Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.
Gangubai Hangal was an Indian singer of the khayal genre of Hindustani classical music from Karnataka, who was known for her deep and powerful voice. Hangal belonged to the Kirana gharana.
Lalgudi Gopala 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.
M.S. Gopalakrishnan, a.k.a. MSG, was a violinist in the field of Carnatic music. He is commonly grouped with Lalgudi Jayaraman and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1997. He was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Kalaimamani, Sangeetha Kalanidhi and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards.
Ganesh and Kumaresh are an Indian duo of violinists who are a part of the Carnatic music fraternity. The brothers are known as modern contemporary artists in "Sastriya Sangitam". They were awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2018 for Carnatic Instrumental Music (Violin). Kumaresh's wife, Jayanthi Kumaresh, is a noted Veena player.
Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu was one of the most important carnatic music violinists of the 20th century. Naidu was partially blind. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Fine Arts in 1953. Government of India conferred on him the Padma Shri Award in 1957. Several members of his family are also notable Carnatic violinists.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Akademi and is "restricted to 40 individuals at any given time".
Rudrapatna Krishnashastri Srikantan, known as R. K. Srikantan, was a vocalist of the Carnatic musical tradition of South Indian music. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1995.
Echampati Gayathri, popularly known as "Veena Gayathri"(born 9 November 1959) is a veena exponent of the traditional Carnatic music. She was appointed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J.Jayalalithaa, as the first Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University in November, 2013.
Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy by the Government of India until 2022. In 2011, Aruna was the first Carnatic musician to perform at the BBC proms in London. She is also the first Carnatic musician to perform in Oud Festival of Israel (Jerusalem).
Thanjavur Muktha, also spelt Mukta and often referred as Mukthamma, (1914–2007) was one of the foremost representatives of the Veena Dhanammal school of Carnatic Music. She, along with her elder sister T. Brinda, formed one of the first women duo singers in Carnatic Music.
N. Rajam is an Indian violinist who performs Hindustani classical music. She remained professor of music at Banaras Hindu University, eventually became head of the department and the dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts of the university.
Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, popularly referred to as CSM, was one of the most distinguished Mridanga maestros of the 20th century. He was a contemporary of Palghat Mani Iyer (1912–1981) and Palani Subramania Pillai (1908–1962). The three legends are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mridanga".
K. S. Narayanaswamy, was a Carnatic veena exponent of the Thanjavur style, in which nuances and subtleties are given more importance over rhythm based acrobatics. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1979.
Saroja Vaidyanathan was an Indian choreographer, guru, and notable proponent of Bharatanatyam. She was conferred the Padma Shri in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2013 by the Government of India.
Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer was noted Indian classical musician and Veena player.
Mani Krishnaswami, was a Carnatic music vocalist of Tamil Nadu, India.
Suguna Purushothaman was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist, composer and teacher. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Carnatic music vocals in 2010.
Madurai Narayanan Krishnan (1928–2005) was an Indian musician, known for his proficiency in carnatic music. He was known to have been proficient in all the three facets of music viz. vocals, lyrics and music and was considered by many as a Vaggeyakara. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in 1992 and followed it up with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2003. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, UNESCO Award and the Kalaimamani Award.
Madras A. Kannan was a Mridangam exponent from Tamil Nadu, India. Due to his outstanding performances in the field of percussion, he is often called as the Mrudanga Samrat which literally means "Emperor of Mridangam". He received several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Kalaimamani.
