🕡Friday, 19th July 2024, 18:45 – 20:15
Pancha Veena Recital directed and presented by Vidushi. Smt Geetha Ramanand with her disciples
Performing Artists:
- Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand
- Smt. Y. N. Padmashri
- Sri. Amarnath Honnavalli
- Smt. Prakrithy Narayanan
- Sri. Manoj K Jagannath
Percussion support by:
- Vidwan Adamya Ramanand – Mrudanga
- Vidwan Srinidhi Koundinya – Ghata
Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand
Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand is a Top grade Veena artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. She has been actively involved in the field of Karnataka Shastreeya Sangeetha, in various capacities such as performer, teacher, organizer, and subject matter expert for over 50 years now.
Born into a music-loving family in 1951, Geetha started learning veena at the age of nine under the tutelage of Smt. Ranganayaki Sunder Rajan. A master’s degree holder in music from the Fine Arts College, Mysore University, she had the privilege of receiving guidance from veterans like Vidwan R N Doreswamy, Prof R Vishweshwaran, Vidushi Lalgudi R Rajalakshmi, Vidushi V Lalitha and Vidushi A S Padma. She received advanced training in Veena from Vidwan C Krishnamurthy, a disciple of veena maestro Dr. V. Doreswamy Iyengar.
With a musical career spanning over 50 years, she has performed at numerous prominent music organizations in Karnataka and other parts of the country. She has given the south zone hook-up concert of AIR apart from being featured in the National Programme of AIR and Doordarshan. She has also been featured in Akashvani Sangeetha Sammelana.
She has directed Vadya vrinda, Panchaveena and Dashaveena ensembles on several occasions. Apart from solo concerts, she has also given duet concerts and jugalbandhis. Another feather in her cap was her participation in the documentary on veena maestro Dr V Doreswamy Iyengar, produced by the Films Division of India.
She has also presented lecture demonstrations on several subjects at prestigious sabhas like The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Madras Music Academy, Ganabharathi, Mysore and the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrutya Academy.
She has also co-authored a book on Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra with Vidwan S Shankar. She is a nominated member of the expert committee of Carnatic Music, Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. She has been awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India.
She has been honoured with many awards and titles. Some of them are Vainika Brahma, Swarabhooshani, Veenavaadana Kalaabhooshana, Naada Kalashri, Kalaa Deepthi, Kalaraadhanashri, Pranavashri, Krishnajayanthi felicitation from Ganabharathi, Mysore etc.
She served in All India Radio for 35 years and retired as Programme Executive, in the year 2011. During her service at All India Radio, she has also initiated, written, directed and produced many programmes on music, which are a treasure for the students and practitioners of classical music. Her Musical Productions for the Amrithavarshini, Classical Music Channel, AIR, Bengaluru are much appreciated by both musicians and music lovers. ‘Nalegalu Namagirali ’, a musical feature production won her the second place in the Akashavani annual awards, in the year 2002.
She is also the founder trustee of Swaraveenalaya Centre for Performing Arts (Regd), dedicated to education, performance and promotion of Indian classical music and dance through its various activities. She is a dedicated teacher and has been training a number of students in the Mysore style of Veena, cultural heritage of our state. Many of her students are graded artists of AIR, and recipients of National Cultural scholarships.
E-mail: ramanand.geetha@gmail.com
Smt. Y. N. Padmashri
Smt. Y.N. Padmashri is a long-time disciple of Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand. During her young age, she was trained by her uncle Shri .Ganapati Somayaji and subsequently for two years, she was trained by Vidushi Kashi Vishalakshi. She has scored a first class in the Junior as well as the Senior Music Examinations. Passion for Veena and Practice towards perfection are the fortes of Smt. Padmashri.
Under the tutelage of Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand, Smt Padmashri has performed in several concerts (Tri Veena, Pancha Veena, Dasha Veena, and Panchadasha Veena) including: Sri Dattatreya Temple in Thyagarajanagar; Sri Radhakrishna Temple in R.T. Nagar; Sri Rama Mandira, Sreeramapura ; Swara Veenalaya Performing Arts (multiple times during Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana); Sri Hanuman Temple in Mahalaxmi Layout; Anniversaries of Prashanti Ayurvedic Centre and at Ravindra Kalakshetra (Sri Vidwan Doraiswamy Iyengar Centenary Celebrations); and at the house of Sri Sri Mysore Vasudevachar.
Sri. Amarnath Honnavalli
Sri Amarnath Honnavalli has been learning under Vidushi Geetha Ramanand’s tutelage for 2 decades. Sri Amarnath started his initial veena tutelage from C.Krishnamurthy and later became a student of Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand. He has given concerts at Sri. Ramamandira, Shreerampura, Vipanchika Veena festival, Swara Veenalaya Performing Arts, New Incometax layout Association activities, Programs at Thyagraja Aradhana at Nadavaibhava Sangeetha Vidyalaya and Sunada Cultural Center.
He has also performed with his Guru at Panchadashee Veena festival.
He has scored first class in Junior exams. By profession, he is an software engineer. He is Sr. Manager at Juniper Networks and passion in Music, especially in Veena has kept him going with his hectic schedule at work.
Smt. Prakrithy Narayanan
Smt. Prakrithy Narayanan started at an early age under the tutelage of Vidushi Smt. Geeta Ramanand and then continued with Vidushi Sunanda Venugopal for a couple of years.
After finishing initial training, she continued learning and is under the tutelage and guidance of Guru Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand.
Some of her accomplishments would include broadcasted a program at A.I.R Yuvavani on January 2006, won 2nd place at the intra-university level veena competition (VTU) in 2006, won 1st at Bangalore Gayana Samaj Veena competition in 2007, won 1st at Mysore Gaana Bharathi Veena competition in 2008, won 1st, Dhanammal Memorial Award, at Music Academy, Madras, Music competitions in 2010.
She has given multiple programs at A.I.R Navapallava (youth program) in 2008, performed at Ananya G.M.L academy in Arohana series in 2008, performed at Sheshadripuram College premises, Bangalore in the junior category for the Ramanavami season in 2009, performed for the Youth Music festival At Bangalore Gayana Samaj on June 2014, performed with Guru Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand, on various occasions.
Sri. Manoj K Jagannath
Sri Manoj K Jagannath has been practicing the Carnatic classical music instrument – Veena under “Vainika Brahma” Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand from the young age of 5 years.
He has performed solo and group concerts for various prestigious sabhas in the south of India.
Some of his concerts include: Solo rendition for 70th annual Ramanavami festival organized by Sri Rama Seva Samiti at Sheshadripuram, Bengaluru, Solo rendition for Shri Ramaseva Bhakta Mandali’s
annual Ramanavami festival at Srirampura, Bengaluru, Solo rendition for the Annual Youth Music Festival organised by MES Kalavedi, Bengaluru, Solo rendition at Sri Mysore Vasudevacharya’s
residence, Mysore, Online solo renditions for Kollur Mookambika Saraswathi Mandapam, Shanmukhapriya Academy of Music and Kalakendra-Chennai as part of their annual music festivals, Panchaveena concert with guru for Sandhya Raga Music group at Bengaluru, Solo renditions at various festivals organised by Swaraveenalaya Centre for Performing Arts, Solo & Group performances for Veena Doreswamy Iyengar Memorial Trust, Bengaluru and rendered prayer/ concert at The Bangalore Gayana Samaja’s 52nd Annual Music Conference.
He has also supported his guru at numerous concerts for prestigious sabhas like The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Ganabharathi Mysore, Nadajyoti Sangeetha Sabha, Ananya GML Cultural Academy, Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs.
He has also has participated in several lecture demonstrations with his guru including: 97th Annual Conference, The Music Academy, Madras. (Assisted in preparing the presentation), 50th Annual Music Conference, The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, Veena Doreswamy Iyengar’s birth centenary celebrations, organised by Karnataka Sangeetha Nrutya Academy, Veena Seshanna Memorial ‘Veena Utsava’, organised by Ganabharati, Mysore.
Some of his recognitions include: First prize at Junior music competition organized by Chaitanya Music Academy, Bengaluru, First prize at the Annual music competition organized by the Music Club of PES University, Bengaluru, Second prize at music competitions organized by Veena Seshanna Memorial Trust, Bengaluru, Third prize at The Bangalore Gayana Samaja’s annual music competitions, Third prize at Tyagaraja Gana sabha’s instrumental music competitions, Recognitions by Malleshwaram Sangeetha Sabha Trust and Vani Vidya Kendra, Qualified the Junior Grade Music exam with 92%.
He has also written articles(concert reviews) in English for the “Kalasinchana” magazine, published by Ananya GML Cultural Academy.
Vidwan Adamya Ramanand – Mrudanga
Vidwan Adamya Ramanand owes his musical inclinations to his grandfather, Sri Pundareeka Bhat who played Mridangam for both classical and devotional music in the temple town of Sringeri. Music runs in the family, his mother, Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand, being a well known Veena artist of Mysore baani and his father, Sri Ramanand P, a music lover.
Vidwan Adamya was initiated into the art of Mridangam at the age of six by Karnataka Kalashree Vidwan M A Krishnamurthy of Bangalore who guided him in his musical voyage for several years. Since 2005, he is under the tutelage of world renowned master of Mridangam, Padma Vibhushana awardee, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Umayalpuram Sri K Sivaraman.
He is an ‘A’ grade artist of AIR and Doordarshan since 2013.
Some of his memorable achievements include: CCRT scholarship at the age of 11, first place in national level AIR annual music competition in the year 2003, Department of Culture, Govt of India scholarship(2004-2006), CMANA Award from Percussive Arts Center, Bangalore in 2015, Ananya Yuva Puraskar from Ananya Cultural Academy, Bangalore in 2016, Raga Laya Prabha award from Sri Rama Lalitha Kala mandira, Bangalore in 2021.
Receiving the felicitation from his Guru Sivaraman sir’s ‘Laya Lavanya Foundation’ and participation in Guruvandana on the occasion of 80 year celebration of his guru Sri Umayalpuram K Sivaraman and playing his compositions in Madras Music Academy in 2016 are two special occasions of great blessing from his revered Guru, that have a special place in Vidwan Adamya’s heart.
He started giving performances from the age of 11 and has accompanied several senior artists including Vidushi Neela Ramgopal, Prof R Visveshwaran, Vidwan R S Ramakantha, Vidushi M S Sheela, Vidushi Nagamani Srinath, Vidushi Ramamani, Vidushi Dr T S Sathyavathi, Vidwan D Balakrishna, Vidwan S Shankar, Vidushi R N Srilatha, Vidwan Dr K Vageesh, Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand, Vidwan Sankaran Namboothiri, Vidwan NR Prashanth, Vidwan Mysore Nagaraj & Vidwan Dr Mysore Manjunath, Vidwan B U Ganesh Prasad, Vidwan H K Venkatram, Vidwan Dr K Varadarangan, Vidushi Kalavathi and Vidushi Vani Sateesh, Vidushi Charulatha Ramanujam, Vidwan MK Pranesh.
He has also accompanied several artists from the younger generation including Sikkil Gurucharan, Abhishek Raghuram in Spic Macay concerts, Mysore A Chandan Kumar, G Ravikiran, Sriram Parthasarathy, Ramakrishnan Murthy, Ramana Balachandhran, Sivasri Skandaprasad, SV Sahana, Smitha-Sindhu, Bhargavi Venkatram, Rahul Vellal, Amrutha Murali, Chandanabala, Ashwin(Veena), Sandeep Narayanan, Ritwik Raja, Aishwarya Vidya Raghunath, Amrutha Venkatesh,Vasudha Ravi, Amit Nadig, Sriranjani Santanagopalan, Vignesh Ishwar, Vamshidhar, Vinay Sharva,Bangalore brothers, Varijashree Venugopal, Vivek Sadashivam, V Rajkamal, Apoorva Krishna and many others.
He has also been featured in National Annual Sangeeth Sammelan series of All India Radio and South Zone program of Doordarshan.
He has performed in various prestigious sabhas in Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Coimbatore and several other places across India.
Apart from Carnatic classical music, he has also been keen on collaboration with artists across genres and performs in jugalbandis and fusion concerts too. He also collaborates with Vivek Sadasivam and Vinay Varanasi regularly and performs thematic live concerts involving story narration and music.
He has presented lecture demonstrations in music conferences and conducted workshops for students of music and Bharatanatyam. His lecture demonstration on the subject “Facets of Khanda” during the annual Talavadya Sammelana of Percussive Arts Center Bangalore was well appreciated by the music fraternity. He also guides vocal and instrumentalists on the laya aspects and has conducted workshops for dance students as well on the tala and laya aspects of south indian classical music.
Academically qualified as an engineer, Vidwan Adamya, after working in the software industry for a decade, quit his job to pursue music as a full time profession. Along with a busy performing career, he teaches young aspiring students the art of Mridangam and has several promising students both in India and abroad. He has also served as an examiner for the music exams conducted by the Karnataka State Secondary Education Board.
He has been keenly interested and involved in various initiatives to nurture, strengthen and promote Indian classical arts. He along with his mother Vidushi Smt. Geetha Ramanand, a veena artist and sister Vidushi Srimatha, a vocalist, runs a trust, Swaraveenalaya Centre for Performing Arts, which aims to promote Indian classical arts. He is actively involved in curating the programs of the trust.
Website: https://www.adamyamridangam.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamyamridangam7069
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdamyaMridangam/
Vidwan Srinidhi Koundinya – Ghata
Vidwan Srinidhi R Koundinya is a dynamic Ghatam performer who has been carving a niche for himself in the field of music.
He is a Graded artist of All India Radio and the recipient of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy Scholarship. His initial tutoring was under Vidwan H L Shivashankaraswamy, Mysore & currently he is receiving advanced techniques in Ghatam playing under the guidance of Vidushi Sukanya Ramgopal. This has enhanced his skills in playing Ghatam both as an accompanist and soloist.
He holds a master’s degree in Finance Management. Srinidhi has won the ‘YUVA LAYA VADYA PRATIBHA KUSUMA‘ award from the renowned music institution, Naada Hamsa Academy of Music, Bangalore.
He has performed all over India in many prestigious Sabhas along with great artists of Carnatic music. In his Guru’s path he started Ghata Tharang – A unique concept of Playing 6-7 Ghatams of different shruth’s thereby creating melody on a percussion instrument. This idea was conceptualised by Guru Vidushi Sukkanya Ramgopal.
His Ghata Tarang Projects are widely appreciated & enjoyed globally. TIRANGA, SUKHI, TARANGAM are the most famous albums available on YouTube.