Carnatic Violin Duet by
Lalgudi
Krishnan and
Vijayalakshmi with
Guruvayur
Dorai on the Mridangam
Sunday, March 30, 2008,
4:00
PM
Venue:
Recital Hall, College of St. Catherine, St.
Paul
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Tickets:
Members
please note:
Any member passes
remaining from 2007
are good for admission to the first
Carnatic
concert of 2008, i.e. the March 30 concert of Lalgudi
Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi.
This is being offered to
our members in
light of the cancellation of the Bombay Jayashree concert in November
2007.
Please note that this accommodation is only good for the
first concert of 2008. Admission to all subsequent concerts in 2008
will
require the use of 2008 member passes only.
Purchase advance tickets online (you
save $2/ticket by purchasing in advance)
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Members,
Students, and Seniors (65+) |
General
Admission |
Advance |
$10.00 |
$15.00 |
Gate |
$12.00 |
$17.00 |
Save
further on IMSOM tickets by
becoming a member for 2008.
You'll save $18 - $50
over multiple concerts.
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About the Artistes:
Lalgudi GJR Krishnan is the worthy son and
disciple of violin maestro Padma Bhushan Lalgudi Sri G. Jayaraman.
Krishnan began his musical training at the tender age of five under the
watchful guidance of his illustrious grandfather Lalgudi Gopala Iyer
who belonged to the enviable shishya parampara of Sri Tyagaraja
himself. His art was later honed to perfection by his father. The
Lalgudi Bani is unique in the sense that it comes closest to the gayaki
style of musical expression with the sahitya and the emotions embedded
in the composition emerging loud and clear. Krishnan has creditably
internalized this exquisite quality of violin playing and is recognized
by the lay and the cognoscenti as an artiste of remarkable merit who
maintains a judicious balance between aesthetics and grammar. His music
is underlined by pristine purity, lucidity, imagination, innovation,
immaculate laya, superb clarity, clean and strong bowing, and a deep
sense of passion and involvement. Krishnan, who in addition to his
solos, plays duets and trio concerts along with Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman
and his sister Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, has also been featured in several
jugalbandi concerts with leading Hindustani musicians. As an
accompanist, he has had the privilege of playing for Bhishma Pitha Maha
Semmagudi Srinivasa Iyer, T.N. Seshagopalan, Maharajapuram Santhanam,
T.V Sankaranarayanan, D.K Jayaraman, and Nedunuri Krishnamurthi.
Krishnan's vision, temperament, and desire to experiment have also
motivated him to interact with western musicians. Krishnan's prodigious
performing skills and a deep perception of the art of Carnatic Music
have earned for him prestigious awards such as the Jaycees award in
1981, the Best Violinist award in 1986 from the Music Academy, Bharat
Kalachar's Yuva Kala Bharati in 1987, and the Kalki Krishnamoorthy
Award in 1998, to name a few. Krishnan was also conferred the
title "Sangeetha Choodamani" by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha in 1998. In
2004, he was awarded the prestigious title "Nadabhushanam" by Sri
Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha, New Delhi. On the academic front,
Krishnan holds a Master’s degree in Commerce (M.Com) and is an
accredited Cost and Works Accountant (I.C.W.A) and Company Secretary
(ACS).
Lalgudi
Vijayalakshmi, like her brother Krishnan, is a superb standard
bearer of the Lalgudi bani, perhaps the most eloquent in capturing the
mood and essence of South Indian Music. She began learning at the age
of six and made her first public appearance at age thirteen. Since
then, she has been performing regularly in violin duets and trios with
her father and brother. She has travelled widely on concert tours both
in India and abroad, and has performed in countries all over the world,
including the U.S.A, Canada, the U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia, and the Middle East.
Vijayalakshmi also leads a music ensemble of the Violin, the Flute, and
the Veena, which has given over 50 performances. With her ability to
easily blend with the vocalists' style while asserting her
individuality, she is today a much sought-after accompanist.
Vijayalakshmi was adjudged the Best Junior Instrumentalist by the Sri
Krishna Gana Sabha in Madras in 1979. She received the Yuva Kala
Bharati from Bharat Kalachar in 1993 and the 'Kalki Krishnamoorthy
Memorial Award' at Chennai in 1998. She also received the 'Best
Accompanist Award' from the prestigious Music Academy for the year
2002. The talented Vijayalakshmi has made her mark as a vocalist as
well. She has given several vocal concerts in many of the sabhas in
Chennai, as well as on All India Radio and has lent her voice to a few
dance drama productions, notably Jaya Jaya Devi. She has to her credit
a few vocal recordings, such as 'Ganesha Gana Manjari' and 'Lalgudi
lineage.' Vijayalakshmi holds a Master of Arts in English Literature
and a Diploma in Music.
Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi have presented
innumerable violin duets in India and abroad. Concentrated practice, a
fierce determination to excel, an acute aesthetic sensitivity and total
laya control, coupled with a perfect understanding between the
siblings, have helped place this duo in the upper echelon of
contemporary violin artistes. Their music recordings have captured the
imagination of discerning listeners. "Twin bows of the Lalgudi
tradition," "Lalgudi Legacy continues," "Majesty in Melodies," "Vibgyor
on Violin," "Ramabhakti," and "Tillanas of Lalgudi Jayaraman" released
recently by HMV are worthy of special mention.
Guruvayur Dorai is one of India's
most revered mridangam artistes. An exponent of the Pudukottai style of
mridangam, Dorai made his debut at the age of eight at a performance of
the legendary musician, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar. His gurus were
Palghat Subbayyar, Eranallur Narayana Pisharody, and Pazhani
Subramanium Pillai. Dorai has performed all over the world and with
nearly all the eminent Carnatic musicians including M. S. Subbulakshmi,
G. N. Balasubramaniam, Chitti Babu, Flute Mali, Mysore T. Chowdiah, T.
N. Seshagopalan, and Chitraveena N. Ravikiran, to name a few. He has
also performed with leading Hindustani artistes such as Bhimsen Joshi,
Bismillah Khan, Ravi Shankar, Allah Rakha, and Zakir Hussain. Dorai has
trained several well-known students in Indian classical percussion,
including Manaragudi Easwaran, Rohan Krishnamurthy, and S.V.Ramani. He
has received innumerable awards and titles, including Kalaimamani, the
Palghat Mani Iyer award, Sangeet Natak Academy award and Sangeetha
Sagara by Kala Sagaram, Hyderabad. Most recently, he was awarded the
title of "Laya Chakravarthy" in Austin, Texas. He has served as
visiting scholar at the University of Washington, Seattle (1977-78) and
Western Michigan University (2001 and 2002).
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About
the Venue:
Directions
and Parking:
The Recital
Hall
is located just behind the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in
the campus of the College of Saint
Catherine (2004 Randolph Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55105). The Recital Hall is Building 24 in the campus map (see
below).
Driving Directions:
- From I-94 going E: Take
Cretin Avenue exit. South (right) on Cretin to Randolph Avenue. East
(left) on Randolph to Cleveland Avenue intersection. Stay on Randolph.
Enter at GATE 3 on Randolph.
- From I-94 going W: Take Snelling Avenue (US 51) exit.
South
(left) on Snelling Avenue to Randolph. West (right) on Randoplh to
Fairview/Randolph intersection. Stay on Randolph. Enter at GATE 3 on
Randolph.
- From I-35E: Exit on Randolph Avenue. Proceed West to Fairview/Randolph
intersection.
Stay on Randolph. Enter at GATE 3 on Randolph.
- From I-35W: Exit on 94 eastbound to Cretin Avenue
exit.
South on Cretin to Randolph Avenue. East on Randolph to Cleveland
Avenue intersection. Stay on Randolph. Enter at GATE 3 on Randolph.
Gate 3 is located between
Cleveland and Fairview and is nearest to the intersection of Randolph
and Prior Avenues. The Recital Hall is located right behind the better
known O'Shaughnessy auditorium. Parking is free after hours and on
weekends.
Click here for a campus map of the College of
Saint Catherine.
Click
here for other general maps and directions to the College of Saint
Catherine.
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Acknowledgments:
This
activity is made possible, in part, by
funds provided by the Honeywell Foundation's "Dollars
for Doers"
Grant, the Xcel Energy
Foundation’s “Dollars for Doing” Grant
and IMSOM Members and Donors. This concert is co-sponsored by KFAI
Radio
(90.3FM in Minneapolis 106.7FM in
St. Paul ).

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For further information contact:
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