R. Suryaprakash

A young maestro in the sphere of Carnatic Classical Music, R.Suryaprakash is  well-known and widely traveled in the music circuit today. A disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Suryaprakash has imbibed the rich tradition of the legendary Madurai Mani Iyer and assimilated the best of other traditions to blaze his original trail among the present generation of musicians. A post-graduate in Indian Music from the University of Madras and an “A” grade artiste in the panel of All India Radio, Chennai, his music has also been enriched by eminent teachers such as M A Venugopalan, Dr.V.V.Srivatsa and Sulochana Pattabhiraman.

Endowed with a vibrant and felicitous voice with a range of about three octaves, he also has a vast repertoire and boundless creative expression. No wonder, his concerts have always enthralled the audience and appealed to both the connoisseur and the novice.

Suryaprakash has a rich concert experience of over one and a half decade in which he has performed all over India and the U.S.A, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. Leading masters have accompanied, collaborated and shared the platform with him. Regularly featured during the December Music Festival, Chennai, and other major festivals, Suryaprakash has cut a variety of discs and received awards such as "Gana Kala Vipanchee" from Dr.M Balamuralikrishna and “best concert” prize from the Music Academy, Chennai.

Suryaprakash’s concerts have been been substantially reviewed and appreciated by the press, such as The Hindu, New Indian Express, Kumudham, Vikatan etc.

A teacher greatly sought after, he has conducted workshops and lecture-concerts in India, USA and Australia, for example, at the  Music Department of University of Logan, Utah in 1999 and Festival of Asia, Melbourne, Australia in 2000. Suryaprakash has trained a number of students all over the globe, some of them are already performing artists. He also trains his students online, using  technology.

Suryaprakash has also composed original lyrics and score for three dance productions of Nrithakshetra, Australia.

The vintage carnatic songs featured in the movie and theatre of the 1940s has a fascination for Suryaprakash who has pioneered their revival by participating in special programmes on TV and cutting a disc titled “Legendary Melodies” to that effect.

Jayshankar Balan

Jayshankar Balan received his initial training from Alamelu Subramanian and is currently under the guidance of Madurai Sundar. He has performed extensively all over the world and has accompanied many leading stalwarts in the Carnatic arena including Dr. N Ramani, Nedunuri Krishnamoorthy, Dr. K. J. Yesudas and T. N. Seshagopalan. In 1999, Jayshankar was invited to perform at the United Nations in Paris for the last UN Meeting of the century. He has also represented India in major cultural festivals including the Festivals of India in Russia and the Middle East. He is a graded artist of AIR (All India Radio). He holds a Masters in Computer Science and a MBA in Finance.

Sri Tanjore Murugabhoopathi

Murugaboopathi belongs to a family of artists and musicians. He had his initial training under Mridangam Vidwan and Lecturer in the Tamilnadu Government Music College Sri T.R.Srinivasan. After receiving the 'Vadhya Visharada' with distinction from the Music College, he came under the guidance of Late Sri Tanjore Upendran. He learnt from the late maestro in the age old tradition of Gurukulavasam.  He has won numerous awards including the Vadya Kalaimani from the Music College, Chennai, the Laya Kala Ratna from the Tiruppur Murugan Mandram, the Best Artiste Award from the South Indian Music Club, Andhra Pradesh, the Music Academy and the Sivan Mandram, Sydney, Australia. Murugabhoopathi can adopt his playing to any style of singing or instrumentals and has won the appreciation of the artists as well as the rasikas. He regularly accompanies leading artists such as Sangeetha Kalnidhi Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. N. Ramani, Mandolin Srinivas, Sanjay Subramaniam, Sudha Ragunathan, and Aruna Sayeeram, to name a few. He has performed with these artists in Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, USA, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Dubai, Muscat, Doha, Belgium and Scotland.

The Recital Hall is located just behind the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium  in the campus of St. Catherine University (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 St. Catherine University.