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

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.