Carnatic Vocal Concert by Sandeep Narayan accompanied by VVS Murari on the violin, Sangita Kalanidhi Trichy Sankaran on the Mridangam and KV Gopalakrishnan on the Kanjira.

This concert will feature a special meet and greet session with the legendary mridangist Sangita Kalanidhi Sri. Trichy Sankaran to commemorate his 80th birthday.

Please note: No video recording / streaming is available for this in-person concert.

Sandeep Narayan (Vocal) Website

Sandeep Narayan is regarded as one of the leading artists in Carnatic music today. By breaking boundaries as the first American born musician to move to India & make Carnatic music a full-time career, Sandeep is proud to be a role model for many aspiring musicians around the world today.

Sandeep had his initial training in the United States from his mother, Shubha Narayan. In 1996, Sandeep relocated to Chennai and begin learning from Calcutta K.S. Krishnamurthy. He is now a senior disciple of Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Sandeep has performed extensively in India and around the world.

Sandeep is a recipient of several prestigious awards including ‘Isai Peroli’ from Kartik Fine Arts, ‘Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar’ from Sangeet Natak Academy, ‘Kala Ratna’ from Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, ‘Best Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi’ award from Music Academy Madras, and ‘Shanmukha Sangeetha Shiromani’ from Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha. Sandeep is also an “A” grade artist on the All India Radio, Chennai

Sandeep has given lecture-demonstrations at venues including Carnegie Mellon University, UC Santa Barbara, and conducts workshops around the world. Sandeep aspires to continue serving as a cultural ambassador between Carnatic music and audiences worldwide.

VVS Murari (Violin) Website

VVS Murari represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in his family. Murari has been groomed under the guidance of his father VV Subrahmanyam and later from the Padma Vibhushan Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Murari has performed extensively in India and abroad at several prestigious venues. Additionally, Murari has been a catalyst in grooming talented young musicians. He has also been involved in several unique projects combining classical Indian music and western classical to jazz music thus bringing the world together.

Trichy Sankaran (Mridangam) Website

Professor Trichy Sankaran is a world-renowned percussion virtuoso, Indian music scholar, composer, and the founding director of Indian music studies at the York University. Over the years, Prof. Sankaran has bridged eastern and western pedagogical styles and has influenced generations of students who have become noted performers, composers, and music educators themselves. He has made valuable contributions to many scholarly conferences across North America and has published two major books: one on the theory and techniques of South Indian classical drumming, and the other on the Art of Konnakkol (Solkattu).

Trichy Sankaran has performed at major festivals in India and abroad. In his six decades of concert experience in Carnatic music, he has accompanied leading artists of India. He has performed in jugalbandhis (North-South combo) with leading Hindustani musicians. In addition to his usual traditional settings and numerous solo recitals, he has performed with Nexus, gamelan, jazz, electronic, African music ensembles, and world drums, as well as his own group, Trichy’s Trio.

He continues to perform and write compositions for contemporary and world music ensembles. He has received numerous honors and awards for his contributions to university teaching and artistic excellence. In January 2012, Dr. Sankaran received the most coveted honor of ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ from the prestigious Music Academy of Madras. He is the first recipient of this award in the Pudhukkottai tradition of mrdangam playing. Dr. Sankaran pioneered the Thyagaraja Festival in Toronto, Canada in 1972.

K V Gopalakrishnan (Kanjira) Website

Gopalakrishnan was initially trained by his father KVRS Mani and is now under the guidance of Dr. T K Murthy. Honored by the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt as their ‘Asthana Vidwan’, Gopalakrishnan has received several prestigious awards including ‘Yuva Kala Bharathi’ from Bharat Kalachar, ‘Obul Reddy endowment’ award from Narada Gana Sabha, and ‘Bismillah Khan – Yuva Puraskar’ award from Sangeet Natak Academy. He is also an accomplished Mridangam player and has won the ‘Best Mridangist’ award from The Music Academy, Madras

Gopalakrishnan has shared the stage with several senior and contemporary artists. He has also worked with movie music directors including Ilayaraja & Vidyasagar. He is an “A” grade artist on the All India Radio, Chennai. He has travelled extensively around the world on concert tours & music festivals.