About the Artists:
Mysore
M. Nagaraj and Mysore M.
Manjunath are the sons and disciples of the
well-known violinist Sri S. Mahadevappa of Mysore. Both Nagaraj and Manjunath
were child
prodigies who matured quickly to become superb violinists. While
Nagaraj gave
his first concert at the age of eleven, Manjunath did it at age nine.
Beginning
at the age of fourteen, Nagaraj won the coveted Best Violinist award
from Madras
Academy
six times and became the youngest "A" Grade artist of AIR.
In 1986 he was conferred the title of
"Sangeetha Ratna." Manjunath
breezed through the trail traced by his elder brother, winning the Best
Violinist awards, "A" grade artist status, three gold medals and
first rank in Master of Music degree, besides winning other laurels.
Recently,
Manjunath received his Ph.D. from Mysore University
for his work
on "Styles of Violin Playing". Both Nagaraj and Manjunath have earned
great admiration from audiences and critics abroad. Nagaraj has given
performances in USA,
Canada,
and Europe.
Thiruvarur M.
Bhaktavatsalam
is a top ranking mridangam artiste in the Carnatic music arena. His
playing is
marked by melodic dexterity and deft and graceful strokes. He first
learned his
art from Shri Tiruvarur Krishnamurthy and was guided in the field by
doyens
like MLV and Maharajapuram Santanam, whom he had accompanied quite
regularly.
Today Shri Bhaktavatsalam has become one of the most popular mridangam
artistes
of this generation and is a particular favorite among musicians like T.
V.
Sankaranarayan, M.S.Gopalakrishnan, and T. N. Krishnan among others.
Shri
Bhaktavatsalam has received many awards and titles, including the
Kalaimamani
award from the Tamil Nadu government.
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