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NINETEENTH ANNUAL MUSIC EVENT – 2014The ten day event of nineteen music concerts will be held at Sri Srinvasa Sastry

Hall, Luz, Mylapore from 8-12-2014 to 17-12-2014.The function will be inaugurated on8-12-2014 at 4.30pm and will be presided over by Sri R. Sundar (Hamsadhwani) andSri Y. Prabhu (Sri Krishna Gana Sabha).

Gayaka Vainika Shikhamani N. Ravikiran will be honoured with our mostprestigious title ‘Sangeetha Sasthra Virpannar’ on this occasion. ‘Life TimeAchievement Award’ will be conferred on M. A. Sundhareswaran, Neyveli B. Venkatesh,Sikkil Mala Chandrasekahar and Patri Satish Kumar. Gayathri Girish, Sumithra Vasudev,Amritha Murali, Akkarai S. Subhalakshmi, Dr. R. Hemalatha and Charumathi

Raghuraman will receive the title ‘Sangeetha Saptha Sagara’ awards.

PROGRAMME D.V.

4.30 pm: Lighting the Kuthuvilakku

4.40 pm: Invocation and Theme song - Smt. GAYATHRI GIRISH

4.45 pm: Welcome Address - Nadopasana SRINIVASAN

5.00 pm: Honouring Guests of HonourSri R. Sundar and Sri. Y. Prabhu - GAYATHRI SUNDARESAN, Exec.Trustee,

5.15 pm: Honouring Sri N. RAVIKIRAN and - Sri R. SUNDAR and Sri Y. PRABHUother awardees

5.45 pm: Presidential Address

6.00 pm. Address by the Chief Guest

6.15 pm: Response by - RAVIKIRAN, SUNDHARESWARAN,NEYVELI VENKATESH, GAYATHRI GIRISH

6.30 pm: Vote of Thanks - Smt VARALAKSHMI ANANDKUMAR

Compere : C.E. KRISHNAN

CHITRA VEENA CONCERT6.45 pm: N. RAVIKIRAN - Chitra Veenai

M. A. Sundhareswaran - ViolinNeyveli B. Venkatesh - MridangamVaikom Gopalakrishnan - Ghatam

Voluntary donations welcome. Tax exemption under Section 80G available.

ALL ARE WELCOME

For other details see overleaf

P. RAMABHADRAN

Executive Trustee SAFE

had her accompany them in concerts and provided her with valuable guidance and

experience.

Her violin play is marked by a rich tone, sensitive and precise fingering, capable of

reproducing the finest nuances of the human voice, combined with the versatility of the

violin.

An 'A' graded AIR artist, she has accompanied top ranking musicians and has

performed in all the major cities in India and abroad. The Indo-Russian Cultural Exchange

programme concert at age 13, the farewell concert for Zubin Mehta at Munich are just a

couple of prestigious events that she has been featured in.

She gives both vocal and violin duet concerts with her sister Akkarai Sornalatha,

and has released many albums in both categories.

SAFE congratulates her on her many achievements and presents the title Sangeetha

Saptha Sagara.

DR. R HEMALATHA

Dr. Hemalatha is the daughter of veteran khanjira

Vidwan K.S. Rangachari. She is the disciple of late T.S.

Narayana Rao and had further training under vidwans B.V.

Raman and B.V. Lakshmanan. She is much sought after as an

accompanist and also as a solo violin artist. She is an 'A Top'

graded artist with AIR, and has won innumerable awards from

all the prestigious organisations.

SAFE honours her with the title Sangeetha Saptha

Sagara in recognition of her achievements and wishes her a

long and successful career.

CHARUMATHI RAGHURAMAN

A violinist of exceptional aesthetics, Charumathi was

initially trained in music by T.R. Balamani and N. Krishnan

of Bombay. She became an ardent disciple of the iconic

violinist Sangeetha Kalanidhi T.N. Krishnan when he noticed

her precocious talent and took her under his wings.

In the 15 years of her career, she has performed in

all major Sabhas and cities of the country and abroad, both

as accompanist and soloist. She has been featured in several

Indian and International music festivals. An 'A High' graded

artist with AIR, the awards and accolades she has to her credit

are many.

SAFE wishes her a bright future and honours her with

the title Sangeetha Saptha Sagara.

SAFE DECEMBER 2014 AWARDS

CHITRAVEENA RAVIKIRAN

Celebrated as the 'Mozart of India' (Wisconsin State

Journal, USA), Ravikiran made headlines as the world's youngest

prodigy at age two, presented vocal concerts from five,

Chitravina recitals from eleven, and created the revolutionary

concept in World Music MELHARMONY in the year 2000. Hailed

for his 'teasing precision' (New York Times), he has performed

across the world in major festivals, been featured by networks

such as CNN, BBC, and NPR, and has collaborated with top artists

and orchestras like the BBC Philharmonic. He was perhaps the

first to introduce Carnatic music in Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia

etc., first guru to introduce tele-teaching and online courses

and first to introduce Indian music in district schools in the

USA through orchestral compositions.

Creator of the visual rhythm software Taal Acharya, Ravikiran has composed nearly

700 pieces including operas Ramayana and Mahabharata. Youngest to win the President

of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi award, he has received numerous awards from prestigious

organisations across the world. He attributes his success to his gurus Chitraveena

Narasimhan and T. Brinda.

SAFE takes pride in conferring the title 'SANGEETHA SASTHRA VIRPANNAR' on the

Chitravina maestro.

This title, suggested by Ki.Va. Jagannathan, the then Editor of Kalaimagal, was given

to Mangudi Sri Dorairaja Iyer, a virtuoso in mridangam and Bharatanatyam in 1976 at a

function organised by Music Triangle, Mumbai.

Ravikiran will receive a cash award of Rs. 20,000, citation, plaque medal and shawl.

Our warm wishes to him - may he achieve more accolades in the years to come.

We now present the Life time Achievement Award to artists who have made a

name for themselves in the field, through their dedicated

pursuance of their art. The award includes a purse of

Rs. 10,000, citation, medal and shawl.

PARUR M. A. SUNDHARESWARAN

Born in a family of renowned musicians, Sundha

reswaran began learning to play the violin from his

grandfather Parur A. Sundaram Iyer in the unique Parur bani.

He continued his training under his father M.S. Anantha

raman. He had the privilege of playing with Sundaram Iyer

at his maiden performance at the Sri Tyagaraja Vidwat

Samajam in 1965. He has kept the family name and bani aloft

SUMITHRA VASUDEV

Prime disciple of legendary musician

Sangeetha Kalanidhi R. Vedavalli, Sumithra

Vasudev has been performing for over 15 years.

An A grade artist of AIR, her academic

achievements are as impressive as her musical

expertise. With a Masters' degree in Samskrita

literature, she is pursuing her doctoral studies

in music from the Music Academy Research

Centre, Music Academy, Chennai, affiliated to Tumkur University.

She is an active member of Samskrita Ranga, an organisation devoted to popularising

Samskrita theatre. She is involved in the Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini Translation

project of the Music Academy.

A passionate researcher of music and Samskritam, she has presented papers in

national seminars and has contributed articles to journals.

SAFE wishes her success in all her endeavours and congratulates her by conferring

the title Sangeetha Saptha Sagara on her.

AMRITHA MURALI

Amritha has earned acclaim in the music fraternity as a

highly talented and sensitive musician. Her innate talent has been

nurtured by her parents and her gurus V idwan (late) K.R.

Kedaranathan, Vidushi Meera Kedaranathan, Vidushi Rama Ravi.

Currently she is under the tutelage of Vidwan P.S. Narayana swami.

Her violin training has been under Vidushi T. Rukmini.

Adherence to classical values has been the hall mark of

her music. She is an 'A' graded artist with AIR, has performed

widely throughout the country and abroad. As a violinist, she has

accompanied top rung musicians. She has numerous awards to

her credit and now SAFE wishes to add another feather to her

cap with the title of Sangeetha Saptha Sagara.

AKKARAI S. SUBHALAKSHMI

Subhalakshmi hails from a musical family. Her grandfather

Suchindram S.P. Sivasubramanian was a musician and composer,

her grandmother Sornambal a Harikatha exponent and music

teacher. The intensive training she received from her father

Akkarai S. Swamynathan enabled her to debut as a performing

violinist and vocalist at the age of eight. She also trained under

V. Janakiraman, O.V. Subramanian and his daughter Padmavathy

Natesan and P.S. Narayanaswami and Chitraveena Ravikiran who

non-stop, marathon session at Neyveli proved to be a turning point in his career, leaving

an indelible imprint in the music field. His skill in playing the gumki style is well appreciated.

He is an 'A' graded artist with AIR, and is adept at playing the khanjira and konnakkol too.

SAFE recognises his efforts and contribution to the percussive arts, and presents

him with the Life Time Achievement Award.

PATRI SATISH KUMAR

The much sought after mridangam artist Patri Satish

Kumar was born in a family of musicians. He was initiated

into the art of percussion by his mother Padmavathy, a

violinist. He made his debut at the tender age of 7. Further

trained by gurus Sree Ramachandramurthy, V.A. Swamy and

V. Narasimhan, Satish Kumar continues to evolve a style of

his own, his specialization being precise fingering technique

and fine balance of sounds between the treble and base

heads of the mridangam.

Satish Kumar has performed in prestigious venues across India and around the

world including France, Spain, Canada, USA, and BBC programmes at the Royal Albert

Hall, London.

SAFE confers on him the Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to the

percussive art and wishes him a glorious journey for many years to come.

We move on to the presentation of awards to younger musicians who show promise

of becoming leading artists in the near future. As we did during our tenth anniversary, we

present them with the title Sangeetha Saptha Sagara, cash award of Rs. 5,000, citation,

medal and shawl.

GAYATHRI GIRISH

A disciple of Vaigal S. Gnanaskandan and Sangeetha

Kalanidhi Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, Gayathri Girish has

performed in all major Sabhas in Chennai and throughout

India and abroad. She represented the country and

performed in Russia for 'The Year of India in Russia' in 2009.

Kalaimamani, Isai Peroli, Yuva Kala Bharati are a few

of the many awards she has already received. Her most recent

project, "Myriad forms of Lord Siva" a multi media

presentation, incorporating temple architecture and

iconography, along with lucid explanation correlating Sanskrit

treatises and the nuances in kritis, was highly successful.

SAFE now adds the title Sangeetha Saptha Sagara in recognition of her

achievements, and wishes her more success in the field.

with violin duets with his father, Trio with brother M.A. Krishnaswami and quartet with

son Ananthakrishnan. He has accompanied almost all senior vocalists in his nearly five-

decade long career, and has travelled extensively within the country and abroad. He is an

'A Top' artist with the AIR, where he is also a staff artist.

He is proficient in Hundustani music having learnt from Pandit Krishnanand of the

Kirana Gharana. He has several awards and titles to his credit including the Kalaimamani

from the Govt. of Tamil Nadu.

He received the title Sangeetha Saptha Sagara from SAFE in 2006 during its tenth

Annual music event as a promising artist.

Now, the Life Time Achievement award is yet another acknowledgement of his

achievements from SAFE.

SIKKIL MALA CHANDRASEKHAR

Flautist Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar, who has been

performing for over three decades, continues in the tradition of

her famous gurus the Sikkil Sisters, Sangeetha Kalanidhis Neela

and Kunjumani. In playing style, she combines Kunjumani's clear

classic lines with Neela's flair and expressiveness. Another

dimension was added to her style when she came under the

influence of M.S. Subbulakshmi and Radha Viswanthan when

she became a member of that august family through marriage.

An 'A Top' graded artist of AIR, she has performed in all

major cities in India, USA, Canada, London, Dubai, Singapore,

Australia and New Zealand. She was the first flautist to visit

Jordan through the ICCR in 2009. Among her innumerable awards, noteworthy is the

Excellence Award conferred on her in 2008 at the World Peace and Harmony Concert

performed at the United Nations.

She has also been teaching at the Govt. Music College, Chennai, as a visiting

professor, for several years.

SAFE presents the Life Time Achievement

Award to Sikkil Mala Chandrasekhar. We wish her

many more years of service to her art.

NEYVELI B. VENKATESH

Initiated into the art of playing mridangam by

his father A.S. Balaraman, Neyveli B. Venkatesh

further honed his skills under P.P. Venkatesan and

Ramanatha puram M.N. Kandaswamy Pillai. His

maiden performance was at the age of ten. He has

accompanied all frontline musicians and has toured

all the major cities in India and abroad. His 28 hour,

4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

DECEMBER MUSIC FEST, 2014

8.12.2014 N. RAVIKIRAN ChitraVeena

Monday M.A. Sundareswaran Violin

I N A G U R A T I ON Neyveli Venkatesh Mridangam

Vaikom Gopalakrishnan Ghatam

9.12.2014 M.R. SUBRAMANIAM Vocal SUMITRA VASUDEV Vocal

Tuesday Madurai S. BalasubramanianViolin PakkalaRamadas Violin

S. J. Arjun Ganesh Mridangam K. Arun Prakash Mridangam

10.12.2014 KANAKA DURGA Vocal Dr. M. LALITHA & M. NANDINI Violin Duet

Wednesday NeelaJayakumar Violin A.V. Manikandan Mridangam

V.R. Jayakumar Mridangam

11.12.2014 RITHVIK RAJA Vocal GAYATHRI GIRISH Vocal

Thursday R. Raghul Violin V. Sanjeev Violin

N.C. Bharadwaj Mridangam B. Ganapathiraman Mridangam

Sunil Kumar Kanjira

12.12.2014 AKKARAI SISTERS Vocal G. SRIKANTH Vocal

Friday M.R. Gopinath Violin V.V. Ravi Violin

K. Sai Giridhar Mridangam KallidaikurichiSivakumar Mridangam

V. Anirudh Athreya Kanjira

4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

All are welcome

13.12.2014 C.S. SAJEEV Vocal VASUNDHARARAJAGOPALAN Vocal

Saturday H.N. Bhaskar Violin H.M. Smitha Violin

”Sangeetha Saptha Sagara” R. Sankaranarayanan Mridangam

PoongulamSubramaniam

Mridangam

14.12.2014 RATNAPRABHA Vocal MADURAI R. SUNDAR Vocal

Sunday V. Dipika Violin AkkaraiSornalatha Violin

Thillaisthanam Dr. K. Ashok Mridangam

R. Suryanarayanan Mridangam

15.12.2014 K.BHARATSUNDAR Vocal GEETHA RAJA Vocal

Monday ParurAnanthakrishnan Violin K.J. Dileep Violin

Papanasam R KumarMridangam T.K. Ramakrishnan Mridangam

16.12.2014 VIMARSHINIJAIRAM Vocal SHANKAR RAMANI Vocal

Tuesday Sudha R. S. Iyer Violin B. Ananthakrishnan Violin

S. Ramaswamy Mridangam K.R. Ganesh Mridangam

17.12.2014 VARALAKSHMI ANANDKUMAR MAMBALAM SISTERS Vocal

Wednesday Vocal Dr. R. Hemalatha Violin

Shreya Devnath Violin Nellai A. Balaji Mridangam

Sumesh S. NarayananMridangam K. S. Rangachari Kanjira