Gamaka presents Samarpanam
Join us for a vibrant afternoon of music and dance, in partnership with local performing arts theatre, The Round.
This program will begin with an instrumental recital featuring Pramodhyan Sri and Dharyny (Veena Duet) and Madhav Sanjeev (Mridangam).
This will be followed by a Bharathanatyam Margam recital by Rashan Samsul, accompanied by a live orchestra featuring Sindhu Ganapathy (Vocal), Narthana Kanagasabai (Violin), Satheepan Elankumaran (mridangam), and Anirudh Sivaramakrishnamurthy (Nattuvangam).
Please note this is a free event but registrations are essential.
REGISTER HERE: https://www.theround.com.au/whats-on/samarpanam
Gamaka presents Sanjay Subrahmanyan live in Melbourne
Join us for an enchanting evening of Carnatic music featuring three internationally acclaimed artists: Sanjay Subrahmanyan, S Varadarajan, and Neyveli Venkatesh. This rare cultural experience takes place at the state-of-the-art Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts in Melbourne’s East.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
SANJAY SUBRAHMANYAN (VOCAL)
Known for his vibrant and intelligent performances, Sanjay Subrahmanyan combines the authority and purity of Carnatic music tradition with his own creative flair. His awe-inspiring repertoire of rare and popular compositions, and his passion for the Tamil language, enthrals audiences worldwide. He is a recipient of the ‘Sangeetha Kalanidhi’, the highest accolate in Carnatic Music. Learn more at www.sanjaysub.com.
S VARADARAJAN (VIOLIN)
S Varadarajan is an esteemed violinist, whose melodic expressions and innovative interpretations make him a household name in Carnatic music today. He known for his artistic rigour and his ability to make the violin ‘sing’ in a soulful ‘gayaki’ (vocalised) style of playing.
NEYVELI VENKATESH (MRIDANGAM)
Neyveli Venkatesh, an exceptional mridangam artist, adds rhythm and vibrancy to the ensemble. He has travelled the world and performed with leading musicians, enthralling audiences and earning accolades across continents.
DATE: Sunday 17 March 2024
TIME: 4.30pm
VENUE: Alexander Theatre, Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Monash University, Melbourne.
Gamaka presents SaMshrava
SaMshrava: flowing together is a double-header event featuring world class artists from India and Australia.
Date and time: Sunday 16 April, from 4.00pm
Venue: Performance Centre, Doncaster Secondary College | 123 Church Rd, Doncaster VIC 3108
Tickets: $40 - order via Trybooking (ticket price inclusive of both sets)
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SET 1 (4.00 - 6.15pm): CARNATIC KUTCHERI
Vignesh Ishwar (Vocal), Madan Mohan (Violin), TR Sundaresan (Mridangam), Anirudh Athreya (Kanjira)
SET 2 (6.45 - 8.15pm): BHARATHANATYAM MARGAM
Christopher Gurusamy (Bharathanatyam)
Learn more about the artists…
VIGNESH ISHWAR (Vocal)
Vignesh Ishwar is one of the leading young musicians of Karnatik music. Endowed with a sonorous voice and unforgettable presence on stage, his music is fresh, energetic and impactful. His uniqueness as a musician stems from an individual approach that combines sincerity, discipline, creativity and perfect shruti. Born and raised in Mumbai, Vignesh trained under Palakkad Shri T S Anantharama Bhagawathar from the age of 4. His music is steeped in strong foundation. Since 2008, he has been learning from Sri T M Krishna.
Vignesh has performed extensively in India and abroad. Being one of the leading young musicians of his generation, he has been regularly featured by all the major sabhas at the prestigious December Music Festival in Chennai for the last 12 years. Internationally, Vignesh has given various performances in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Barcelona and has toured the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand extensively. He has numerous awards and accolades to his credit including:
MS Subbulakshmi award by Narada Gana Sabha 2022
MLV Award by Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha,
Outstanding Concert Prize (Senior - 2022) and Best Concert Award (2019) by the Music Academy Madras
Shanmukha Sangeetha Shiromani Award (Shanmukananda Sabha, Mumbai)
Recipient of the Government of India Scholarship for Karnatik music
Graded artist of the ‘All India Radio Chennai’ (AIR Chennai).
CHRISTOPHER GURUSAMY (Bharathanatyam)
Christopher Gurusamy is a leading Soloist of Bharathanatyam and a holder of a First Class Post Graduate diploma from the internationally renowned Bharathanatyam institution, Kalakshetra (Chennai). He is regarded as a frontline dancer of his generation, performing regularly at the Madras Music Academy, Krishna Gana Sabha and many other prestigious venues in India.
Continuing his training with Bragha Bessell, he has travelled extensively internationally and within India as a dancer and as a member of Leela Samson’s Spanda Dance Company. He has received widespread critical acclaim including Best Dance of 2017 (New York Times), HCL Best Performer (Madras Music Academy, 2015) and Kalavahini Fellowship for Choreography (Malavika Sarrukai 2018), the Narasimachari endowment (Narada Gana Sabha, 2022). He was also awarded an arts development grant from the Australia Council for the Arts to attend the Akram Khan Classical Intensive (London, 2019).
While adhering to the grammar of the form, his aesthetics and contemporary choreographic sensibility reflect fresh perspectives that both revisit and deconstruct the traditional repertoire, drawing from lived experiences in Australia and India.
MADAN MOHAN (Violin)
Born and brought up in Neyveli, N Madan Mohan is a full time performing Carnatic Violinist. He had his initial training under Shri Pannapattu S
Venkatesan and Shri TV Ramani. He moved to Chennai in the year 2011 to pursue his passion for Violin. He continues his tutelage under Vidwan Shri RK Shriramkumar, having been under his guidance for the past 9 years.
He has been an active performer in the field of Carnatic Music for the last 7 years, performing in prestigious Sabhas and organisations across India and sharing the stage with seasoned artists.
In 2019, he performed in the Spirit Of Youth Festival conducted by Music Academy Of Madras and received the Best Violinist award.
TR SUNDARESAN (Mridangam)
'Kalaimamani’ T.R.Sundaresan hails from the Palghat Mani Iyer lineage and has more than 4 decades of experience performing in the field of Mridangam. Initially trained by his father late Sri.T.V.Rangarajan, he later trained under Padma Shri Dr Yella Venkateswar Rao, in the 'Gurukula' tradition.
He is a graded artist of ‘All India Radio’ and ‘Doordarshan’. A senior established artist, he has accompanied many stalwarts both nationally and internationally on many prestigious festivals. The Government of Tamil Nadu has conferred the state’s Highest award ‘Kalaimamani’ upon him.
He has been an ICCR ‘Outstanding Panel Artist’ from 1986 and has performed for many cultural exchange events around the globe. He has conceptualised and produced unique rhythmic feature projects, like the Nava Mridanga Tarang and two musical features, Giri Sankeerthana Sangamam & ‘Prayag’ the confluence of Indian Rivers. In the year 2005, as a prayer to mother nature, he performed the ‘MRIDANGA MAHA YAGNAM’ for 42 hours continuously.
He mentors students from India, Australia, Europe, Singapore and USA, many of whom are performing artists and also graded artists in All India Radio. In 2011, he founded Sannidi Academy of Music and Arts , a non-profit organisation that provides a platform to perform and promote Carnatic music.
In addition to his performance and teaching career, he has also published two books, ‘Eloquent Percussion’ by Ekagrata Publications and ‘A Companion to South Indian Classical Music’ by Oxford Publications, which he co-authored with Mr Ludwig Pesch, an eminent musicologist.
ANIRUDH ATHREYA (Kanjira)
Hailing from an illustrious musical lineage, V Anirudh Athreya is the great grandson of legends Sri Papa KS Venkatramiah and Alathur Sri Subbier. His grand father Vidwan Sri V Thyagarajan was also a renowned violinist.
Seeing Anirudh’s keen interest in rhythm and percussion as a child, his grand uncle, Kanjira Maestro Sri V Nagarajan, a pioneer in the art, instantaneously volunteered to teach him to play the Kanjira. His skills were further honed and polished by Mridangam wizard Dr. TK Murthy. Majestic in tone, his speciality is accompanying for music and being sensitive to the melody around him. He has performed extensively in India and across the world.
Today, Anirudh has the unique distinction of being the youngest Kanjira artiste to have accompanied every senior artiste in the field of Carnatic Music along with many Violin and Mridangam Stalwarts. He has received high recognition and numerous awards and he's one of the youngest Carnatic musicians to have been awarded the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He holds the rare distinction of having performed at the United Nations in the year 2016 along-with legendary carnatic musician Sudha Ragunathan in connection with the World Non-Violence Day celebrations and stamp release to commemorate 50 years of Bharat Ratna Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi’s performance at the UN.
REVIVAL: Part One
REVIVAL is a live concert series featuring local Carnatic musicians from Melbourne’s South Asian diaspora.
This program includes two sets by emerging and established artists. We'll begin with a dynamic rhythmic exchange between three mridangams, followed by an instrumental trio featuring the bamboo flute, violin and mridangam.
Join us for a beautiful afternoon of music as we re-engage with our culture and community and heal from a difficult couple of years.