Letter from Prof. Trichy Sankaran

Dear Sri Vatsakumar:

Greetings.  Indeed the 2009 Thyagaraja Utsavam in Houston now seems like a dream, a most pleasant one that I ever enjoyed.  It is no small feat for a festival that has spanned over three decades.  You should all be proud of your accomplishments over the years. I take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Nalini Mukhopadhyay and Prabha Bala, the Founders, for setting the stage for the festival

It was my privilege to take upon the role as artistic director and I played only a small part, considering the hard work that you ALL had put-in in making the 32nd Annual Thyagaraja Festival a grand success.

Starting from the Unchavrithi, then the Pancharatnam group singing, individual singing, and all the thematic presentations, orchestra, the lec-dems and the featured concerts by invited artists on all three days - all these went off so beautifully.  As I mentioned in my speech, I was reminded of Thiruvaiyaru when I participated in the Unchavrithi, the 'comeback' of an age-old tradition.  I thought that this segment was rather unique in the history of North American Thyagaraja Festivals.  I enjoyed participating in the Unchavrithi and Pancharatnam, besides my own lec-dem and concerts.

I was highly impressed by the thematic presentations by the teachers -their students did extremely well.  Mrs. Anuradha Subramaniam, Chitra Dharmarajan, Asha Bakthavatsalam, and Rajarajeshwari Bhat - all of them to be commended for their excellent teaching.  I never knew that there were so many talented musicians and teachers in the Houston area, not to mention the orchestra that Sri Mahesh Iyer and yourself put together which was also quite delightful. 

The slide presentation and the lecture by Dr. Rex Koontz was another excellent addition that added colour to the festival and am sure everyone would have enjoyed the discussion that ensued his talk.  As you mentioned it was amazing to have a record number of 130 individuals to have taken part.  I am particularly happy at the fact that "Layam" has been brought to the forefront as a festival theme this year that has created an awareness for rhythm overall.

Above all, I was struck by the dedication and sincerity, care and affection with which the festival was organized.  My special thanks are due to Mrs. Prabha Bala who initiated my involvement in the festival, and YOU for working together with me in coordinating the festival events.  As I was busy at the main hall running the scheduled events, including my own presentations and concerts, I did not get a chance to listen much to the individual singing, as much as I had wished.

I am sure that the festival will continue to grow in spirit, quality, and quantity.  I wish the festival a continued success in the coming years and it will be my pleasure to contribute to the festival in my capacity as an artist, scholar, and director. 

Best,

Dr. Trichy Sankaran
Professor of Music
York University
Toronto, Canada

2009 Sri Thyagaraja Utsavam Recap

Dear Music Lovers,

 

"Sogasuga mridanga Talamu" was the theme of the 32 Annual Thyagaraja Utsavam, held April 24,25,& 26, 2009 at the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland, Texas.  Of the three "Bhava, Raga and Taala" components of music, knowledge of the intricacies of "Laya'  is usually lower among general audiences. An effort to learn more about this important component of music underscored this year's choice of artistic director, Sri Trichy Sankaran, who is not only a great performing artist but also an academic at the York University at Toronto, Canada. Sri Trichy Sankaran was more than pleased to be able to present the festival with a focus on 'Laya' and chose the theme title "Sogusuga Mridanga Taalamu".  Under his direction the festival theme  was interwoven into the various segments.

 

Nisha Rajagopalan's concert on Friday April 24 was a good start for the Utsavam and was well received. It was well attended despite the inclement weather. On Saturday April 25, the festivities started with the traditional Unchavriti.  The visiting artist Sri Trichy Ramesh led the procession of the usual Houston devotees, as Saint Thyagaraja singing the Unchavriti kritis. The accompaniment of Prof. Trichy Sankaran on the Kanjira and the featured vocalist Sri Madurai Sundar gave the processional music a tremendous boost and a stamp of authenticity.  The Pancharathna rendition followed,  led by the visiting artists, Sri Madurai Sundar, Sri Trichy Ramesh and our own Smt.Rajeshwary Bhat, joined by Prof. Trichy Sankaran on the mridangam.

 

Following the welcome remarks by the Classical Arts founders and the MTS chairman, Sri Sankaran gave an excellent Utsavam overview, inaugurated the new website of the Classical Arts Society and introduced Sri Madurai Sundar who presented a well researched and outstanding lec dem on compositions by the Trinity of carnatic music.  

 

The local vocal groups coordinated by Anuradha Subramaniam and Asha Bhakthavatsalam presented songs on Sri Narada andRaja Margam as their respective themes.

The post lunch session comprised of the individual segment participation on two stages simultaneously to accommodate the overwhelming response for this segment.

The evening concerts began with Trichy Ramesh's fast paced concert followed by the doyen violinist Sri V.V. Subramanyam's  melodious concert that evoked nostalgic memories among several in the audience of yesteryear concerts by stalwarts such as Chowdaiyya with Palghat Mani Iyer and such.

Sunday April 26 morning, audience were greeted by the local instrumental group "Rasikapriya" who presented well synchronized kritis. This was followed by erudite presentations by Dr Koontz  on "Rhythm in Painting" and Prof Trichy Sankaran on"Rhythm from World Music Perspective". Each of these lec dems evoked participation by the audience through the Q & A Session which was lively.

Following this was a vigorous presentation of "Tala Vadhya Kutchery"---an ensemble of percussion instruments.

The afternoon individual segment participation was preceded by the two other local vocal groups coordinated by Chitra Dharmarajan (theme Eka Kriti Ragas) and Rajeshwary Bhat (theme: Sogasuga Mridanga Talamu).

The festival ended with the grand finale concert by Madurai Sundar which was well received. The attendees were treated to a sumptuous dinner on all three evenings catered by local restaurant.

Those who attended the festival were able to take with them some aspect of rhythm related knowledge that they had gained. The role of Artistic Director was well received and appreciated by many.

 

Your feedback about the Utsavam, any new ideas and suggestions for improvement are welcome. Please contact us at tyag2009houston@gmail.com

 

If you are interested in volunteering for next year, please send us an email indicating the area where you would like to volunteer and provide your contact information.

 

Please be in touch with our website http://classicalartssocietyhouston.org as we update it from time to time.

 

Sincerely,

Classical Arts Society

Madurai Sundar Concert at Houston Tyagaraja Utsavam on April 25th, 2009 at Meenakshi Temple

Review contributed by Asha Bakthavatsalam.

Madurai R. Sundar was initiated at a very early age into Carnatic music by his aunt Smt. Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, a musician of repute. Later came under the tutelage of music legend sangeetha Kalanadhi Madurai T. N. Sheshagopalan in 1972. 

An imaginative singer with a rich, enchanting and resonating voice. . Sundar's   involvement in  sruthi, clarity of sahithya, improvisation of ragam and kalpana swaram had the Houston audience spellbound . Despite Sundar’s  busy schedule  as an IT professional , his passion for music remains unhindered. 
 
Sundar started his concert to a packed audience in Houston with: 
 
1 Poorvikalyani (Gamakakriya )ragam alapana, Meenakshi me mudam a composition of Mudduswami Dikshitar set to Adi thalam. 
 
2. SreeRanjani ragam alapana, Bhuvini daasudane a composition of Thyagaraja set to Desadi thalam. 
 
3 .Tharama nee mahima pogada in ragam Kalyani  set to rupaka thalam , composed by K.V Srinivasa Iyengar (Tiger Varadachari's brother) 
 
4 .Thodi ragam alapana, Enduku daya raadu in Mishra chapu thalam, composed by Thyagaraja. 
 
5 RTP in thisra triputa talam starting at 1 1/2 edupu in Nattai ragam, alapana and kalpana swaram in five ragams - Natai, Gowla Aarabi,Varali and shree. 
 
6 Thirupugazh in Hamsanandi composed by Arunagirinadar

 
7. Geetharthamu in ragam Suruti set to adi thalam composed by Thyagaraja. 
 
8. Nirupamaana in ragam Behag, set to rupaka thalam, composed by Puchi Srinivasa Iyengar. 
 
9. Mangalam. 

Madurai.R.Sundar was accompanied by Jayashankar Balan on the Violin, Dr. Trichy Shankaran on the Mrdangam and Dr. Ravi Balasubramaniam on the Ghatam. The highlights of the concert was the RTP with Tanam accompanied by the Mrdangam and Ghatam. The tani-avarthanam was a high adrenalin class act.

The team left the Houston rasikas asking for more. It was a great grand finale concert. 

Review of Nisha Rajagopal's concert on April 24th

Posted by Asha Bhakthavatsalam

Nisha Rajagopal, a popular young vocalist in the field of Carnatic Music from Chennai, commenced her musical training with her mother, Smt. Vasundhra Rajagopal, currently training with Sangeetha Kala Acharya Shri P. S. Narayanaswamy.
2009 Thyagaraja Utsavam at Houston started wtih Nisha's  enjoyable concert. The best part in Nisha’s kutcheri  at Houston was  her natural expression in the alapana, neraval and kalpana swaras. Her Keeravani was enjoyable had a  class  of  depth in conceiving the raga swarupa.
She started her concert with :
1.  Thodi varnam Era naa pai  in adi thalam of Patnam Subramania Iyer.  She went on to sing
2 .Ninnada, arare Thyagaraja's composition in ragam Kannada set to Adi thalam.
3. Kalyani ragama alapana, Biranavaralicchi a composition of Shyama Shastri in tishra nadai adi thalam and followed by neraval and kalpana swaram.
4. Suruti ragam alapana, Sree Venkat a girishama lokaye a composition of Muthuswami Deeksithar.
5. Azhaga azhaga azha endru , a composition of  Ambujam Krishna in Suddha Dhanyasi set to Khanda chapu thalam.
6. Keeravani ragam alapana, Kaligiyuntegada a vilamaba kala krithi of Thyagaraja set to adi thalam was followed by detailed neraval and kalpana swaram.
7. Naanoru vilayattu bommaya in Navarasa Kannada set to adi thalam a composition of Papanasam sivan.
8. Kandena Govindana a Purandaradasa's composition in ragam Chandrakouns.
9. Thillana in poornachandrika.

Her accompanists Mysore Srikanth Venkatraman and Trivandrum Balaji supported her well. Balaji's Tani was short and sweet. The team work was applauded by Artistic Director Trichy Sankaran and the artists received a standing ovation.