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By Nirmala Rajsekhar and team
Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 3 PM Vocal by Sutikshna; 100 strings Jugalbandi- 4:30 PM
Fugett Middle School Auditorium
500 Ellis Lane
West Chester, PA 19380
Vocal concert by Sutikshna Veeravalli from 3-4 pm.
Vocal – Sutikshna Veeravalli
Mridangam – L.Subramanian
Violin – Sushmitha Ravikumar
Sutikshna Veeravalli is a Carnatic Vocalist and Bharatanatyam dancer based in Boston. She is a vocal disciple of Kalaimamani Dr. R. Suryaprakash and dance disciple of Guru and mother Vanitha Veeravalli. Having begun training at age 4, she has now been pursuing both performing arts for 25 years. Her commitment to these arts brings her annually to perform in Chennai as well as across North America. Most notably, she has participated in the Madras Music Academy’s Spirit of Youth and HCL Series. Her achievements have earned her accolades from organizations including Bharat Kalachar and the Brahma Gana Sabha. She has also composed music for Bharatanatyam. Outside music and dance, Sutikshna works full-time as a high school educator of students with learning disabilities. Her goal is to integrate arts with education, in various forms, in order to build more holistic and accessible communities.
L. Subramanian is a disciple of Sangitha Kala Acharya Shri. K. S. Kalidas, who was a direct disciple of the mridangam and kanjira maestro Palani Shri Subramania Pillai – Mridangist – He is a graded artist of the all India radio and has performed extensively in India and the USA.
Sushmitha Ravikumar is a Carnatic vocalist and violinist. She learns vocal from Shri. Madurai R. Sundar, disciple of Sangeetha Kalanithi Shri. T.N. Seshagopalan and violin from Kum. Akkarai Sornalatha of the Akkarai sisters. Through IndianRaga, Sushmitha has earned over 11 million views in her music productions on YouTube. In addition, she has performed nationally and internationally, most notably at the United Nations and India, and has accompanied numerous musicians and dance arangetrams. Sushmitha is a chemical engineer and completed her MBA at MIT Sloan School of Management, working now in management consulting at BCG.
Nirmala Rajasekar – Saraswathi Veena
Sandip Chatterjee – Santoor
Thanjavur Murugaboopathi – Mridangam
Ramdas Palsule – Tabla
Nirmala Rajasekar is one of the premier Saraswathi veena players in the world today. A dynamic and vibrant musician, she performs in the leading venues in India and around the world, including Sawai Gandharva Mahotsav (Pune), the Music Academy (Chennai), Carnegie Hall (New York), United Nations (New York) and the Rumi International Festival (Turkey). An established vocalist and well-known composer, Nirmala is seen internationally as a “Carnatic Ambassador” and leader in forging new paths on the Saraswati Veena. She is a recipient of the Kalaimamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu, the highest honor in the arts. Nirmala is the 2023 A.P. Anderson Awardee from the Anderson Center for her outstanding contributions to the cultural life and legacy of the State of Minnesota.
Sandip Chatterjee, a disciple of Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya and vocal maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, is a rich and accomplished Santoor player of our time. He has been heralded as the torch bearer of two Gharanas at the same time – MAIHAR and PATIALA .
With his magical strokes over strings, He makes his unique melody speak. A deep rooted explorer in himself has helped him give a dynamic approach to his playing style with one hand. Where he uses his left hand to lift the strings (Plucking Chikari) to play the Alap, Jod Jhalla, part of bandish( Gat) there by creating an ineffable resonance.
Vidwan Thanjavur K. Murugaboopathi is one of the leading mridangam players of today. His technique and creative ability in accompaniment, solo renditions, and jugalbandhi collaborations with his North Indian brethren have earned him critical acclaim around the world. Hailing from a family of musicians and artists, Sri Murugaboopathi had his initial training from Vidwan Sri T R Srinivasan. He later trained in the rare gurukula tradition (of living with one’s guru) for more than ten years with the Mridagnam maestro Sri Tanjore Upendran.
A disciple of eminent tabla player Suresh Talwalkar, Ramdas Palsule is a versatile soloist and accompanist. He has traveled widely all over India and abroad and has accompanied many noted vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers.