Festival of Indian Music 2024

Dr. L Subramaniam

“The God of Indian Violin” TIMES OF INDIA

“L. Subramaniam is the best this listener has heard…” - The New York Times

“I find nothing more inspiring than the music making of my very great colleague Subramaniam. Each time I listen to him, I am carried away in wonderment,” said Lord Yehudi Menuhin

“Arguably the greatest violinist in the history of Indian music” - Chicago World Music Festival

“L. Subramaniam, greatest of classical Indian violinists, was both Paganini and Poet” - San Francisco Chronicle

Global violin icon Dr. L. Subramaniam, is the world’s leading authority of South Indian classical music and violin, having performed for more than 65 years now. Constantly propelled from Singapore to Paris, from Delhi to Los Angeles, he has conquered every audience with the elegance and virtuosity of his style. He performed his first concert when he was 6 years old and received the best violinist prize from the President of India H.E. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan for winning the All-India Radio national competition. His career as a childhood prodigy brought him into contact with the greatest musicians and he soon imposed himself as a master of the violin. At the age of 25, he was honoured with the title Violin Chakravarti from the Governor of Madras H.E. K K Shah and the doyen of Carnatic music Shri Chembai Vaidyanathan Bhagavathar.

Dr. L. Subramaniam is the only musician who has performed/recorded Carnatic Classical Music, Western Classical Music, both Orchestral and non-Orchestral, and composed for, conducted and performed as a soloist with many major Orchestras, scored for films and ballets, collaborated with a wide range of some of the greatest musicians, from different genres of music including jazz, occidental, jugalbandhis with North Indian musicians and world music.

The global fusion concept was created by him in mid 1970s. His foray into global fusion music started in 1976 and the first album Garland was recorded with the most famous Danish violinist Svend Asmussen in April 1978. He has established himself as a force that is strongly Indian but universal in nature and approach. No other musician can boast of such diverse repertoire and collaborations or such mind-boggling techniques. To date, Dr. Subramaniam has produced, performed, collaborated and conducted over two hundred recordings.

His insatiable musical curiosity made him master different techniques of various genres and explore new avenues (he was a musical advisor to Peter Brook about the sound concepts for his “Mahabharata”). He has composed music for a select few films, including Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala, Gaur Hari Dastaan and he was the featured soloist for Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha and for Cotton Mary of Merchant–Ivory Productions. This total receptivity towards the world, this polymorphous talent, this technical mastery however findstheir truest experience in the service of Carnatic music, the tradition he has inherited from his father and guru, Professor V. Lakshminarayana. Dr. Subramaniam’s parents Prof V. Lakshminaryana and V. Seethalakshmi were the driving force behind him and the reason he chose a life in music.

Passionate about music, Subramaniam was also dedicated to science. He passed his M.B.B.S at Madras Medical College and registered as a General Practitioner. Subsequently he did his master’s degree in Western Classical Music in California and received a PhD. for his thesis on Raga Harmony from Jain University, Bangalore.

Since 1973, Dr. Subramaniam has made historic collaborations and recordings with people like George Harrison of the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Yehudi Menuhin, Stephane Grappelli, Jean- Pierre Rampal, Steven Seagal, Ruggiero Ricci, Herbie Hancock, Anne Sophie Mutter, Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt. Jasraj, Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman, amongst others.

He is recognized as one of the greatest violinists in the world with a unique and distinctive style of his own and is chiefly responsible for bringing Indian violin on a global platform. Since 1983, he has been writing and performing major orchestral works. The first major orchestral composition Double concerto for Violin & Flute was premiered in Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 14, 1983. Over the years he has written and created works for the world’s greatest orchestras – New York Philharmonic Orchestra (September 12-17, 1985) conducted by Zubin Mehta (Fantasy on Vedic Chants), Swiss Romande Orchestra (August 14, 1987, Turbulence), Kirov Ballet (November, 18 1988, Shanti Priya), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (January 1, 1986, Concerto for Two Violins), Chicago World Music Festival (September 9, 2017, Bharat Symphony) Houston Symphony (August 6, 2022, Mahatma Symphony) and New York String Players, The Metropolitan Opera singers/Sri Chinmoy Choir (August 25, 1995, Global Symphony. He has recorded many of his works with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Abbey Road studios and with the London Philharmonic orchestra he has recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall. His compositions have also been choreographed and used by leading ballet companies, including the Cleveland San Jose Ballet Company and the Alvin Ailey Company. He is the first Carnatic musicians to have done a North South jugalbandi with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan on September 16, 1979 at the Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York.

Today, he is the founder/director of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival, the biggest global music festival in India, in which this spirit of encounter, which he has always enjoyed, is strongly expressed. The festival since 1992, has brought over 1000 artists from around the globe and it has been held in over 25 countries across 5 continents.

His strong belief in music education led him to start the Lakshminarayana Global Centre of Excellence, co-founded by the legendary playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam, that offers undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D degrees in music in collaboration with leading universities like Jain University, Karanataka State Dr. Gangubai Hangal University & Vishwakarma University, with a specially designed syllabus.

To increase understanding of the concepts of South Indian Classical Music, he has released a four-CD set, called An Anthology of South Indian Music in 1988 and written an authoritative book Classical Music of India, which was co-authored with his late wife Viji Subramaniam. He has also published several books on Indian music and his own Indian and western orchestral compositions.

He has received several awards and honours, including the coveted Padma Bhushan in 2001 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for “The Most Creative Artist” in 1990 from the President of India. In recognition of his contribution to the World of Music, he has been conferred with Honorary Doctorates by Bangalore University (2003), University of Madras (2004), Sheffield University (2008), Rabindra Bharathi University (2016), ITM University (2016) and National Institute for Education and Research (2016).

His album titled ‘Global Fusion’ was a critically acclaimed milestone and features artists from five continents including one of the most popular and successful singers in the film industry, Kavita Krishnamurti (whom Dr. L Subramaniam married in November 1999), and his daughter Bindu Subramaniam. He has also performed and recorded internationally with his son Ambi Subramaniam and granddaughter Mahati Subramaniam.

Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam

Undoubtedly one of the favourites of the critics and the masses, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam’s singing career reads like a fairy tale. Her exquisite and mellifluous voice, wide range and, versatility to sing different styles and types of songs has put her in a unique place amongst singers and she has been quoted as a “melody queen” by leading critics and connoisseurs alike.

Kavita is a rare personality who has served as a bridge from the older film singers like Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, and Mohammad Rafi right up to the present day singers like Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, and Shaan.

Her fantastic range and interpretation has led to collaborations with diverse music directors like Naushad, Khayyam, O P Nayyar, Laxmikant- Pyarelal, R D Burman, Bappi Lahiri, A R Rahman, Anu Malik, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin Lalit, Ismail Durbar, Sanjeev-Darshan, and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy to name a few. Kavita’s collaborations have been with artists over three generations.

She has lent her voice to heroines from Nutan, Helen, Shabana, Sridevi, Madhuri, Manisha, and Kajol, to Karishma, Aishwarya, Kareena, and Rani Mukherjee.

Born in Delhi, she began her vocal training under Sri Balram Puri, (in the Hindustani style of music) at a tender age. Her incredible talent was evident by age eight when she won her first gold medal at a Music Competition. She also won gold medals both years she participated in the Inter-Ministry Classical Competition in the mid 60s in New Delhi.

Kavita enrolled at St. Xavier’s College, Bombay where she obtained an Honours Degree in Economics. While in college, she started singing professionally on stage with the great music director and singer Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, and Manna Dey.

She began her recording career in 1971. Her first recording for a Bengali film song was a duet with Lata Mangeshkar. Maang Bharo Sajna was her first Hindi film under Laxmikant- Pyarelal followed by Pyar Jhukta Nahin. Since then, she has sung for many more films like Mr. India, Karma,Saudagar, Khuda Gawah, Chaalbaaz, 1942: A Love Story, Yaarana, Mohara, Bombay, Saaz, Khamoshi, Pardes, Bhairavi, Agnisakshi, PremAggan, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan, Wajood, Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam, Taal, Hum Saath Saath Hain, Vaastav, Khoobsurat, Gajagamini, Pukar, Dil Chahta Hai, Devdas, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Jeena Sirf Merre Liye, The Rising, etc. Many of her songs have gone platinum.

Kavita’s exemplary voice has taken her all around the world, including to the US, UK, Europe, Africa, Australia, Far East, Middle East, South America. She has performed in some of the most prestigious venues of the world including the Royal Albert Hall, London; The Kennedy Centre, Washington D.C.; Madison Square Gardens; The Lincoln Centre, New York; the Zhongshan Music Hall, Beijing; The Esplanade, Singapore; and Putra Jaya World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, among others. Having performed in every continent, there is little left of the world for Kavita to conquer with her voice.

Kavita has performed in every nook and corner of India from Punjab to Kanyakumari and Bengal to Gujarat and the Andaman Islands. She has performed in the largest concert halls and stadiums as well as in remote places for the common man. Her voice has reached millions of people touching their hearts as she has sung in almost all the Indian languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Jharkhandi, Rajasthani and Konkani. She has also sung for several Nepalese and Bangladeshi films. Kavita has also sung in English and recorded with the Hollywood star Steven Seagal.

Although primarily a playback singer, Kavita has not allowed herself to be limited. She has sung with orchestras as a soloist, she has collaborated with Western artists from the Jazz, Popular and Classical fields. She has sung ghazals and devotionals. She has even sung Indi- Pop. Her classical jugalbandhi concert with Pandit Jasraj and Dr. L. Subramaniam has been released both audio and DVD by Music Today.

Her many non-film albums include Koi Akela Kahan, Meera Ka Ram, Mahalakshmi Stotra, Pop Time, Sai Ka Vardaan, Shagufthagi, Dil Ki Awaaz,Devotional Melodies, Athens, Jai Maa Durge, and Shiva Shlokas, among others. She also sang for Ramayana, an Indo-Japanese ventures and several popular television serials in different languages.

Kavita’s undaunted efforts to excel in the field of singing have brought her several accolades, and a large fan following globally. She has received several awards and honours, including the coveted Padma Shri from the President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2005. Prestigious awards include three consecutive Film Fare awards – a feat rarely achieved, in 1995 for 1942 – A Love Story, in 1996 for Yaarana, and in 1997 for Khamoshi. She also won the 1997 Screen Award for Khamoshi and the 1998 Sansui Viewer’s Choice Award. She also won the 1999 Screen Videocon Award and Lux Zee Cine Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. She is the recipient of the Priyadarshini Award, the Lion’s Club Awards - Kala Sangam, the Lion’s Award, and the Kishore Kumar Critics’ Award.

She won the “Best Singer of the Millenium” award at the Stardust Millennium 2000 Awards. She was twice the recipient of the Bollywood Award, once in 2000 and 2002, held in New York. She is the recipient of the Lux Zee Cine Award for the year 2003 for one of her songs from the movieDevdas. She has also won the IFFI Award for the best singer. She won the Gujarat state award for the best Gujarati film song.

Following her wedding to Dr L Subramaniam, Kavita has explored and expanded her artistic range to areas which have never been explored by singers before. She was the main featured soloist in the Global Fusion album released by Warner Bros., featuring musicians from all the five continents.

Kavita has sung as a soloist with orchestras like the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Liepajas Symphony Orchestra.

Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam is one artist who has managed to prove herself in every musical field which she has chosen to enter, and has enthralled and dazzled audiences from around the world with her stage performances, recordings and playback singing for the past thirty years, singing more than 20,000 songs. She is a true representative of national integration.

Tanmoy Bose

Born and raised in Kolkata, the cultural capital of India, Tanmoy Bose is a percussionist and tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer. Bose grew up in downtown Kolkata at a time when Indian Music was being paid serious attention in the West due to the efforts of the legendary maestros.

His house used to throb with activity-business, music, medicine at all and was rightfully considered as a nodal point of practitioners and connoisseurs of all the above and could boast of being a landmark in the area.

Tanmoy Bose is one of the foremost musicians in contemporary world music and an indispensable member in the global fraternity of percussion. Bose received his early tutelage from the legendary Lt Kanai Dutta. Bose became the Gandabandh Shagird {formally initiated disciple in Indian classical music} of the noted torchbearer of the Farukkabad gharana –Pandit Shankar Ghosh. For the last three decades, he has been taking lessons from his guru in spite of keeping an extremely busy schedule, performing and teaching across the globe. Even as early as being in college, he had the rare opportunity of being called upon by another musical legend, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan to perform with him. The association with this legendary maestro has been that of a family member for the last two decades performing with him so regularly.

Another great milestone in Tanmoy Bose’s life was achieved when the greatest ambassador of Indian Classical Music Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar invited him to play regularly with him around the world and today he spends almost half the year traveling with the legendary maestro and in turn learning more and getting better with each of the concerts that he plays with him.

Bose has been instrumental to take drumming up into a new level. Over the last few years, his brainchild, Taaltantra has emerged as one of the foremost world music bands regularly enthralling audiences in the Mid-East, North America, Europe and India experimenting with timeless Jazz, Indian Classical Music, Folk Music and indigenous drumming. The name signifies “sadhana” or worship through rhythm. Even though Taaltantra essentially is not dealing with just drumming, it has elements of various instrumentation. The world of sound is the forte of the band which is worth experiencing.

Another significant endeavour worth mentioning is Rhythmania. Rhythmania incorporates Indian classical music coupled with Western and Mediterranean, Jazz world folk and a new age fusion Electronic Dance Music (EDM) which provides the perfect concoction that connects hearts globally.

Bose has been an ardent researcher and composer. His long tours around the world had given him opportunities to interact and play with musicians, composers, choreography and the like he put to very good use his rich experience acquired hereby and created DHWANI, BEYOND BORDERS, TAALYAAGNA, CHATURANG and MOKSH - based on the virtues of Indian Rhythmic nuances

For Tanmoy, music and life are inseparable. Rhythm is his quest of truth and beauty- it transcends all other priorities in his life.

Jon Weber

Jazz pianist Jon Weber has recorded and toured all over the world, winning numerous honors for performance and composition - scoring extensively for television since 1987. Gary Burton, Roy Hargrove, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Avishai Cohen have all recorded Jon’s music, and his critically-acclaimed release, SIMPLE COMPLEX, rose to #1. Jon lives in New York City and hosts NPR’s “Piano Jazz with Jon Weber” after frequently serving as guest host for Marian McPartland.

Rohan Prabhudesai

Rohan Prabhudesai is a versatile musician, equally adept at Indian and Western classical as well as jazz music. He received training in harmonium from Tulsidas Borkar and Kedar Naphade. He studied classical contemporary composition at NYU Steinhardt and Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and trained in classical piano with Mr. Edwin Lopez, concertmaster and conductor. Rohan pretends to be a finance professional by day.

Premikk Russell Tubbs

Among our world’s most talented multi-instrumentalists, Premik Russell Tubbs, is a virtuoso master of soprano, tenor and alto saxophones, all genres of flutes, as well as lap steel guitar. He is renowned for his brilliance which spans all arenas from jazz fusion to traditional eastern mellifluous melodies, to his own ingenious soul-infused improvisation. Premik is a skilled innovator and prolific artist whose unique approach brings both a cosmic and spiritual vibe to the sound he projects.

Dominic Fernandes

Electric bassist Dominic Fernandes is a session musician for the Indian Film industry and has worked with practically every music director in Mumbai. His playing has taken him worldwide with renowned Indian stars and music directors. He is also a jazz musician and has done jazz gigs with accomplished Bombay jazz musicians.

Daniel Feldman

Daniel Feldman is a percussionist from Mexico currently living in Los Angeles. Daniel is a versatile percussion artist and he plays a variety of latin percussion instruments including the drums, congas, bongos, djembe etc. He has been nominated three times for Grammy and has performed and recorded extensively in the USA and Europe.

Varun Das

VARUN DAS is an star drummer, composer, and educator based in New Jersey/ New York. His musical playing and composing comes from the sophisticated rhythms of Indian classical music, the rich soul of Black American Music, and the energetic atmosphere of progressive rock. In addition to his work as a bandleader, Das is a notable Bollywood drummer and a nationally recognized sideman and studio artist especially in the jazz and fusion world. Das has performed with Dr. KJ Yesudas, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Chinmayi Sripada and many others. In August 2021, he became a core member of world renowned fusion band Red Baraat.

Mahesh Krishnamurthy

Mahesh Krishnamurthy started learning Mridangam at the age of seven under ThatthaMangalam Chandra Sekhar Menon. He continued his Mridangam training in Bombay under the guidance of the eminent Vidhwan Karaikudi Chandramouli for over a decade who groomed him to be a concert player. He has accompanied and collaborated with leading musicians including Dr. L. Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti, Mandolin Srinivas, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Larry Coryell, Corky Siegel, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Ernie Watts, Corky Siegel etc.

The Town Hall and IAAC Present

BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND:
DR. L. SUBRAMANIAM and KAVITA KRISHNAMURTHI
Saturday, July 20 at 8pm

A Rare Opportunity to Explore Indian Music with Two of its Greatest Stars,
Global Violin Icon DR. L. SUBRAMANIAM
And Multi-Platinum-Selling Singer KAVITA KRISHNAMURTHI

Accompanied by TANMOY BOSE (tabla) and Full Ensemble

Global violin icon Dr. L. Subramaniam and multi-platinum-selling singer Kavita Krishnamurthi, towering figures in Indian and world fusion music, will headline Bollywood & Beyond at The Town Hall in New York City on Saturday, July 20, at 8:00pm. This concert is a presentation of Town Hall and the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC).

A soulful, expressive singer with a powerful voice, Kavita Krishnamurthi has long been a star playback singer in the Indian film industry, interpreting offscreen the songs that the on-screen actors later lip sync. It is a demanding art, as the vocalist must account for the actions and emotions that drive the film’s entire musical storyline. She followed her first major Bollywood hit, "Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon," from the Hindi film Pyaar Jhukta Nahin (1985), with two enormously popular songs from the movie Mr. India (1986). After giving voice to heroines and leading ladies in countless hit films, by the 1990s, Kavita had become a major star.

But success in playback singing did not limit her. Kavita has also performed with orchestras, sung ghazals, devotionals, and Hindi pop, collaborated with jazz, pop, and classical Western artists, and explored global music fusion, most notably with her husband, Dr. L. Subramaniam.

Born in a musical family (both his parents were accomplished musicians), Dr. L. Subramaniam was a child prodigy who followed in the footsteps of his father, a distinguished Carnatic violinist. He studied with his father and performed his first concert when he was six.

"My mother would play the veena (a stringed instrument) but was also a singer," he recalled in an interview, "and it was my father's dream to bring the violin to the fore and make it a solo instrument. Till then, the violin, in Carnatic South Indian music, was primarily used as an accompaniment. I wanted to play like him and be like him because he was my guru, teacher, and father."

Before fully dedicating to music, he completed his studies as a medical doctor. (For good measure, he later got a Masters degree in Western Classical music at CalArts and a PhD. for his thesis on Raga Harmony from Jain University, Bangalore.)

Fulfilling his father's dream, "which was to bring the violin to the world stages," Dr. Subramaniam seemed to cross musical borders from the beginning of his music career. He brought the Carnatic tradition of South India to Western Classical music, most notably as a soloist and composer for orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (with a piece commissioned by Maestro Zubin Mehta), the Houston Symphony, and the Berlin State Opera.

"The idea here is not to make an orchestra play Indian music," Dr. Subramaniam once explained. "But to create something where both Western and Indian musicians feel like they're playing their own music while creating something unique. With this context, we combine elements of Carnatic music with parts of Western classical music, like harmony and counterpoint, to build something entirely original."

He has written music for films, including Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, and Little Buddha, and ballet, including the Kirov Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Company. He also collaborated with Western jazz and pop musicians (including the late Beatle George Harrison, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder), performed jugalbandis (classical music duets) with North Indian musicians, and explored global music fusion.

Backed by a seven-piece band comprising Indian and Western instruments, anchored by tabla player Tanmoy Bose, in Bollywood & Beyond Kavita Krishnamurti and Dr. Subramaniam will offer a program that will blend different types and genres of music, including Kavita's Bollywood hits, Dr. Subramaniam's original compositions based on Indian ragas and performed with Indian and Western instruments, and fusion-based duets.

Bollywood & Beyond is a rare opportunity to explore Indian music, from classical tradition to film music to global fusion, with two of its greatest stars.

About Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC):
The IAAC supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the U.S. to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. Our focus is to help artists and art organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists from India to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. The IAAC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. For information, please visit www.iaac.us.

BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND - DOWNLOADS

BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND – PRESS RELEASE
https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/YBlmLZurCp

BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND – PHOTOS
https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/1OyQuNXjrV

The Town Hall Presents:
BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND: DR. L. SUBRAMANIAM and KAVITA KRISHNAMURTHI
Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets from $68
EVENT LINK: https://thetownhall.org/event/kavita-krishnamurti-dr-l-subramaniam

THE TOWN HALL
123 West 43rd Street (between 6th Avenue and Broadway), New York, NY 10036
TICKETS at The Town Hall Box Office 212-997-6661 or TICKETMASTER
https://www.ticketmaster.com/

PRESS CONTACT

Cindy Byram PR
201-400-4104
cindybyramPR@aol.com

Suman Gollamudi
suman.gn@iaac.us