World renowned chitravina player, vocalist, and composer Ravikiran will launch the 2010-2011 World Music Series at the Eastman School of Music on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall. Accompanied by internationally acclaimed southern Indian percussionists and a vocalist, Ravikiran will present a range of repertoire from the South Indian Carnatic music tradition.
Hailed as an unprecedented phenomenon, the “Mozart of Indian Music” Ravikiran stunned the music world at the age of two with his ability to identify and render about 325 ragas (melodic scales) and 175 talas (rhythmic cycles). He debuted as a vocalist at the age of five, and switched to the chitravina, the ancient Indian 21-stringed fretless lute, at age 10.
Following the footsteps of his grandfather, Narayan Iyengar, one of the pioneering exponents of carnatic music on the chitravina, Ravikiran quickly became recognized as one of the most eminent instrumentalists in the world and has re-established the status of the chitravina. Ravikiran’s mastery as a vocalist and instrumentalist has enabled him to forge new techniques that have extended the overall scope of slide instruments, and has distinguished him as a true instrumental virtuoso in the world music today.
As a composer, Ravikiran has received critical acclaim for his innovative concept called “Melharmony,” a melding of Indian melodic principles with Western Harmonic ones.
Ravikiran will be accompanied by Kala Ganapathy on voice, Ravi Balasubramanian on ghatam (earthenware pot), and Eastman doctoral student Rohan Krishnamurthy on mrdangam.
Acclaimed by USA Today as an “international performer and promoter” of the mrdangam, the South Indian pitched drum, Krishnamurthy is today considered a young musical ambassador in the Indian music scene. His multifaceted accomplishments as a performer, composer, educator, and researcher include concerts and seminars all over North America and India, performance for the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, and performance with Ravikiran at the Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, India’s oldest music festival, in 2003. Ravikiran and Krishnamurthy have collaborated for more than a decade as performers and lecturers, and continue to work on various artistic projects.
Tickets to “The Singing Slide – Chitravina N Ravikiran” are $10, $15, and $20, discounts with UR ID, and are available at the Rochester Philharmonic Box Office, 108 East Ave.; by phone (585) 454-2100; or online at esm.rochester.edu/concerts.
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Wednesday, October 13
World Music Series: The Singing Slide: Chitravina N Ravikiran. Composer, singer, and master of the chitravina, a 21-stringed fretless lute from India, Ravikiran performs with percussionist, Rohan Krishnamurthy (Mrdangam) and Ravi Balasubramaniam (Ghatam), and vocalist Kala Ganapathy.
8 p.m.
Kilbourn Hall, 26 Gibbs St.
Tickets: $10, $15 and $20 (discounts with UR ID); available at the Rochester Philharmonic Box Office, 108 East Ave.; by phone: 585-454-2100; by fax: 585-454-7885; online: www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets.php