Sunday, October 7, 2018
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Event Highlight

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Performers:  
Prahlad Saravanapriyan(student of Sri Shivakumar Bhat and Sri Saravanapriyan)
 
Pramati Barath(student of Sri Paduka Academy)
Rohit Seshadri(student of Smt Nandini Ramamurthi)
 
Sahana Prasanna(student of Smt Vasudha Ravi)
 
Shreyassriram Garimella (student of Sri Paduka Academy)
 
Sudiksha Vaidyanathan Veena (student of Sri Srikanth Chary)
 
Swati Iyer(student of Smt Jayanthi Umesh)
 
Thejeswini Sai Swaminathan(student of Sri Kolkatta Vijayaraghavan)
 
Varnika Kailash(student of Smt Kasthuri Shivakumar)
 
String accompanists:  
Aditya Satyadeep(student of Smt Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi)
 
Aishwarya Anand(student of Smt Anuradha Sridhar)
 
Alaap Rag (student of Smt Lakshmi Balasubramanya)
 
Ananya Devanath (student of Sri Srikanth Chary)
 
Deeksha venkateswaran(student of Smt H.M.Smitha)
 
Sahas Ramesh(student of Sri Vittal Ramamurthy)
 
Shravya Srinath(student of Smt.Sandhya Srinath)
 
Urmika Balaji(student of Vid.A.Kanyakumari)
 
Mrudangam accompanists:  
Amogh Kuchibhotla (student of Sri Patri Satishkumar)
 
Anirudh Rao(student of Sri Srinath Bala)
 
Avinash Anand(student of Sri Ramesh Srinivasan)
 
Rahul Swaminathan(student of Sri Gopi Lakshminarayanan)
 
Rajeev Devanath(student of Sri Ramesh Srinivasan)
 
Santhosh Ravindrabharathy(student of Sri Ravindrabharathy Sridharan)
 
Shrikrishna Shivakumar(student of Sri Vinod Seetharaman)
 
Vaibhav Prakash(student of Sri Gopi Lakshminarayanan)
 
Varchas Bharadwaj(student of Sri Trivandrum Balaji)
 
Dear members,
 
Happy Navarathri! Hope you’re all enjoying this festive season by visiting golus and friends. Wish you safe and pleasant trips while zooming through cities all over the bay! I am glad we got done with CCC last weekend to enjoy all this without worries and thanks to all who made time to attend our October performances.
 
We had nine solo performances, eight on the vocals and one veena solo and they were all simply fantastic. We introduced Swati and Shreyas on the vocals, Sudiksha on the veena and Amogh on the Mrudangam and marked improvement was obvious in rest of the repeat performances.
 
Our sincere appreciation goes to all our core volunteers who help with various aspects of our event logistics, irrespective of their child's participation in events. Many in the core team do not even have a child in CCC now as they've gone off to college and it's truly heartening to see these selfless helpers around us. Also, thanks to Nithya and Jayshree for bringing tea for our hard working volunteers.
 
Hope you enjoy these lovely pictures from our event, our sincere thanks to Barath for helping with photography again this month and sending us the photos almost instantly. Many thanks to Vidya Anand for helping with video department as always, to produce this beautiful excerpt clip for your enjoyment, and her quick turn-around inspite of Navarathri schedule deserves special mention.
 
Please save November 11th Sunday (2pm to 5pm) for our next event! CCC is funded in part by California Arts Council (CAC), a state agency and we sincerely thank them for the same.
 
Regards,
Padma Mohan

Comments

  • Carnatic Chamber Concerts – 8th October 2018 CCC Event
    Authored By: Anirudh Ramadurai, Pranav Satyadeep, Srishiva Manikantan, and Shreya Virunchipuram

    Carnatic Chamber Concerts, a music club with a nurturing
    environment for students of Carnatic music, to learn by performing and listening to young musicians, had its 101st event on the 7th of October 2018. There were nine performances, which included eight vocal performances and one veena solo. The repeat performers
    from this event showed their improvement from last year, and with each presentation, we were able to witness that with consistent hard work and dedicated practice, students would be able to hone their skills, work and thereby, become a more mature and confident
    performer.
    The event commenced with a vocal performance by Swati
    Iyer, accompanied by Shravya Srinath on the violin and Anirudh Rao on the mridangam. Swati took up the Navaragamalika Varnam, “valachi
    vacchi,” a composition of Sri Patnam Subramanya
    Iyer. This is a special varnam in Ragamalika with nine ragams, namely Kedaram, Shankarabharanam, Kalyani, Begada, Kambhoji, Yadukula Kambhoji, Bilahari, Mohanam, and Shree Ragam. It was an auspicious beginning to the Navarathri season. Swati sang the varnam
    at a leisurely pace and in perfect pitch. Following the varnam, Swati sang “AnandAmruthakarshini,”
    a composition of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, in the ragam Amruthavarshini, set to Adi Thalam. This krithi in praise of Devi (Bhavani) has a mystical story tied to it. Dikhitar sang this krithi which caused heavy rains after a long period of drought when his village
    was yearning for water! Shravya faithfully shadowed Swathi on the violin throughout the concert, while Anirudh’s energetic accompaniment enhanced the overall performance.
    Subsequent to Swati was a repeat fifteen-minute vocal
    performance presented by Thejeswini Sai Swaminathan and her accompanists, Sahas Ramesh on the violin, and Rahul Swaminathan on the mridangam. Thejeswini commenced her slot with a bhavam filled alapana in the ragam Shanmukhapriya, showcasing her bright voice.
    This was followed by a brief alapana by the violinist, Sahas, highlighting key Shanmukhapriya phrases. They then presented Sri Patnam Subramanya Iyer’s composition, “marivEre
    dikkEvarayya rAma,” in the ragam Shanmukhapriya
    set to Deshadi Thalam. Thejeswini chose the anucharanam phrase “sannutAnga
    srI vEnkaTEsa nIvu” to render kalpanaswarams,
    which included a variety of vilamba kalam and mEl kalam sarvalaghu and poruththam patterns. Sahas’ responses were precise and well thought out. Mridangist Rahul, for his part, further emphasized the layam aspect of the swarams. He then concluded the performance
    with a brief mohra korvai.
    The next performance was by Rohit Seshadri, accompanied
    on the violin by Deeksha Venkateswaran, and on the mridangam by Amogh Kuchibhotla. Rohit started his production with a brief, yet sweet Shankarabharanam alapana highlighting the essential aspects of the ragam. Deeksha followed up with an equally soothing alapana
    of her own. Rohit chose to sing “enduku
    peddala,” composed by Saint Thyagaraja in Adi
    Thalam. Rohit delighted the audience with his perfect rendering of the krithi with a good understanding of the ragam with all the correct gamakams followed by swaram on the charanam line, “vEda
    sAstra tatvArtamu telisi.” The swarams were
    enjoyable with a mix of sarvalaghu and kanakkus finally ending with an edam-to-edam korvai. Deeksha’s accompanying was commendable, and her skillful swaram responses were equally enjoyable. Amogh’s steady accompanying on the mridangam contributed to a wholesome
    concert experience.
    Following Rohit Seshadri’s performance was an introductory
    ten-minute vocal performance by Shreyassriram Garimella and his accompanists, Violinist Alaap Rag and Mridangist Rajeev Devanath. Shreyas rendered a famous composition of Saint Thyagaraja, “sogasugA
    mridanga tALamu” in Sriranjani (a janya of
    Kharaharapriya, the 22nd melakarta), set to Rupaka Thalam. Shreyassriram did an excellent job in rendering the krithi in his bold and strong voice with kalpana swarms on the Pallavi line “mridanga
    tALamu.” Alaap’s accompaniment on the violin
    gave strong support to the vocalist as he helped to bring out more subtle nuances during krithi rendition. Mridangist Rajeev did an excellent job by keeping up the lively tone of Sriranjani with his dynamic and synchronized support.
    Following Shreyassriram’s performance was a debut 10-minute
    veena performance by Sudiksha Vaidyanathan, who was accompanied by Vaibhav Prakash on the mridangam. Sudiksha started her performance with a soothing, yet traditional alapana, in the 56th melakarta ragam, Shanmukhapriya. She confidently showcased the full
    essay of the ragam throughout her alapana, and also traveled the highest and lowest octaves with effortless ease, which elevated her presentation. Sudiksha then proceeded to perform Sri. Muthuswamy Diskhitar’s famous composition, “siddhi
    vinAyakam anisam,” set to Rupaka Thalam. She
    rendered the piece melodiously, weaving different shades of the ragam and sangathis craftily. Throughout the performance, Vaibhav supported Sudiksha with his bold and dynamic accompaniment on the mridangam. He provided steady and synchronized accompaniment
    to the concert, which made the performance interesting to watch and delightful to hear.
    Sudiksha’s effortless playing on the veena was followed
    by a main slot twenty minutes vocal performance by Pramati Barath and her accompanists, Ananya Devanath on the veena, and Santhosh Ravindrabharathy on the mridangam. Pramati presented a rich alapana in the ragam, Saveri, peppered with of vAdi-samvAdi phrases.
    Pramati’s alapana was mirrored beautifully by Ananya on the veena, who then played an equally erudite solo. Pramati then proceeded to sing Saint Tyagaraja’s well-known composition, “daridApulEkA
    vEDitE”, set to Deshadi Thalam. For manodharmam,
    Pramati chose to do a brief yet soulful neraval, along with intricate kalpanaswarams at the anucharanam line, “valachi
    padamula nammitE,” which showed her grasp of
    understanding of the ragam. Throughout the performance, Santhosh kept up a confident and spirited accompaniment on the mridangam, which complimented the overall performance.
    Pramati’s bold rendition was followed by a performance
    by Varnika Kailash and her “on-the-spot” accompanists, Violinist Aishwarya Anand and Mridangist Varchas Bharadwaj. Varnika Kailash’s mellifluous vocal rendering of Sri Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s “saraguNa
    pAlimpa,” in praise of Lord Venkateshwara,
    was preceded by a beautiful exploration of the Kedaragowla, steeped in rakthi, and highlighting of the kaisiki nishadam that is unique to the ragam. Aishwarya Anand’s skillful handling of the violin brought out the soul of the ragam. Varnika rendered the Adi
    Thalam composition with passion; her calm stage-presence went a long way in conveying the devotion of the composer throughout the song. She chose “varaguNa
    sEshAdri,” the anupallavi line, to do neraval
    in vilamba Kalam and mEl Kalam. Varnika’s swarams included sarvalaghu patterns with abhiprayams in trikalam (vilamba, tisram, and mEl Kalam). Responses from Aishwarya were equally soothing, showing the spirit of the ragam and showcasing her ease at handling
    the ragam and the instrument. The mridangist, Varchas Bharadwaj, stayed involved during the whole presentation; his accompaniment embellished the beauty of the composition punctuating the presentation with brief mohra-korvai.
    Following Varnika’s energetic Kedaragowla presentation
    was a vocal performance by Prahlad Saravanapriyan, with Urmika Balaji on the violin and Avinash Anand on the mridangam. Prahlad began his presentation with a vibrant alapana in the ragam Lathangi, in which he crafted many important sancharams of Lathangi.
    His bright and energetic alapana was followed by Papanasam Sivan’s krithi, “vEnkaTa
    ramaNA,” set to Rupaka Thalam on Lord Venkateswara
    of Tirupati. Prahalad’s ease in signing and flexibility, especially in the higher octaves was evident throughout his performance. The niraval and kalpanaswarams on “alamEl
    mangai manAla ambuja nAbha dayAla,” was well
    thought out and beautifully expressed the shades of Lathangi. Prahalad’s mEl kalam sarvalaghu swarakalpana flowed effortlessly, including some in mixed nadais, followed by koraippu and samam-to-edam korvai. Urmika’s soothing violin accompaniment greatly enhanced
    the beauty of this concert. Her neraval and swarakalpana responses demonstrated maturity and a high level of skill in accompanying. Avinash Anand’s steady and energetic accompaniment on the mridangam greatly enhanced the concert experience. Overall, it was
    an impressive performance, one that will be remembered and relished for a long time.
    Subsequent to Prahlad’s bright vocal performance was
    an RTP performance by Sahana Prasanna’s team including herself on the vocals, Aditya Satyadeep on the violin and Shrikrishna Shivakumar on the Mridangam. Sahana began her slot with a brisk Begada alapana, keeping the audience enrapt. Her essay of the raga
    featured the key phrases of Begada and demonstrated its usage of the kaisiki nishadam and sparing and occurrences of kakali nishadam; it was pleasing to hear the n3 surrounded by S and d. Her accompanist Aditya responded with a brief and bright essay of the
    raga illustrating the nuances of the raga. Following this, was their exploration of the ragam through “thanam” phrases. Both Sahana and Aditya chose signature Begada phrases to navigate through this section showcasing their vivid imagination. Sahana then sang
    a Pallavi on Lord Venkateswara “vEnkata
    ramanA sankata haraNa – tirupati” in Begada,
    set to Chaturasra Jati Eka Thalam in Misra Nadai. Ensuing the manodharmam aspects of the Pallavi Sahityam, they explored swarams. Sahana’s vilamba kala swarams illustrated the beauty of Begada. Her swarams incorporated the unique Begada phrases nRn,dp, MM,GRS
    and other rare phrases such as the pdpS,,m, where she enthralled her audience in her rendering of a beautiful slide from Sa to ma. They then continued with mEl kala Begada swarams succeeded by swarams in lilting Latangi, immediately followed by the heavenly
    dvi-madhyama Hamirkalyani and finally concluding aptly with sanctimonious Suruti. It was hard not to notice Sahana’s brilliant selection of ragams exhibiting great contrast. During this display of a wide range of emotions by Sahana and Aditya on the melody
    side, on the laya side, we witnessed a very spirited and involved performance by Shrikrishna. He concluded the performance with a concise mohra korvai. The trio then wrapped up the October 2018 CCC event with the traditional mangalam.
    On the whole, all the performers showcased their talents
    and demonstrated a positive attitude to improve their skills in the great art of Carnatic music. Kudos to all the performers who worked hard and their gurus for their wonderful encouragement, training, and support. Sincere appreciation to all the parents
    who have taken the challenge of scheduling rehearsals, classes and driving around in bay area traffic during the weekdays or weekends to make the best team effort. Finally, sincere appreciation goes to all the volunteers of Carnatic Chamber Concerts for their
    constant support and encouragement to all young musicians in the Bay Area. Best wishes to all the performers for a bright and enjoyable musical future.

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