February 2010 keertana... a bridge to the rich South Indian cultural heritage... Friday, 5 February 2010 7:30 pm to 9 pm Knox Gardens Community Hall Argyle Way Wantirna South Vic 3152 Melway Ref: (72 G2) Sunday, 7 February 2010 5 pm to 8:30 pm The Knox School Auditorium 220 Burwood Highway Wantirna South Vic 3152 Melway Ref: (63 E10)
When music seeps into the hearts of rasikas without themselves perceiving it, then it can be said to have served its ethereal purpose. For sangita s tranquil delights lie hidden in the depths of the heart, waiting to be activated by a sensitive artiste like Bombay Jayashri. Her sensitivity is rooted in tenderness, stimulating music and music, in turn, lending itself to contemplation... states a renowned critic in The Hindu. Bombay Jayashri, is an outstanding exponent of Carnatic Music - the classical music system of Southern India. Her mellifluous voice, rich and fertile imagination and an excellent blend of tradition and modernity has helped her win a permanent place in the hearts of music lovers all over the world. Her music has an endearing quality that connects her to any audience that she performs for. Born into a family of musicians with rich lineage and steeped in pedigree music, Bombay Jayashri represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Jayashri has undergone an intensive training period of thirty years under several great musical teachers. She began by learning from her parents Seetha and Subramaniam. She then learnt under T R Balamani. She learnt Hindustani music for six years from Mahavir Jaipurvale and Ajay Pohankar. A further ten years were spent under the guidance of the legend, violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman. She learnt the veena at the same time from Dandapani Iyer. Jayashri began her concert career in 1982. She has had a vast performing experience presenting concerts all over India, including concerts during the annual Chennai Music Festival in December, and in over twenty different countries around the globe. Jayashri has the rare privilege of being the first Carnatic vocal performer in the Royal Opera House, Durban and the Russian Opera House at Helsinki, Finland. She was also the sole representative of the Carnatic Music tradition at Lausanne, Switzerland; Porto, Portugal and Santiago, Spain. She is the only artiste who has been featured twice at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. To celebrate the Fifty Years of India s Independence, she composed Vande Mataram which she rendered with her peers, Unnikrishnan, Sanjay and Sowmya. She has composed the music for many of her albums such as, Atma (Bharatiyar s poetry), Shravanam and Salokyam to name a few. She has composed music for dance ballets and documentaries. Her composition for the operatic ballet based on the Tamil Epic Silapadhikaaram is an example of this. She has also composed the music for Revathy s telefilm Verukku Neer. Her foray into singing for films has won her much acclaim and awards. Jayashri co-founded Matrka dedicated to promoting Carnatic music. She has co-authored the first coffee table book on Carnatic music called Voices Within. She organizes an exclusive festival for students of music and dance along with T M Krishna and also conducts innovative workshops for corporates, based on the rich legacy of Carnatic Music. Jayashri has collaborated with various eminent artistes, in her quest to interact and experiment with various forms of World Music. She has sung with Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas and Senegalese singer Thione Seck. She regularly performs Jugalbandhis with Ronu Majumdar and Shubha Mudgal. She has dialogued with artistes in dance like Leela Samson and has lent her voice for Abdul Kalam s audio autobiography - Wings of Fire. Recently, she was part of an Indo-Finnish venture Rain and Red Earth, where she sang Kurunthogai (ancient poems from the Sangam literature) with Avanti, a Philharmonic Orchestra from Finland. This event Was premiered at Helsinki in August 2008. Jayashri has been the recipient of several awards and accolades from the government and many other prestigious institutions and she has also been involved in various social causes through the medium of her music.
Ilayaraja s film crew. With the knowledge of reading and writing western notation, Kannan has composed music for serials, advertisements and devotional albums. Kannan has been awarded many prizes both for his solo performance and his role as an accompanist from various prestigious institutions like the Music Academy in Chennai, All India Radio, Indian Fine Arts (Chennai) and Annamalai Mandram. In 1998, Bharat Kalachar awarded him the title Yuva Kala Bharathi. Kannan is a A-Grade artist in All India Radio s panel of artists. Kannan holds a Masters Degree in Commerce. Inheriting the legacy from his Embar family, Kannan is a leading violinist among the younger generation of musicians. Born in 1975 to Vidwan Sangeetha Bhushanam Sri Embar Sadagopan, Kannan is known for his silky and soothing touches in the violin and for his impeccable Sruthi alignment. He is acknowledged as one of India s top classical music violinists. Kannan s performing, touring and recording credits are impressive. A loving disciple of renowned violinist Ms. A. Kanyakumari, Kannan has traveled the globe performing in prestigious venues like the Theatre de Ville in Paris, Albustan Palace in Muscat, Radio France and Toronto York University. Kannan is a sought after accompanist and has accompanied all top artist and has been featured in many festivals. Kannan is also a part of many music ensembles. In the ensemble, HeArtbeat, he leads the melodic wing. This ensemble released their first CD Taka Dimi Taka Junu which was highly acclaimed by both the press and public. Kannan also records and performs proficiently in settings as varied as traditional Indian classical music, jazz and fusion. Kannan is a key member of drummer Nagi s fusion band Dhinak Dhin. Kannan also features frequently in other fusion groups and in ad-jingles as a guest artist. J. Vaidyanathan, son of Sangitha Kalanidhi Late Sri D.K.Jayaraman had his advanced training from Sangitha Kalanidhi Dr. T.K. Murthy. He has won several prizes and awards. He has accompanied Late Smt. M.S. Subbalakshmi, Late Smt. D.K. Pattammal, Late Smt. M.L. Vasanthakumari, Late Sri. D.K.Jayaraman, Late Dr. S. Ramanathan, Sri. K.V. Narayanaswamy, Sri. B. Rajam Iyer, Sri. T.N. Krishnan, Sri M.S. Gopalakrishnan and regularly accompanies many top ranking artists throughout India. He has given performances in the USA, USSR, Singapore, Muscat, Mauritius and Australia. This is his second tour of Australia organised by Carnatic Music Circle Melbourne. Kannan blend of aesthetics and innovation is remarkable. Kannan is also a violinist in demand in the Indian film industry primarily as the leading violinist in Maestro
Exclusive interview for Keertana India which I put together when my own daughter was born. The mother had liked the CD so much that she had played it since she was pregnant with the child, and continued to so after the child was born. The baby was so tuned in to the lullaby CD that she did not sleep until the mother played a particular lullaby from it. Even at this young age, the baby identified Jayashri as the aunty who has sung her favourite lullaby! I was humbled and moved by the power of music that it could touch even a child so young. How do you usually prepare for a concert? Chitra Sudarshan caught up with Bombay Jayashri on 4 Feb 2010 Welcome to Melbourne Jayashri. Let me begin by asking you what has been, in your view, the most fulfilling thing you have done with your music? I truly enjoy my solo concerts, and find them deeply fulfilling. I love having dialogues with other musicians, whatever tradition they belong to. I see the world through carnatic music, but understand and appreciate other genres. I have a deep foundation in carnatic music, but have learnt the piano and Hindustani music as well. I have performed with the Finnish Orchestra in Helsinki and Lapland together with 40 musicians and it was a thrilling musical experience. I have sung with the well known Egyptian singer Hisham Abbas and enjoyed it immensely. I relish my dialogues with the danseuse and choreographer Leela Samson to name a few. I have enjoyed my interactions with children as well: I did a 5 day tour of 12 schools in Kerala, and conducted intensive music workshops with children between the ages of 10 and 17. In every one of those sessions, the children sang - even ragam-tanampallavi - and truly enjoyed it. It was a demonstration that art is not boring or difficult. This made me see carnatic music in a different light, and I felt satisfied that as long as it is presented well, it will go on. I had been to Phoenix for a concert recently and met this 2 year old child who would not sleep until she listened to one of the tracks in my CD Vatsalyam a multilingual collection of lullabies from all over I plan a little for concerts, mainly with the view to the venue I shall be singing in. If it is a Bangalore concert, I include Kannada kritis; if it is a sabha, a good ragam-tanampallavi is a must. There is a bit of planning and a bit of impromptu singing as well. In the first few years of concert presentations, I would go up to the stage and sing whatever ragam or kriti I fancied: my accompanists would often feel fretful that I would not know what I was going to sing until I was on the stage! Today, I think ahead and plan a few things: for instance, I am singing in both Sydney and Melbourne on this tour and I know there would be a few people attending both concerts so I try to include a rich and varied repertoire. Usually, one gets a sense of what the audience would like within a few minutes of the commencement of a concert, and you can tailor the repertoire accordingly. What was the most memorable concert you have done so far? There have been a few : The most memorable one was the concert in which my guru Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman sat in the front row with Sri Chemmangudi next to him. Then there was this concert in New Jersey in which Smt Padmini, Baby Kamala, the Dhananjayans and Lakshmi Shankar were all in the audience.
I shan t forget another great experience: I was in the middle of a performance in Delhi s IIT when a man entered the hall and walked towards the stage, and I simply froze and stopped singing...it was Pandit Ravi Shankar himself! He asked me not to stop and to continue. I did, and he stayed and listened till the very end. Are you still keenly involved in Matrka? Very much so. The aim of the organisation is to work with school children and spread Carntic music. Matrka publishes books too the first one was about the 7 Legends of Carnatic Music we picked 7 great carnatic musicians and explored the reasons why they were the greats of our music tradition. The second book is on the anvil. We run a series of concerts called Svanubhava. It is a music festival run by the students for the students of music. General audience is usually discouraged. It is place where young people interested in Carnatic music can sing and listen to each other without being judged; meet like-minded youths, exchange ideas, tips, CDs, kritis etc. It is also a forum where young musicians can meet great musicians other than their own gurus, ask them questions, seek inspiration. It is a six day event which runs from 9 to 3 everyday. When I was a young and aspiring musician, I had a special relationship with my contemporaries like Vijay Shiva and others. We would help each other, exchange titbits, ideas, share new experiences and such, and this is something I would like young people today to be able to do as well Svanubhava is one such forum. You have learnt Hindustani Music for several years. How do you think it has enriched your musical experience? Oh yes, very much. It has helped me a lot in many ways. I was a serious student of Hindustani music for about six years, learning from Guru Mahavir, and singing exclusively in that style and practising it all those years. I learnt it seriously because I wanted to be able to appreciate their structure and tala. I am certain it has had an impact on my style What are your views on new ways of doing Carnatic Music and on doing Fusion? There is plenty of scope for change and innovation in carnatic music within the tradition. One can re-introduce old and forgotten compositions; sing well-known compositions in a new and refreshing way. I am all for Fusion and cross cultural experiments that take carnatic music to new frontiers. If it will bring new listeners and audiences to our music tradition, it will have served a purpose. However, I have found through personal experience, in order for one to do this sort of thing properly so that the audience take something away from the concert, a lot of homework and preparation is involved. It must be clearly thought out, structured, mixed and presented. Simply getting on the stage with a musician or musicians of another genre and doing what comes to mind at that time may be enjoyable, but the audience s experience is not fully maximised. What is your advice to young and aspiring musicians? First, there is no substitute for hard work and you must enjoy that hard work. Even if it is sadhana for an hour, it should be done with dedication. Secondly, one must find the right guru who will guide you; thirdly, one must be prepared mentally, for at the end of the day, it is a lonely journey with hours of solitary practice. Good students and those talented in music must definitely give it a try and parents and friends must support their endeavour. It is a wonderful thing to be able to pass it on to the next generation. When I decided to move to Chennai in 1988 from Bombay, where I grew up, it was met with a lot of resistance even from my family who had encouraged my music. I took that step on my own, against heavy odds, because I wanted to find a way to learn from the great guru Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman, and Chennai was the place to be if one wanted to be a professional performer. Initially, when I began singing it was hard work and required a lot of persistence; there would be four people in the audience; then two of them would bring two more to the next concert, and so on. In Chennai, there are a lot of people who know serious music and are what I call silent supporters ; they don t come up to the stage and talk to you or congratulate you, but encourage you by giving you chances and by having the patience to keep coming and listening to your music, and allowing you to grow. Fortunately South India still has time for that sort of thing. Historically speaking, carnatic music was everywhere in Southern India, performed for over a thousand years in temples, homes of affluent Chettiyars and zamindars, festivals, weddings et al. There is a continuity of that tradition until the present time, and to this has been added the Sabhas. The Sabha Culture as I call it, is so prevalent in Southern India, that it is able to sustain a number of professional performing artistes. The tradition of incorporating music concerts in Weddings and other rituals continues, which keep several musicians engaged through the year; Temples and their festivals too promote carnatic music performances; all these support carnatic artistes in several different ways. During the 10 days of Navaratri, for instance, it is impossible to find an artiste to perform anywhere in Chennai or South India because they are in such great demand during that season. These traditions are absent in other parts of India and that has definitely been the bane of Hindustani Music. For the most part, temples are not patrons of classical music in Northern India, and the Sabha culture is virtually non-existent. Also, to some extent, the continuing emphasis on Bhakti bhava in Carnatic music as against the shift towards Shringara in Hindustani during the middle ages lends itself to be taught and sung by children, young adults, young and old. Even a 3 year old can sing small carnatic songs as part of a daily liturgy of worship. They have become a part of our household and everyday life. It is difficult to incorporate shringara rasa in that way.
Venue...Staff at: The Knox School, Wantirna South Audio...Charles Walker Imperial Audio Artiste Hosting...Yamuna and Gopal Narayanan Family Sunitha and Shankar Raman Family Design...Oviam Creations Sponsors...Atech Solutions Pty Ltd Ram & Associates Tour Partners...Pallavi, Sydney Arundathi and Sriram Family Chitra and Sudarshan Family Chitra and Soundarajan Iyer Family Gita and Sub Subramanian Family Maithili and Naga Nagasundaram Family Prabha and Shankar Prasanna Family Shoba and Ramnath Iyer Family Subhadra and Sankaran Ramesh Family Sunitha and Shankar Raman Family Jayasree and Vasu Srinivasan Family Yogam and Ramanan Family Gita...9886 4284 Ramesh...9800 4612 Vasu...9887 4232 Shoba...9886 8406 Yogam...9545 3148 Soundar...9802 8779 Yamuna and Gopal Narayanan Family CMC wishes to acknowledge the assistance provided by all music schools of Melbourne in the publicity of this concert. CMC offers family membership packages that are economical and provide substantial discounts. Become a CMC Member and support the cause. For more details contact one of the volunteers. Are you interested in contributing to CMC s community service mission? You can do so by making voluntary donations to CMC s activities, contributing your time to a community cause, and by attending and supporting CMC events. Please register your interest in any of the above with one of the CMC volunteers.... a bridge to the rich South Indian cultural heritage... For more information please contact: Gita 9886 4284 Ramesh 9800 4612 Vasu 9887 4232 Shoba 9886 8406 Yogam 9545 3148 Soundar 9802 8779 Oviam 0403 353 424
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