A
traditionalist from the legendary Lalgudi family!
Veenai Jayanthi (Carnatic
Veena) with
Arjun Kumar
(Mridangam) and
Pramath Kiran (Morsing)
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About the Artists:
Jayanthi Kumaresh, the most sought
after Veena
artiste of today, was born into the legendary Lalgudi family, a family
replete
with renowned musicians. Jayanthi began learning the Veena
when she was barely four years old. Her virtuosity on the
instrument, rare musical insight, rich tonal quality and strict
adherence to
tradition has won her the appreciation of layman and connoisseur alike.
Her
main inspiration was her aunt and guru Smt. Padmavathy Ananthagopalan,
herself
a renowned and accomplished artiste. Later Jayanthi took advanced
lessons from Veena virtuoso Padmabhushan Dr. S.
Balachander. Her uncle, a giant among musicians, Shri Lalgudi
Jayaraman, has
also been her guide. Veenai Jayanthi,
as she is affectionately called, has performed all over India
and
abroad, and participated in many prestigious international music
festivals,
including the annual Sangeeth Sammelan
concerts conducted by Akashvani. She
is the youngest artiste in Veena to receive ‘A Top’
grading
from the All India Radio (AIR), the highest grade offered by the only
grading
institution of the country. Jayanthi has been recognized as ‘Best
Veena artiste’ no less than four
times by the Music
Academy,
Chennai. She was
recently conferred the title of Kalaimamani by the
Govt. of Tamilnadu. A frequent performer in the US,
her
coast-to-coast jaunts include regular concerts as well as lecture
demonstrations and music appreciation courses at various universities.
In
addition to her accomplishments as a Veena performer, Veenai Jayanthi
has
authored a few musical productions such as ‘Thyagaraja
Vaibhavam’, ‘Ruthu Soundaryam’, ‘Om
Saravanabhava’, and ‘Bheema Anjaneya Samvaadam’. Jayanthi, a brilliant singer herself, has
been teaching both vocal music and Veena
to students around the world for the past 12 years. Jayanthi recently
submitted
her thesis for a doctorate in the “Analytical study of different Banis of playing the Saraswathi Veena" at
Mysore
University.
Jayanthi’s vision is to create a world-class institution that would
propagate,
preserve and promote Carnatic music and its rich legacy internationally.
"The best and most
versatile Veena artiste we have today." – The Statesman.
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"...Jayanthi's
fertile imagination and raga elaboration stands out for clarity..." - The Hindu.
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".... For
Jayanthi, it seems like everything musical fuses into a mesh of
polished veena art..."- Indian Express.
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Arjun Kumar.
Hailing from a family of Mridangam
artistes, Arjun Kumar was initiated into the art of Mridangam playing at the young
age of
five by his father Sri Arjunan, a very senior artiste
in the field of percussion.
He was later mentored by Sri T.
A. S. Mani. Arjun Kumar began performing
and accompanying world-renowned artistes at an early age. He was also
awarded a
Govt. of India scholarship. He then came
under the tutelage of the mridangam
legend, Padmabhushan Umayalpuram Sri
K. Sivaraman. Kumar soon became one of the youngest ‘A’ Grade artistes
of the
All India Radio and Television networks. He has played in a number of
prestigious events, including the South Zone Hook Up and the All India Sangeetha Sammelan. He has
accompanied leading contemporary
musicians like Sri K.V.Narayanaswamy, Dr. N.Ramani, Sri
T.N.Seshagopalan, Sri
T.V.Gopalakrishnan, Sri Doraiswamy Iyengar and Bombay Sisters, to name
a few. Arjun Kumar has performed
extensively in the USA,
France,
Eastern Europe, the Gulf, Singapore,
Malaysia,
Hong Kong, Australia
and Switzerland. Arjun Kumar has both natural talent and
acquired skill to blend and enhance the beauty of a concert through
sensitive
and sensible accompaniment. He is also an
experienced tutor and has many disciples to his credit, both in India and in the USA.
Pramath Kiran hails from a
family of
musicians. His contribution to the field of percussion is rather unique
- he can
play Carnatic, Hindustani and contemporary instruments. Pramath developed
into a creative Morsing (jaws harp) artiste with the guidance
of his guru Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma. His exposure to various
percussion
ensembles enabled him to widen his horizons in the art of solo playing
and
accompaniment. Pramath has his own group
called ‘Laya Taranga’ that showcases diverse percussion instruments of
the
world. Pramath has recorded several CDs
along with this group. He is much sought after by many leading artistes
and has
won rave reviews. Pramath
was initiated into Hindustani Tabla
playing from Tabla exponent Shri.Uday Raj Karpur at a very young age.
In
addition to light music performances on the tabla,
Pramath has also accompanied artistes such as Shri.Praveen Godkindi,
Shri.Fayaz
Khan and Ravi Chari and been featured with stalwarts like
Shri.S.P.Balasubramaniam and Shri.Hariharan. Having a strong Carnatic
base and
an aesthetic ear for the Tabla beat Pramath’s Tabla playing has a
unique style
that he is developing further. Pramath
has widened his scope for expression in the sphere of percussion
playing in
contemporary music. He has matered a diverse set of rhythm instruments
including the Dholak, Drums, Djembe, Congos, Ocean Drums and Rhythm
pads, among
others. Pramath has collaborated with the renowned danseuse Chitra
Bolar of
Chitralekha Dance Company in several of her productions in the UK. He
is
featured regularly with renowned artistes like Ganesh Kumaresh, Amit
Heri,
Keith Peters, Rab Asaf and Jessi. Pramath is also much sought after as
a rhythm
programmer by several Music Directors.
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About the venue:
The Cowles Auditorium is
located across the street from the 19th
Ave Ramp, in the Hubert H Humphrey Center, University of MN, West
Bank campus, Minneapolis. The 21st
Ave Ramp is also convenient.
Map
of Hubert H. Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota, West Bank,
Minneapolis
Closeup
map of Hubert H. Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota, West
Bank, Minneapolis
To get to the 19th Ave
Parking Ramp:
- 35W to U of MN exit (Washington Ave
S). East on Washington to Cedar Ave S. South on Cedar Ave S to 3rd St
S. East on 3rd St S 1/ 2 block.
- I94 to Cedar Ave S. North on Cedar Ave S to 3rd St S.
East on 3rd St S 1/ 2 block.
- Washington Ave SE from U of MN east bank. Exit on
Cedar Ave. S. South on Cedar Ave S to 3rd St S. East on 3rd St S 1/ 2
block.
Acknowledgments:
This
activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Department
of Asian Languages and Literatures, the Consortium for the Study of the
Asias, and the College of Liberal Arts ’ Scholarly Events Fund at the
University of Minnesota , the Honeywell Foundation's "Dollars for
Doers" Grant, and IMSOM Members. This concert is co-sponsored by KFAI
Radio (90.3FM in Minneapolis / 106.7FM in St. Paul ).
For further information contact:
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