LOTUS February 2014 monthly concert

DATE: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH, 2014

TIME: 1.30 PM TO 4.30 PM

VENUE: SANATHANA DHARMA KENDRA

193 Commercial St,

Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Phone: (408) 481-9242

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These are free events. All are welcome. Please feel free to spread this message to your friends and relatives.

Revati Gottumukkala (Veena)

Revati has been learning Carnatic Music under the guidance of Guru Smt. Vasanti Lakshmi Narasimhan, founder and director of Kala Sagara which is based in San Jose, California, since Kindergarten. Deeply interested in music, Revati started singing when she was 5 and began to learn the Veena at the age of 6. She has performed in various locations around the Bay Area including Dasara Celebrations in Sanathan Dharma Kendra, Sunnyvale Balaji Temple and has has won 2nd place prizes in Kala Aradhana as Junior and Senior.

Revati is now a Sohpomore at Lynbrook High School. Apart from learning the Veena, she plays tennis for her school team, is an officer of Amnesty International at her school, and is an active member in her school's science program.

Srivatsan Tenathur (Mridangam)

Srivatsan has been learning Mrudangam for the past five years under the able tutelage of Sri. Ramesh Srinivasan of the Sarvalaghu Percussion Art Centre. Srivatsan has been learning vocal carnatic music since age five and this strong musical training informs his Mrudangam playing style. He is also a beginning Vainika. He loves to play Mrudangam and has been regularly accompanying various budding artists as well as senior students of music around the Bay Area. Srivatsan is a freshman at Cupertino High and is an athlete who plays a variety of sports.

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Ashwin Srikant (Vocal)

Ashwin Srikant is a Senior at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, CA. Ashwin was initiated into music by Sri. Mohan Ayyar and Smt. Sangeetha Ayyar in Sydney. In the US, Ashwin continued his music education under Smt. Hema Sista, disciple of Dr. M.L.Vasanthakumari and founder of the Sangithalaya School of Music. He is currently a disciple of Smt. Charumathi Ramachandran, the senior most disciple of Dr. MLV. Ashwin has participated and won several awards at the prestigious Cleveland Aradhana including awards in the Advanced Pallavi and the Concert Competition. He has been performing in the Chennai Music Festival for the past 2 years. He has also performed in LA, North Carolina, Sydney, Australia and in various venues around the Bay Area.

Sruti Sarathy (Violin)

Sruti Sarathy, equally proficient in vocal and violin, belongs to the Lalgudi school of music. She is a student of Smt. Anuradha Sridhar, daughter and disciple of Lalgudi Srimathi Brahmanandam. Sruti is a graded artiste of All India Radio, Chennai. She has won the “Best Violinist” award at the 2012 Spirit of Youth festival conducted by the Madras Music Academy.

She has performed extensively in Chennai and in the USA. In addition to solo concerts in vocal and violin, Sruti is a talented violin accompanist, having accompanied such prominent musicians as K. Gayatri, Sankari Krishnan, K. Dharini, C.S. Sajeev and Trichy Ramesh, among others. Sruti is a sophomore at Stanford University.

Vignesh Venkataraman (Mridangam)

Vignesh Venkataraman, a junior at Stanford University, is a mridangam artist hailing from Umayalpuram Sri. K. Sivaraman’s school of music. Vignesh was initiated into playing mridangam by Sri. Anand Iyer, also from the same school. Over a period of 5 years, Vignesh traveled to India every summer to undergo advanced training under the tutelage of Umayalpuram Sri. K. Sivaraman.

Vignesh has accompanied various artists, including some senior musicians, in concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area and in India. He has participated in competitions at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and has won several prizes there. He won the Best Mridangist award at the Spirit of Youth festival held by the Madras Music Academy in 2013.

Vignesh is also learning vocal carnatic music from Smt. Meena Kothandaraman, a disciple of Sri. M.S. Anantharaman, and more recently from violinist Sri. R.K. Shriramkumar.