The upcoming event is scheduled on Sunday, November 21, 2010.
Venue: 7100 Nicollet Ave, Richfield, MN 55423
List of the performers is given below:
2:00 pm to 2:40 pm Shruthi Rajasekar (Carnatic Vocal)
2:45 pm to 4:00 pm Pallavi Dharwada (Carnatic Vocal)
Shruthi Rajasekar and Pallavi Dharwada are accompanied by the very experienced percussionists in the twincities area
Sri Sriram Natrajan on Mridangam and
Sri Balaji Chandran on Ghatam
Shruthi Rajasekar is a newly minted 14 year old a 9th grader at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota. She has always been deeply interested in the arts particularly in writing, music, theater and dance. She has been studying and training in Carnatic (South Indian Classical) Music at the Naadha Rasa Center for Music, Plymouth for about 8 years with her mother and guru, Smt.Nirmala Rajasekar, an accomplished musician, composer and teacher.
Among some of her achievements in Carnatic music are the runner up prize at the 2010 Carnatic Star Competition conducted by Carnatica India and SV Temple Golden Valley MN. Shruthi has sung as a soloist and led her groups at many Carnatic Indian Music performances at the Festival of Nations, the Minnesota State fair ,The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts ,the annual Aradhana and several Hennepin County Libraries events. She most recently has performed for Geetmala TV.
Shruthi has been learning Western Classical Music for the past 8 years with Ms.Susan Myers. She has won trophies for her performances at the Upper Midwest festival.
As a young composer she was chosen as the youth category winner for her original composition ‘A Memory’ in the annual Eric Stokes Contest for the year 2008. She has been performing and singing in middle school for three years as a member of her school touring choir.she continues to sing in High school under the guidance of Mr.Dahl.
Shruthi is a fine actress and loves the theater. She has appeared as Fatima in the Children’s Theater Company production Iqbal in March 2009. She played Ruth in the biblical play Dessert dreams a story about Ruth and Noami produced by the Jewish Community Theater and composer Miriam Gerberg in April/May 2010. Her other acting credits include playing the ‘Pirate King’ in the famous operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and as ‘Machli’ in the Asian Indian play ‘Khel Khood ‘ that premiered at the Indian Diwali event in November 2008.
Shruthi is grateful to MICMC for inviting her to perform and Sri Sriram Natarajan and Sri Balaji Chandran for supporting her in this event.
Pallavi Dharwada (Carnatic Vocal)
Pallavi Dharwada comes from a musical family deeply rooted in both Carnatic and Hindustani Styles of Indian Classical Music. Pallavi learnt Carnatic vocal music from Dr.Pantula Rama, a TOP grade artiste in All India Radio in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Pallavi won several prestigious awards and prizes in India at both state and central level including the south central zone thirty-minute concert-competition conducted by the Government of Karnataka in the year 1999 (with particpants in Hindustani and Carnatic Styles of Music from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu). Pallavi was awarded the Senior-level scholarship for the period 1998-2000 by the Government of India, Ministry of human resources. Pallavi represented Andhra Pradesh in the National Youth Festivals conducted in Ahmedabad in the year 2000.
Pallavi performed concerts at various prestigious venues in India such as Kala Samithi, Saraswati Gana Sabha, N.Ch.Parishad and in U.S. at Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA and Columbus, OH. She received the best concert award for the performance rendered during the mini-music festival conducted by Visakha Music Academy, Visakhapatnam in 1999. Pallavi performed in rare musical projects such as Nowka Charitram and Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam - the two Musical Operas of Sri Tyagaraja. Pallavi is the co-founder of Minnesota Indian Classical Musicians Club (MICMC) that promotes local talent in the Minneapolis twin-cities area and actively volunteers for Indian Music Society of Minnesota(IMSOM), the premier Indian arts and cultural organization in Twincities. Pallavi currently works for Honeywell in Minneapolis.
Sriram Natarajan on the Mridangam
Sriram is a versatile Mridangam artiste and collaborative world musician.
Sriram started training on the Mridangam at the age of 9, under the veteran Guru Sri K V Maniappan in Mumbai. Presently under the able guidance of Tanjavur Sri Murugaboopathy, Sriram has had advanced training from Sangeetha Kalanidhi Padma Sri Palghat Raghu.
His style of accompaniment is very adaptive to both instrumental and vocal music. Sriram regularly accompanies renowned and upcoming artistes in India during the December music season in Chennai. He travels around the US and has performed at several venues in the cities of Chicago, Madison, Boston, Columbus, Philadelphia and across the state of Minnesota. His world music collaborations include the St Olaf Jazz Band, Northfield MN, Kora Artiste Mamdou Diabate at the Festival of Nations in St Paul MN and the Brass Kings.
Sriram is a resident of Apple Valley MN and is the founder of the Layyasaaram school of music.
Balaji Chandran on Ghatam
Balaji Chandran started his Carnatic percussion studies in Mridhangam under Sri.Kovai Mani and Sri. Kadayanallur Narayana Iyer. He is a disciple of Sri.Ghatam V.Suresh from whom he learns Ghatam for the past 5 years. He brings with him an energetic style of playing the Ghatam bestowed upon him by his guru. He has provided his percussive support to many artists in America and in India. He considers himself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to lend support to stalwarts like Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri.R.K Srikantan, Prof. Ramakanth, Isai Peroli Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan and stars of current generation like Smt. Nirmala Rajasekar, Smt. Sikkil Mala Chandrashekar, Sri Suryaprakash, Sri. Mullaivasal Chandramauli, Sri. Mysore Chandan Kumar. He has been part of the Aradhana celebrations in Minnesota, USA for the past 8 years, and has performed in many venues across America. He also features in the first Carnatic Audio album released by an Independent American record label Innova Records called “Song of the Veena”. He was part of an ensemble that won the top honors in the recently conducted carnatic music competition held by “International society of Laya awareness” in Chennai. He has collaborated with St.Olaf Collage Jazz band and “Brass Kings” an American Blue Grass Jazz band. He is also adept in playing the Kanjira and has also lent his support in both Mridhangam and Ghatam for Bharathanatyam Arengetrams.
