Vittal Ramamurthy

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Vittal Ramamurthy

Background information
Origin Flag of India India
Genre(s) Indian classical music
List of Violinists
Carnatic music
Occupation(s) Violinist
Instrument(s) Violin
Website http://www.violinvittal.com

Vittal Ramamurthy is a leading and popular Violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. He is an outstanding soloist as well as an excellent accompanist. He is a Grade 'A' artiste of All India Radio and has performed extensively in National Radio and Television, in addition to live concerts.

Contents

[edit] Musical Training

Born in a family of musicians and music connoiseurs, Vittal started his musical journey at home. He started learning Carnatic music from his mother, Smt. Krishnaveni, who is the main guiding force in all walks of his life. He was introduced to violin by his grandfather, Late Sangeethabhushanam Sri. B.V. Subba Rao. He continued training under Sri. Hosahalli Venkataram and Smt. T. Rukmini. He has been fortunate to learn the nuances of violin playing from the legend and violin maestro Padmabhushan Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman. Under his able tutelage, he blossomed into a versatile musician.

[edit] Style

His authentic rendering of Carnatic music is rich with creativity and innovative improvisation. His playing scores high on the melody scale and is embellished with heart-warming sangatis. His excellent style encompasses aesthetic grace, rhythmic accuracy and captivating melody. His accompanying style is to subtly blend with and complement the main performer in the best traditions of the Lalgudi style. Sensitive accompaniment, harmony, grace and maturity mark his widely acclaimed performances. He has a strong vocal background also. This adds essence to the quitessence of the Lalgudi style which is characterised by purity, clarity, melody and above all deep emphasis on Sahitya. His bhava-filled raga expositions stand testimony to his talent and arduous training.

[edit] Soloist and Accompanist

He has performed in 1500+ concerts worldwide. He has been blessed to accompany his guru, Lalgudi Sri G. Jayaraman in his vocal, violin duet and trio concerts. He has accompanied great vocal stalwarts like Sri. D.K. Jayaraman, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Sri. R.K. Srikantan, Sri. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Sri. Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan , Sri. T.K. Govinda Rao, Sri. T.V. Shankarnarayana, Dr. K.J. Yesudas, Bombay Sisters and Smt. Sudha Raghunathan. He has also accompanied the current generation vocal artistes like Sri. Vijaya Siva, Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Sri. T.M. Krishna, Sri. P. Unni Krishnan, Smt. Bombay Jayashri, Smt. S. Sowmya etc. He has also accompanied great instrumental stalwarts like Sri. N. Ramani (Flute), Sri. Kadri Gopalnath (Saxophone), and Sri. Ravi Kiran (Chitra Veena). He has participated in the World Music Festival in 'Theatre de la Ville', Paris and other International Festivals in Singapore and Dubai. In addition to his solo recordings, he has accompanied all the popular artistes in hundreds of commercial audio recordings. He is the most sought after accompanist today.

[edit] Teacher and Musicologist

In his quest to spread the tradition of Carnatic music, Sri. Vittal Ramamurthy has disciples worldwide. He has students in India, U.S.A, Canada, Australia and France. Many of his students have become leading performers today.

As a Musicologist, he has given Lecture Demonstrations and workshops at some major universities like the prestigious Shepherd School of Music (Rice University, Houston, TX), Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) and the Harvard University (Boston, MA).

In his passion for music and selfless contribution to the growth of Carnatic music, Sri. Vittal Ramamurthy and family organize summer camps in his native town, Dharmasthala in Karnataka every year. About 80 to 100 children from surrounding villages attend this camp which is in the style of the Gurukulam system. They stay in his house and learn music for a whole week and share it with all their friends. Eminent artistes are invited to give workshops and concerts to these young musicians. Artistes like Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Sri. Vijay Siva, Sri. T.M. Krishna, Sri. Vellore Ramabhadran and Smt. Sankari Krishnan have participated in these workshops.

[edit] Awards

  • Kalaimani
  • Yuva Kala Bharathi
  • Swara Gyana Bharathi
  • Best Violinist (from Music Academy and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha of Chennai, India)
  • Asthana Vidwan of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
  • Vadya Kala Vipanchee

[edit] External links

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