Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival

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Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival
Genre Carnatic
Location(s) Solihull, England
Founded by ShruthiUK
Website www.shruthiuk.com/birmingham-thyagaraja-festival/

Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival is an annual Carnatic culture musical event that takes place in Solihull in UK. It is conducted by the south Asian non-profit organization ShruthiUK. The festival is named after Saint Tyagaraja, a prominent 18th-century Indian composer of Carnatic music. [1] [2] [3]

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Carnatic music Music genre originating in southern India

Carnatic music, known as Karnāṭaka saṃgīta or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music that evolved from ancient Sanatana dharma sciences and traditions, the other subgenre being Hindustani music, which emerged as a distinct form because of Persian or Islamic influences from Northern India. The main emphasis in Carnatic music is on vocal music; most compositions are written to be sung, and even when played on instruments, they are meant to be performed in gāyaki (singing) style. The heptatonic scale of Western musical notation is said to have its origins in Carnatic music, having been picked up by Pythagoras during his visit to India to learn mathematics, thus introducing it to the west. The circle of fifths and several other popular concepts in western classical music have their origins in the theory of Carnatic classical music.

M. S. Subbulakshmi Indian Carnatic classical vocalist

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, often considered Asia's Nobel Prize, in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the carnatic tradition of South India. She was the First Indian who performed in United Nations General Assembly in 1966."

M. Balamuralikrishna

Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1978. He has garnered two National Film Awards, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor in 1991, for his contribution towards arts, the Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal from UNESCO in 1995, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy, and the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani in 1991, by the Fine Arts Society, Chennai to name a few.

Purandara Dasa Music composer, Hindu saint

Purandara Dasa was a Haridasa philosopher-saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-proponents of Carnatic music. In honor of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha of Carnatic music.

D. K. Pattammal

Damal Krishnaswamy Pattammal was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer for film songs in Tamil. She along with her contemporaries M. S. Subbulakshmi and M. L. Vasanthakumari are popularly referred to as the female trinity of Carnatic Music. This trio initiated the entry of women into mainstream Carnatic Music. She has been appreciated all over the world by Carnatic music lovers.

L. Subramaniam Indian musician

Lakshminarayana Subramaniam is an Indian violinist, composer and conductor, trained in the classical Carnatic music tradition and Western classical music, and renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion.

Kadri Gopalnath Indian saxophonist

Dr. Kadri Gopalnath was an Indian alto saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music for that instrument.

Lalgudi Jayaraman Carnatic violinist/composer

Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001.

Chembai

Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad. Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1896, into a Tamil Brahmin family in Perakkool Madom, adjacent to Lokanarkavu near Vatakara on Janmashtami day. He lived here until he was five years old. The family later shifted to Palakkad. Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. A recipient of several titles and honours, he was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians and ability to spot new talent. He was responsible for popularising compositions like Rakshamam Saranagatam and Pavana Guru, among others. The music critic 'Aeolus' described him as "the musician who has meant the most to Carnatic Music in the first fifty years of the 20th century." His prominent disciples include Chembai Narayana Bhagavathar, Mangu Thampuran, Guruvayur Ponnammal, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, V. V. Subramaniam, P. Leela, K. G. Jayan, K. G. Vijayan, K. J. Yesudas, Kudumaru Venkataraman and Babu Parameswaran, among others. He also mentored many young accompanists, including Palghat Mani Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, T. N. Krishnan, Palani Subramaniam Pillai and L. Subramaniam. Memorial music festivals have been held in his honour annually since his death in 1974, the most important being the annually celebrated Chembai Sangeetholsavam.

N. Ravikiran

Narasimhan Ravikiran is an Indian slide instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, and orator, who created the concept of melharmony. He is the son of gottuvadhyam player Chitravina Narasimhan and the grandson of Narayan Iyengar, who was also a Carnatic musician.

Sudha Ragunathan Indian Carnatic classical vocalist

Sudha Ragunathan is a Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer from India. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India.

Sheik Chinna Moulana

Sheik Chinna Moulana, popularly known as Sheik, was a legendary nadhaswaram player in the Carnatic tradition. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1998. He achieved high position through his outstanding control over the instrument, rendering the Krities in the Gayaki style and for his extraordinary style of Raga Alapana.

Saregama

Saregama India Ltd. is India's oldest music label owned by RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group of companies. The company is listed on the NSE and BSE with its head office located in Kolkata and other offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Apart from music, Saregama also produces films under the brand name Yoodlee Films and multi-language Television content.

Sripada Pinakapaani, was a medical doctor, administrator, professor in medicine, and carnatic musician.

Sivamani

Sivamani, commonly known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an Indian percussionist and music director. He plays many instruments including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam and kanjira. He performed drumming during the IPL Championships in 2008 and 2010. He is affiliated with the Chennai Super Kings team, but gained recognition through his role as A. R. Rahman's lead percussionist. They have been close friends since childhood. In 2019, he was conferred with Padma Shri.

Aruna Sairam

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi by the Government of India. In 2011, Aruna was the first Karnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).

Geeta Dharmarajan is a writer, editor, educator and the Executive Director of Katha, a nonprofit organisation that she founded in 1988. Her work focuses on education, especially of children from poor families.

ShruthiUK is a Solihull-based non-profit South Asian arts and culture organisation.

Chithra Ramakrishnan is an Indian-born vocalist and Bharatanatyam dancer living in Birmingham, UK.

Annavarapu Rama Swamy Indian classical violinist

Annavarapu Rama Swamy is an Indian classical violinist from Andhra Pradesh, India. He is known for his contributions in the field of Carnatic music. He is noted for inventing new Ragas and Talas such as Vandana Raga, Sri Durga Raga and Tinetradi Tala and Vedadi Tala. In 2021, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in the Arts and Literature category. He was awarded the Fellowship of Andhra Pradesh Sangeeta Akademi in 1983.

References

  1. "Humbled and Honoured - News". The Asian Today Online. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. "April 2017 - Dean honoured for achievements in the field of science - University of Wolverhampton". Wlv.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. ABPL. "Connecting all strands of Diversity through Carnatic Music". Asian-voice.com. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  4. "YOUR CHANCE TO NOMINATE UNSUNG FEMALE HEROES | Asian Independent". Theasianindependent.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2018.