Upcoming/Unrecognized nominations for the Season

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 05 Dec 2006, 11:37

The storm raging on a parallel thread prompted me to start this one - possibly as a solution to the anguish expressed there. I have three blissful weeks coming up and I will naturally flock to the TNSs, Sanjays and Krishnas...but I am equally interested in hearing some new voices - both youngsters and other talented musicians of any age who've missed the limelight for some reason. A similar thread I had started in sangeetham last season proved very rewarding personally and I would be grateful for some more this year. To start with, some of my own nominations:

Sangeetha Sivakumar - hardly an unknown name but far better than her "slots" suggest. She has bagged an evening slot at the Academy this year - the scintillating Kharaharapriya at last years Academy concert would no doubt have played a part. I would stick my neck out and put her in the top 2-3 female vocalists around.

Sriram Parthasarathy - I found him the most impressive of the youngsters I've heard so far....his intensity is matched technical skills and there is a sense of balance which most of his peers lack (except perhaps for Sikkil Gurucharan). I understand that he is also a popular film singer with which I do not have a problem, as long as adequate time is reserved for serious music.

Paghat Ramprasad - not to be confused with the equally gifted TV Ramprasadh. I understand that the young man is studying in the US these days but I do hope he has some performances lined up for the season. Another musician who appears ready for the big stage.

SR Veeraraghavan - The recent review got it right in pointing out the similarities with BMK, his guru... but that does not take away from the forcefulness of his music. The fact that he has a more bass voice does not hurt either. With experience he should be able to chart his own musical direction.

Visalakshi Nityanand - A refreshing deep voice that does not lack in malleability. She brings a no-frills approach with a quiet confidence that stands on the strength of a rock solid foundation.

There are, of course, many others who deserve a listen, including the established 2:30PM slotters such as Sikkil Gurucharan, Abhishek Raghuram, TNS Krishna, BMK Jr. etc. Some of the lesser known juniors I can think of are MR Subramanian, Prasanna Venkatesh(?), Amrita Murali, Saketaraman, Salem Shiriram, Kuldip Pai and the Trichur Brothers...

But I am sure I have missed many names....Your help in adding to it would be most welcome

Vijay

hindolam · Post by **hindolam** » 05 Dec 2006, 12:00

Gayathri Venkatraghavan amongst the ladies stands out for her magnificent voice and bhava filled music. Surely one to keep an eye on as the star of the future.

prashant · Post by **prashant** » 05 Dec 2006, 12:32

I would add Smt. V. Sumithra to the list - weighty and serene music as per the tradition laid down by her Guru Smt. Vedavalli. Definitely a wonderful artiste and it would definitely be worth your while, Vijay, to check out some of her concerts as and when possible.

If Sri. V. Vamanan of Mumbai is performing anywhere in Chennai during the season, it would be worth a listen. He's a storehouse of knowledge and sings beautifully. Sri Prasanna Venkataraman [formerly of Mumbai] is a disciple of Sri TKG and now learns from Sri Sanjay - I've heard him a lot in Mumbai and he, too, sings very well.

The quiet and understated elegance of Sri N. Vijay Siva's music sometimes gets lost between the more vigorous [but equally enjoyable] artistic expression of Sri Sanjay and Sri TMK. Beautiful selection, impeccable rendition of krithis [as befits a disciple of Sri DKJ] and chaste raga and niraval expositions are his hallmark. As a student of music, I find his music most satisfying both emotionally and intellectually. He's definitely a household name, so perhaps a paen to his music here is a bit out of place, but somehow I feel he's a bit underappreciated, hence this post.

Among accompanists, I'm hoping to hear some of Sri Sreesundarkumar's kanjira playing - I've heard it spoken of highly, and he now shares the dais with stalwarts like Sri UKS and Sri KRM. Nice to see a resurgence of high-quality kanjira artistes: the ever-dependable Sri B.S. Purushottaman and Sri Sreesundarkumar appear to be carrying the torch ably after the demise of Sri Nagarajan and the redoubtable Sri Harishankar.

Thanks Vijay for your list - I look forward to hearing some of these artistes during my trip to Chennai later this month!

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 05 Dec 2006, 21:45

I heard Amritha Venkatesh of Bangalore is a very good upcoming artiste.

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 05 Dec 2006, 21:46

Like mentioned by vijay, Sikkil Gurucharan is a really good singer.

musicsyndrome · Post by **musicsyndrome** » 05 Dec 2006, 23:15

There are some exceptionally good youngsters out there performing. I would like to nominate master Balamuralikrishna, Prasanna Venkatraman ; Savitha Narasimhan and S.M.Vilasini.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 05 Dec 2006, 23:31

Vijay,
Good to know you have some time off, afterall. Good for us, because I assume that you will be reviewing the concerts you attend...

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 06 Dec 2006, 01:40

Nice to know that after R and G a few years ago, now Sangeeta Shivkumar/Krishna has been 'upgraded' to an evening slot.
I like Gaytri Girish as well. Superb diction...and along with Sriram Parthasarathy, a disciple of this year's SK designate - TNS.

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 06 Dec 2006, 01:48

I agree that SM Vilasini, Gayathri Girish, and Prasanna Venkataraman are very talented. Isn't Sriram Parthasarathy a disciple of Sri Neyveli Santhanagopalan?

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 06 Dec 2006, 02:28

Yes you are correct, Jayashri.
Sriram Parthasartahy is NS's disciple (who in turn is TNS') while GG is the direct Sishya of TNS...
Ravi

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 06 Dec 2006, 06:17

Oh great- thanks rshankar! I also want to add Sangeetha Vasudevan to this list. If I am not mistaken by brother told me that Sangeetha is a disciple of OST. She also is an upcoming star.

sangeetarasikan · Post by **sangeetarasikan** » 06 Dec 2006, 08:21

My 2 centsâ€¦

Abhishek Raghuram: It is a mystery why his name hasnâ€™t come up so far. If it is because people think he is in a different league then that is good because no other reason would be valid enough. He is one of the best minds in the field today with a roundedness of knowledge and execution in both departments of music, melody and rhythm. Seems like one of the most under-rated artiste, but is definitely worth hearing many times.

Sriram Parthasarathy: As others have mentioned before, he is one of the top talents around.

Kiranavali: I recently heard her 108-ragamalika Pallavi CD, and it was mind-boggling to say the least. To come up with something as creative as that and execute it so impeccably is an astounding feat indeed. Perhaps her move to the US is preventing her from getting her due in the Chennai scene.

Baby Sriram: Heard her many years ago and found her to be extremely solid. Her low pitch is probably unpalatable to the rasikas who are used to the high-pitched screaming of most female singers today.

Swati Srikrishna: Another good artiste who has never got enough opportunities. Hope she is singing somewhere this season.

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 06 Dec 2006, 10:58

Can anyone tell me some of OST's students who sing during the season? I know Kuldeep Pai, Sangeetha Vasudevan, and G. Srikanth (son of Smt. Leelavathi Gopalakrishnan), and Dr. Ganesh are all disciples of OST. Are there any others?

shripathi_g · Post by **shripathi_g** » 06 Dec 2006, 12:10

Gayathri Venkatraghavan is very good. I heard her at Cleveland 2004 where she sang a beautiful Panthuvarali and a magnificient Kharaharapriya (Rama Neeyada).

sindhu · Post by **sindhu** » 06 Dec 2006, 12:16

PantuvarALi and Kharaharpriya... somewhat new combo. Normally, singers do PV and tOdi ( i hv heard many )

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 06 Dec 2006, 13:26

as far as abishek's vocal rendition is concerned i observed a little bit of over doing. unless he reduces it his concerts may not appeal to all.
(hope i opened a pandora's box!)

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 06 Dec 2006, 14:39

No clear favourites here, but just putting the musicians who are not in the limelight and few of them who get excess coverage in newspapers and media, all clubbed together in alphabetical order.

Abhisek raghuraman , creativity is there . His weakness of going orthogonal to the mike is something I hope him to correct . Lots of new compositions , trying lot of new unheard tillanas in ragAs in asaveri. I have a slight soft corner to him, because even if he turns out to be average , his phenOmenal grand dad pAlakkad raghu who mostly accompanies him will never let down the concert.

Aruna sairam , the musician with maximum concert attendance . Whenever she sings a very expressive rAgas and particularly in viruttam it is a delight . But she gets sometimes too close to gallery(too many light abhangs,OVK tillanas) and never comes back to depth ,thereby some times you get a feeling that you are attending an excellent bhajanai.

GAyathri Venkat , a very good musician who becomes excellent whenever she sings a very rich bhAvam laden rAgas like mukhAri and bhairAvi .She has a very mellifluous voice and will remind you somewhat of MSS at regular intervals .

TM Krishna , vast reportoire and always has a good team to support him . Sometimes he moving from his home base of SSI to a new base of MDR , is always excellent . I always wish there is less of sabAsh/bAle in his concert , overall one of the most capable musician whether he gets excess limelight from media or not.

maharAjapuram rAmachandran , one musician who has got the best sAreeram . Yes there is a lot of repetition of his dad's krithis, but certainly very engaging musician . I like his kalyAna vasantham, lalitha and amirthavArshini a lot

TV Ramprasadh, a musician who in my opinion never rushes 99% of the time. His voice is not weigthy sometimes razor thin . But the depth is very much there. Whenever you get a feeling that most of the musicians are rushing , he can be a good antidote.

ranjani-gayAtri , consistency through out ,keeps the entire audience glued .I always believe any one who starts well in the second half of the concert will be the greatest crowd puller . Time and again, smt gayAtri starting in the rAgamaliga viruttam is always outstanding.

Saketharaman, a gifted youngster . Don't miss this lad. Excellent sruthi suddham , almost as high as KVN. I never see him singing in between december season.

Sangeetha Sivakumar , she reminds always Smt MLV. Her madhyamAvati still rings where you have an entire MLV before you recreated. Again a capable artist who is again not getting the same limelight as she deserves.

Sanjay , I have heard a lot in the last 1 to 4 years . Of late in the last 9 months I have not heard him even once(no specific reason).He is a musician who has delivered very good concerts most of the times. His voice is not that weighty but how he delivers with that limitation is very nice to watch.

TV SankaranArayanan a musician who of late is obviously repetitive . But his attribute of singing in an open throated fashion almost throughout the concert is just a different and lovely experience.

Sikkil Gurucharan , a versatile musician who knows how to deliver and capture the attention of the rasikas . His sequencing of songs is excellent . Knows how to get back the attention of rasikas , you dont find that much of exodus when he sings.So that means the quality is fairly spread.

TN SeshagOpalan, this jAmbhavAn with his vidwat always impresses me . But you have to be lucky to hear him in a right concert.If there is one musician who can deliver with his mouth closed with such voice strength , it is clearly shri TNS.

Sowmya, a musician who is known for her repertoire. She takes a lot of care to present new numbers most of the times .

Sudha raghunathan,while lot of female musicians are little lacking in stamina to sing long concerts, she just knows how to give a successful 3 + hours concert very well . I always like her MFAC concerts.

SuryaprAkash , in my opinion one of the most creative in manOdharmam. He dares to try always new . Many of his sarvalaghu patterns are very new to me. Also right now he appears to strike a balance from his home base of MMI , to a new base of sOmu.Particularly of late his mega rAgamaligai of devargal arul seiyum , madurai arasAlum are all very good ,reminding something unique which is not delivered by many of his contemporaries. There is always depth in his neravals and sarvalaghu swarams. I always have a feeling for his capability and delivery , he is still sitting too long in the afternoon slots.

Vijayashiva , a clear musician with absolutely no gimmicks ,with he keeping a fair distance from the mike always a great feeling with your ears. His pronounciation is always top class . Like his guru DKJ, he gets the right proportion and right sequence and always captures the attention of rasikas. A most complete musician .

NOTE:
IF YOU FIND SURPRISES IN MY JUDGEMENT ,TAKE IT IN YOUR STRIDE. REMEMBER ALL MUSICIANS ARE ALL OVER COMMITTING ON SABHAS.

anandabhairavi · Post by **anandabhairavi** » 06 Dec 2006, 14:55

Sikkil Gurucharan is one musician who keeps the rasikas spell bound with a good voice and vast list of songs.I would vote him as a good upcoming artiste.

anandabhairavi · Post by **anandabhairavi** » 06 Dec 2006, 15:08

Dear Prashant Sorry to say that Smt Sumithra was not at all good.May be good to sing in the background along with her Guru smt Vedavalli!!

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 06 Dec 2006, 20:50

aruna sairam sings CM? that is news to me!

meena · Post by **meena** » 07 Dec 2006, 01:24

aruna sairam sings CM? that is news to me!

hello welcome! we have a visitor from planet mars

hee hee.

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 07 Dec 2006, 07:31

yes; i'm from mars and they call it bhajans in our area!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 07 Dec 2006, 11:41

Thanks all for your recommendations and other saucy responses! Prashanth and Hindolam - Gayatri and Vijay Siva are already top of the heap for me, so did not mention them. Despite Anandabhairavi's skepticism, I think I will give Sumitra a listen.

Another artist that I might mention (but haven't unfortunately heard in a while) is our fellow-ex-sangeethamite, Mohan Santhanam, who seems to have managed some decent slots this year...I wonder if anyone heard him at BK?

I am sure there are going to be a few more "finds" this season. Arasi, I've worked hard enough this year to walk away with a 2 week vacation in the second half of December...so, I'm afraid you will have to put up with a lot of nonsense from me on this forum!

Vijay

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 07 Dec 2006, 12:22

Just left out three in my previous long post.

Mambalam Sisters , they are in my opinion a very improving musician ,there is a good sense of attention capturing sequence. Like their music a lot.

OST, I would say his music is very good or ordinary , not all his concerts are interesting always. YOu have to be lucky

OS Arun, I like his music ,though off late he is moving more towards bhajans and singing for dance . Hearing him singing a full length OS Arun concert is always a difficult and rare find.

anandabhairavi · Post by **anandabhairavi** » 07 Dec 2006, 13:37

Dear Rajeshnat.Saketraman is working in a MNC and is in bangalore, was in Tokyo for a year came back in September so I guess he is singing in seasons only I guess.
Anyway his sister (YES ELDER SISTER ) Visaka Hari is making waves in Harikatha field in Madras ,guess it is ok to have one person from a family making waves and give chance to others!!.I have heard him sing and he is good.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 07 Dec 2006, 14:04

anandhabhairavi,
I heard visAka hari for the first time in last month carnatica's concert sangeetha upanyAsam on bhadrachalam rAmadas . She was very impressive .Good luck for both sister and brother(never knew that connection) . I prefer both to make waves,as they are musically very interesting.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Dec 2006, 14:30

So nice to see everyone warming up for the season. And such a variety of performers brought to focus.

Rajesh, a detailed and impartial listing from you and I appreciate that.

Vijay, look forward to 'putting up' with your 'nonsense':)

chalanata,
While I wish too to hear more of serious CM in a concert of Aruna Sayeeram instead of tukkaDAs, I would not dismiss her as easily as you do. She is one of the most versatile singers I can think of.
Recently, she gave a three hour concert in Chennai of just abhangs and one of the senior musicians who listened to her that day sang praises of her to me...

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 07 Dec 2006, 14:38

yes; i'm from mars and they call it bhajans in our area!

and i thought ALL men are from mars!
I have heard regular concerts from Aruna, also bhajans - the audience seems to drive the format. But hey, MS used to sing lots of bhajans, but no-one seems to have held that against her!

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 07 Dec 2006, 14:41

I am sure there are going to be a few more "finds" this season.

Would be very interested in who they are! Rasikas' input would be much appreciated.
How are the Trichur brothers?

coolkarni · Post by **coolkarni** » 07 Dec 2006, 20:17

a few more nominations
with a small sample each.

Pattabhiram Pandith
http://www.rogepost.com/dn/3jtf

Trichy Ganesan
http://www.rogepost.com/dn/39zq

A Name, I got tired of Searching, in the Program Schedules !:(
S Shankar
http://www.rogepost.com/dn/oip5

hindolam · Post by **hindolam** » 07 Dec 2006, 20:30

Saketaraman is performing on Sunday 17th December morning at 10 am at Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha accompanied by Nagai Sriram, Umayalpuram Sivaraman and TV Vasan.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 07 Dec 2006, 20:40

Is he singing anywhere else? Would like to hear him. Veteran vidushi Jayalakshmi Santhanam (tradition, tradition) is singing at the same time on the 17th morning at Bharath Kalachar...

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 08 Dec 2006, 14:42

Jayaram, I have heard Trichur Brothers once. It was sometime back but I think there was a nice Shanmukhapriya - very pleasant and strong voices.

hariharans · Post by **hariharans** » 10 Dec 2006, 10:05

Please watch out for G Ravikiran ( www.gravikiran.com ) an upcoming, young musician from Bangalore. He is a student of Sri RK Srikantan and Sri TM Krishna. Many of you might have heard him on Worldspace programs as RJ in Shruti channel. Here is his schedule during this season for those who want to hear him.

15th Dec - KGS - 2 pm
23rd Dec MFAC - 12 noon
28th Dec Parthsarathy Swamy - 12 noon
2nd Jan - Sastry Hall - 4:30 pm

Regards....

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 11 Dec 2006, 04:26

How come Balaji Shankar's name doesn't get mentioned that much? He was a rising star a few years ago, wonder what happened. (He is a torch-bearer of the DKJ bani.)

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Dec 2006, 11:57

Alas, Balaji looks like history as far as Carnatic Music is concerned....we've had many discussions on him on sangeetham.com. If he were still in action today, he would probably be right up there with SAnjay and Krishna....one of the greatest losses to CM in recent times.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 11 Dec 2006, 13:54

Agree with you entirely vijay.

I recommend all those who have not heard him to hear a casette where he sings a RTP in vAchaspati . His voice and grip on classicism was truly top class.

MBK · Post by **MBK** » 11 Dec 2006, 14:47

I will never understand the whole 'Balaji withdrawal'

:(:(

great loss indeed.

I still get great joy form listeneing to the old recordings.

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 11 Dec 2006, 17:05

What, really? That's unbelievable. What happened? (And what's with all this reference to him in the past tense!?)
I still have a DKJ concert recording from the 80s that I cherish (one of the top 10 in my collection) where a 16-year old Balaji renders a lovely Kalyani alapanam. He sings with the finesse of a seasoned musician. I will try and upload it some time.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 11 Dec 2006, 17:53

Don't worry Jayaram - the usage of the past tense was srtictly with reference to his musical career! I believe he is a successful IT professional otherwise. There's been a lot of speculation about his premature retirement but I am not sure "why" myself..

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 12 Dec 2006, 22:32

Can't understand all this cloak and dagger stuff. Can someone clearly articulate what happened??

annapoorne · Post by **annapoorne** » 12 Dec 2006, 22:47

An IIT student, Mr Prasanna Venkatraman, from Smt Balamani's school , Mumbai and continuing shiksha from Sri T K Govinda Rao here in Chennai means serious music.

Jayashri · Post by **Jayashri** » 13 Dec 2006, 00:10

Mr. Venkataraman also learns from Sanjay now my close friend told me.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 13 Dec 2006, 13:46

Think about the LOSS for mridangists like me when talking about Balaji Shankar. always meticulous in preparation and clock-set precision in execution. I have accompanied a number of concerts for him before his withdrawal. We both were receipients of Spirit of Youth Excellence awards for the concert way back in 1989. I am just about reminded of his excellent, robust voice and his love for mridangam and mridangists. He just loved Karaikudi Mani for his accompaniment. He used to have lots of youngsters as his accompaniment and i can proudly say that i was also one of his favourd accompaniment. Soft spoken and well-mannered Balaji shankar is a real loss to CM. i hv one non-comercial recording of his live concert. will hv to retrieve the tape and convert into CD. may be i will do after the music season is over for the pleasure of the rasikas. But when i saw his name appear here at the forum i was emotionally moved and which prompted me to write the above.

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 13 Dec 2006, 14:26

Mridhangam, any chance at all of talking him into giving at least one-off performances for some select rasikas? Eagerly awaiting your recording, anyway.....

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 13 Dec 2006, 14:55

Many well wishers like Madurai Balasubramaniam (Violin vidwan and disciple of Sangita Kalanidhi M.Chandrasekaran) and others have spoken to him. Dont really know the exact reason for his withdrawal. I heard he had a throat problem. But whatever is the reason still i am not able to digest his absence (totally) from the field and even friendship with musicians. Something must have deeply hurt that youngster.

mridhangam · Post by **mridhangam** » 13 Dec 2006, 14:58

Hindolam--> Saketaraman is singing in Krishnagana Sabha on 31st December 2006 at 2.00 pm and I am accompanying him on the Mridangam. Rasikas are welcome

jayaram · Post by **jayaram** » 13 Dec 2006, 19:35

Balaji, thanks for that poignant note about Balaji Shankar. The recording I have is from the 1989 Shanmukhananda Hall concert of DKJ. Mysore Manjunath violin, Karaikkudi Mani mridangam! DKJ introduces Balaji as his 'kutti-shishyan'. (I will try and upload excerpts - if only I could figure out how to digitize my tapes!)

Like Vijay, may I also request you (or someone else) to see if Balaji would sing again, at least once-off.

Truly a great loss to carnatic music - let's hope he changes his mind some day!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 14 Dec 2006, 10:41

BTW, when exactly did he quit. I heard him at Tamil Sangam in Delhi in 1998 - he sang a superb Kambhoji - it was one of my first live concerts....then, when I moved to Chennai in 2001, he was nowhere to be seen....

srinidhi · Post by **srinidhi** » 14 Dec 2006, 15:49

And what ever happened to Shankaran Namboodiri?