Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Concert on 23rd June, 2007

This was a part of the "Isai Tamizh Vizha" jointly organized by Saraswathi Vaggeyakara Trust and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, held at Asthika Samajam, Venus Colony, Alwarpet.

I presented a thematic concert of songs from Tamil Literature in chronological order, starting from Sidhar Padalgal and proceeding to composers of this century.
I covered Tevaram hymns, a hymn from the Divya Prabandam, Manikkavasagar's Tiruvembaavai, an Arutpa Paadal, compositions of Uthukkadu Venkatasubbier,Arunachala Kavirayar,Papanasam Sivan, Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar and concluded the concert with a Tiruppugazh.

The audience welcomed this kind of a theme.It was a nice and different experience to explain the significance of a few of the songs and then sing them in the concert.

Accompanists were Kumari Akkarai Subbalakshmi on the violin, Sri.Neyveli Skandasubramaniam on the Mridangam and Sri.Madipakkam Murali on the Ghatam.


You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=3095

Concert on 9th June,2007













The concert for "Shanmukhapriya" at Swamys Hall, Mandhaveli on the 9th of June was a very well attended one..I personally enjoyed singing Mamava Satatam (Jaganmohini) and Brovavamma (Manji).
Majority of the audience stayed on till the end, listening in rapt attention.

Accompanists in this concert were Sri.V.Sanjeev on the violin, Sri.Poongulam Subramanian on the Mridangam and Sri.S.Karthick on the Ghatam.

You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=2991

Monday, May 28, 2007

Concert Calendar

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Concert Experiences-April 2007

Hello Rasikas,
I thought I would briefly write about my concerts here in the US during the month of April.

Cleveland,11-Apr:

The week starting from 5-Apr was indeed very festive at Cleveland, with many of us artistes having arrived there for the Tyagaraja Aradhana celebrations. The Vocal-Violin-Mridangam-Harikatha competitions held on 6-Apr were of very high quality, with children in various age groups performing extremely well.We had the Pancharatna group singing on the 7th.






Gayathri At Cleveland
Accompanied by Jayashankar Balan and Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan


My concert at Cleveland is indeed memorable, with many Vidwans like Sri.Guruvayur Dorai,Sri.Srimushnam Raja Rao,Sri.Nagai Muralidharan,Sri.Chitraveena.N.Narasimhan and Vidushis like Smt.Suguna Purushothaman and other ardent Rasikas present among the audience.

Sri.Jayashankar Balan was on the violin and Sri.Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan was on the Mridangam.



ICC,Rochester,13-Apr 2007:




Gayathri at Rochester
Ganeshprasad- Gowrishankar


Here was an excellent auditorium with great acoustics. It is always a pleasure to sing with such high quality audio systems. The concert was well attended. I would like to make a special mention of lots of Westerners(students of music) who were present.It was amazing to note that they could clearly follow all talas ranging from Kanta Jathi Ata thalam to Adi (Tisra Nadai)! They keenly observed all the nuances and also pointed out that ragas Bowli and Vaasanthi are allied ragas!!

You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=2590

Accompanists for this concert were Sri.B.U.Ganesh Prasad on the violin and Sri.Gowrishankar on the Mridangam.


Pomona Temple,NY,14-Apr 2007




Gayathri At Sri Ranganatha Temple, Pomona,NY
Ganeshprasad-Prakash Rao




I was indeed fortunate to perform at this beautiful Ranganatha Temple on Tamil New Years'Day.

Accompanists were Sri.B.U.Ganeshprasad on violin and Sri.Prakash Rao on Mridangam.

CAMAGA,Atlanta,15-Apr 2007

This again was a nice auditorium and lots of serious Rasikas present. It was a pleasure singing for this elite crowd.

I had excellent support from Sri.Nagai Sriram on the violin and Sri.Vinod Seetharaman on the Mridangam.

One noteworthy feature in all concerts in the US is that Rasikas stay till the end of a concert. There is no exodus during the Thani! One can see a lot of discipline inside the auditoriums (no mobile phones ringing either!)

You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=2568

Meenakshi Temple,Houston,21-Apr 2007




Gayathri Girish At Meenakshi Temple, Houston
Akkarai Subbalakshmi-Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan


This concert was a part of the Tyagaraja Aradhana celebrations at Houston. I took up the theme "Rama Avatara Vaibhavam" as seen by Tyagaraja. I think the audience welcomed this slightly different format of a concert, wherein I provided brief explanations about the songs chosen for the occasion. Also, everyone enjoyed the choice of a few rare compositions of this great composer featured during the concert.

Accompanists were Kumari.Akkarai.Subbalakshmi on the violin and Sri.Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the Mridangam.

SIFA,San Jose,22-Apr 2007

This concert was a part of the two-day Spring Music Festival at SIFA. Here again, there was an excellent audience and acoustics. The three-raga RTP that I had presented during the concert was very well appreciated.There was one lady who came up to me after the concert that the Ashtapadi that I sang in Sivaranjani moved her to tears..Well, I can't ask for anything more..

Excellent support from Smt.Anuradha Sridhar on violin,Sri.Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the mridangam and Sri.Ravi Balasubramaniam on the ghatam.




Gayathri, Smt.Anuradha Sridhar (third from left) and other members of the organizing committee



You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=2635


DFW Hindu Temple,Dallas,28-Apr 2007





Gayathri Girish At Dallas
H.N.Bhaskar-Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan



This was a 4-hour concert, with a very good, appreciative and knowledgeable audience. I sang Karthikeya Gaangeya(Todi) as the main item and then,a detailed RTP in Kalyani. We really enjoyed performing at the temple and it was heartening to get a very good feedback from a lot of Rasikas after the concert..

Accompanists were Sri.H.N.Bhaskar on the violin and Sri.Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on the Mridangam.


Balaji Temple,Chicago,Illinois,29-Apr 2007



Gayathri Girish At Chicago
H.N.Bhaskar-Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan




This was the last concert in the one-month tour of mine during April 2007.

The concert at this beautiful temple was on the Pradosham Day and I was very happy to be a part of the elaborate Puja at the temple premises after my concert.



You can go the following link to see a review of the above concert:http://www.rasikas.org/viewtopic.php?id=2686

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Earlier Concerts abroad

Here is a list of my earlier concert tours outside India:

1. Singapore Indian Fine Arts, Singapore - (November 1997)
2. Dance India - Taste India Festival at Malacca - (March 2004)
3. Kamban Kazhagam - Colombo - (December 2000)
4. Tour of the United States - (September-October 1999)
5. Department of Cultural Affairs, Colombo - (December 1997)
6. Muscat - (September 2006)
7. London - (October 2004)

Jugalbandhi Concerts

I enjoy giving Carnatic-Hindustani Jugalbandhi concerts.
Dr.Lakshmi Sriram (Hindustani) and I (Carnatic) have given several such Jugalbandhi concerts and I think this is a totally different kind of experience, wherein, we sing in our own respective styles and also try and complement each other.

Jugalbandhi Concert with Lakshmi Sriram

Recognition

Awards and titles are indeed memorable and moments of pride for any artiste. Laurels are always such important means of enthusing one to perform better each time.

I consider myself to be indeed blessed to have received my very first title of Sahithyapriya from none other than the Sangeetha Pithamaha, Semmangudi Sri.Srinivasa Iyer. This was instituted by Jan Kalyan and given by Kalavardhani.

I was one of the proud recipients of the title Yuva Kala Bharathi instituted by Bharat Kalachar, in December 2000.


To have been the recipient of the prestigious title of Isai Peroli in December 2003 instituted by Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai, has always been a memorable moment for me.

Gayathri Girish - Receiving Isai Peroli Award


Some of the other awards and titles include:
Sangeetha Bhaskara
Gaana Rathna - from Department of Cultural Afffairs, Colombo
PRICE Award of Excellence - given by Shakespeare Millenium Club
Dr.K.V.Mahadevan Award of Excellence - instituted by Shree Bharatalaya, Chennai
Dr.MLV Award - instituted by CMANA (USA) and Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai