Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan was an Indian classical music violinist and music composer.
Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy, often referred to as K. V. Narayanaswamy was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1986. He was described as the "Perfect Knight" of Carnatic music, a phrase from Geoffrey Chaucer, by V. K. Narayana Menon, art critic of India and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Padmasree Avasarala Kanyakumari is a violinist from South India who specializes in Carnatic music.
Chittoor Subramanyam was an Indian carnatic musician. He received the Sangeeta Kalanidhi award in 1954, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1964.
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.
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.
Trichur V. Ramachandran(born 1940) is a Carnatic music vocalist. He received the most prestigious award of Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2012 from the Madras Music Academy.
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.
Lalgudi Gopala Jayaraman Radhakrishnan, popularly known as G. J. R. Krishnan or Lalgudi Krishnan, is a Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is the son and disciple of the legendary maestro Lalgudi G. Jayaraman. Over the years, Krishnan has nurtured and propagated the legacy of the Lalgudi Bani, while also blending his own artistic elements. His style is defined by technique, bhava, laya, and a philosophical adherence to the notion that the violin must closely mimic the human voice. Lalgudi Krishnan was awarded with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2015. This is the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts. Along with his sister, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, the duo was honored with the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award from the Madras Music Academy in 2022. This is considered the highest accolade in the field of Carnatic music.
Tripunithura Viswanathan Gopalakrishnan, known as TVG, is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Cochin, Kerala, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2014.
Thanu Krishna Murthy, better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. Murthy is a Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.
Kalanidhi Narayanan was an Indian dancer and teacher of Indian classical dance form of Bharatnatyam, who was the early non-devadasi girl to learn the dance form and perform it on stage in the 1930s and 1940s. After a brief career in the 1940s, she returned to dance in 1973 and became a notable teacher of abhinaya.
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.
Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer was a renowned Indian classical musician and Veena player.
A. K. C. Natarajan is a carnatic music clarinet player. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2008. He received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1994. He was bestowed with the title Nadha Dweepa Kalanidhi by Nadhadweepam Trust, Tiruchirappalli. He learnt vocal music from Alathur Venkatesa Iyer and his nagaswaram teacher was Iluppur Natesa Pillai, brother of the thavil maestro Iluppur Panchami. In 2022, Natarajan was awarded a Padma Shri, the fourth-highest honour that can be bestowed upon a civilian in India, for contribution in the arts.
Mani Krishnaswami, was a Carnatic music vocalist of Tamil Nadu, India.
Thiruvizha Jayashankar is an Indian classical musician and a well known Nadaswaram expert in South India.
Pichu Sambamoorthi (1901–1973) was an Indian musicologist, writer and the professor of musicology at the Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He was the author several books on music, including A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians, Great composers, South Indian Music, Sruthi Vadyas (Drones) and Laya Vadyas: Time-Keeping Instruments. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1972. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1971, for his contributions to music. He was also a 1963 recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Thavil Kongampattu A V Murugaiyan is a thavil player from the Puducherry Union Territory in India.
Thiruvizhimizhalai Subramania Pillai was an Indian musician and nadaswaram artist, recognized as part of the renowned duo "Thiruvizhimizhalai Brothers" alongside his younger brother, Thiruvizhimizhalai Natarajasundaram Pillai. The duo achieved prominence as nadaswaram performers during the early 20th century.
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