The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : A treat for Carnatic music lovers

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

A treat for Carnatic music lovers

Staff Reporter

Veterans and upcoming artists will perform non-stop from 5 p.m. on July 31 to 10 p.m. on August 4

The programme features one-hour concerts by more than 150 vocalists
“It is aimed creating an aura of peace in the present context of violence”

CHENNAI: Imagine having an opportunity to listen to your favourite Carnatic musicians for as long as 100 hours non-stop. Veterans, senior musicians and upcoming artists will soon come together to pay tributes to legendary musician Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, whose birth centenary was observed recently.

Organised by the Global Carnatic Music Association (GCMA), the programme features one-hour concerts by over 150 vocalists and instrumentalists that will be held from 5 p.m. on July 31 to 10 p.m. on August 4, at the Thyagaraja Sangeetha Vidwat Samajam, Mylapore.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, vocalists Sudha Raghunathan and K.N. Shashikiran, founders of the association, said the programme was aimed creating an aura of peace and harmony in the context of the violence prevalent in the world and the recent bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

“We started this association because we thought this discipline of music needed a common platform to represent issues pertaining to artists,” Ms. Raghunathan said. Founded on December 1, 2007, the GCMA has so far organised events such as medical camps for musicians and interactive programmes involving performing artists and rasikas.

“We want to hold constructive events that will bring together the music fraternity for common causes,” she added.

Entry free

“All leading musicians readily agreed to be part of this event. A few will not be participating since they are out of town on those days,” Mr. Shashikiran said. While entry to the programme is free, organisers will accept donations that would later be forwarded to the descendants of renowned composer Shyama Shastri, he added.

Rasikas who listen to the concerts for the longest duration will receive special prizes.

The artists who will be performing as part of the programme include M.S. Anantharaman, T.N. Krishnan, B. Rajam Iyer, N. Ramani, T.K. Govinda Rao, Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, Kadri Gopalnath, T. Rukmani, M. Chandrasekaran, T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Sudha Raghunathan, Vijay Siva, Sowmya, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and Mala Chandrasekhar.

For details, call 9840015013, 9444018270 or 42124130.

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