SMC Monthly Concert - October 2018
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM: Vocal concert by Smt. Girija Rajagopal accompanied by Sri. Nirmal Ayyar on Mridangam and Chi. Sanjay Ramaswamy on Violin.
05:10 PM - 07:10 PM: Vocal concert by Smt. Ganga Ranganath accompanied by Sri. Sivakumar Sethupathi on Mridangam and Chi. Sanjay Ramaswamy on Violin.
Artiste Profiles:
Smt. Girija Rajagopal
Girija Rajagopal had her initial tutelage from Smt Radha Kalyan for a brief period of time. She has been learning Carnatic music from Smt Uma Ramu for the past 9 years. She has given performances in various religious centers in Sydney. Girija is a regular participant in Thyagaraja Aradhana and Swathi thirunaal Jayanthi.
Smt. Ganga Ranganath
Ganga’s first Guru was her mother Lakshmi Ammal and she had her music lessons from various teachers hailing from Trichur, Bombay and Madras. For advanced courses she had her training from Sri.A.S.Panchapakesa Iyer in Madras who had written books such as Ganamrutha Bodhini, Ganamrutha Varnamalika, Ganamrutha Keerthanamalika and many others. She had her audition for vocal music in All India Radio, Madras in April 1947 and she continues her music concert in AIR to this date, for 71 years. She has won many awards and prizes including five gold medals from prestigious sabhas like Music Acadamy, Indian Fine Arts Society and Rasika Ranjani Sabha. She also had a Carnatic music concert in Chennai Doordarshan and once a full Thiruppugazh concert.
Chi. Sanjay Ramaswamy
Sanjay Ramaswamy learns vocal music from Dr. M.S Ramanathan and from Sri Alepey Venkatesan. He was initiated into vocal music by Smt Radha Kalyan. He also plays the violin, having learnt it initially from Sri Nagaraj Iyer and then Sri Balaji Jagannadhan for over a decade. He is currently learning from Sri B U Ganesh Prasad. Sanjay has won many prizes in various musical competitions held in Sydney. He regularly accompanies musicians on the violin in the various music forums across Australia. Sanjay holds a dual Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of New South Wales
Sri. Nirmal Ayyar
Nirmal Ayyar has been learning the mrudangam since the age of twelve under the initial tutelage of Sri Suthanthiraraj, before progressing his skills under the guidance of Sri Bala Sankar. He is currently learning under the guidance of Sri Melakkaveri Balaji. Nirmal learnt vocal music from Smt Prema Anandakrishnan and Smt Uma Ayyar. He continues his advanced training from Dr Ramanathan. Nirmal has had the privilege of providing accompaniment in a number of student concerts in Sydney over the past few years and continues to be actively involved in the Carnatic community.
Sri. Sivakumar Sethupathi
Siva had his training in mridangam under Guru Sri T.S. Janakiraman, a disciple of Sri Palani Subramania Pillai. He was a recipient of music scholarship awarded by the Centre For Cultural Resources and Training, Government of India. He is a sought-after mridangam artiste for Carnatic music programs, Bharatanatyam recitals and Sampradaya Bhajans in Australia. He has accompanied several leading artistes from India. Siva is a founding member of Sydney Bhajan Mandali.