This
group, led by reputed mridangam maestro Vidwan Anoor Ananth Krishna Sharma, is a unique
musical ensemble.
Unique in both its content and its presentation, Ganga-Kaveri is
already one of
the most-sought-after bands in the concert circuit in India.
This
Fusion group boasts of having two of the most talented flautists of India,
Vidwan M K PRANESH on the Carnatic flute
and Suramani PRAVIN GODKHINDI on the
Hindustani Bansuri. Both have enthralled audiences the world over with
their
captivating solos in their respective genres as well as with jugalbandi
concerts. The western and contemporary music dimension, which makes it
all the
more unique, is introduced by the keyboards and drums. The subtlety of
the
keyboard chords on the Indian ragas make
the ‘alaaps’ more divine and the
rhythmic stroking of chords make the
‘taanam’ and the ‘bandishes’ more
energetic.
The music
that emerges from this wonderful team of musicians embodies the rich
cultural
heritage of India,
conjuring images of sacred rivers, temples and forest. The repertoire
includes
Khayal, Raaga, Taana, Pallavi, Thumri, Folk, Devotional and Jazz. As the name suggests this group is a
culmination of melody (swara) and
rhythm (laya). With Rhythm pads &
drums (western) being featured on stage with traditional Indian
percussion
instruments, mridangam (Carnatic) and tabla
(Hindustani), the audience can
expect the thani avartanam or finale
of percussion solos, to be the highlight of the concert and an
unforgettable
experience for connoisseurs.
Performers
:
1)
Vidwan Anoor Ananth Krishna Sharma –
Mridangam
2) Vidwan M K Pranesh – Carnatic Flute
3) Suramani Pravin Godkhindi – Hindustani Bansuri
4)
Vidwan V Umesh – Keyboards
5) Vidwan Arun Kumar – Rhythm Pads and Drums
6) Vidwan S
Madhusudana – Tabla
Anoor
Ananthakrishna Sharma (Shivu)
hails from a family of musicians. His father is the late Anoor
S. Ramakrishna, a noted violinist. He was initiated into music by his
father,
and later in mridangam by the late R.
A. Rajagopal. Today Shivu is a
multi-faceted artist who sings, composes and can play several rhythmic
instruments like mridangam, tabla,
ghatam, thavil, kanjira and drums with the same felicity and ease.
He has
composed music for ballets and films. He has traveled extensively to
European
countries, and toured all over USA
several times. He also toured the UK
and Belgium for the
East-West fusion with Strings of Gufia (London)
and led a percussion group to Hanover
for a performance. He has several awards to his credit.
Surmani Pravin
Godkhindi was born in a family of
musicians, and is fortunate to have his father Pandit.Venkatesh
Godkhindi, an
eminent vocalist and Bansuri artist, as his guru. Pravin held the
audience
spellbound when he gave his first public concert at the age of six. His
quest
for deeper knowledge about layakaari
brought him to his guru, Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma a reputed
Mridangam
artist. He is an “A” Grade artiste of All India Radio. In 2003, he was
awarded
the title of Naad-nidhi by Kalachethana,
Gadag. In 2005, he was awarded the Aryabhatta
for his composition of the title song for the TV serial, Malebillu.
Pravin who has an Engineering degree has pursued music
as his profession full time. He conducts a popular show based on ragas every week on ETV.
The St. Paul
Student Center is located in the St. Paul campus of the University of
Minnesota at the intersection of Cleveland and Buford Avenues. The
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