent advanced training in Mridangam under P.P. Venkatesan, and M.N. Kandaswamy Pillai.

Venkatesh has accompanied leading musicians at major venues in India and abroad. He is an “A” graded artiste on the All India Radio. He also set a record of playing the Mridangam for 28 hours continuously at Neyveli in 1986.

Host or Publisher SRUTI The India Music and Dance Society