ICMCA proudly presents a Carnatic Violin Duet by Mysore M. Nagaraj & M. Manjunath accompanied by Srimushnam Raja Rao (mridangam) Sunday, May 18, 2003   Mysore M. Nagaraj & M. Manjunath Mysore M. Nagaraj and Dr. M. Manjunath are the sons and disciples of renowned violinist Mr. S. Mahadevappa, retired Head of the Department of Violin, University of Mysore. Both Nagaraj and Manjunath were child prodigies who matured quickly to emerge as top ranking violinists in the country. While Nagaraj gave his first concert at the age of ten, Manjunath did it at he age of nine. Following their debut, their ascent was meteoric. The duo won innumerable prestigious awards and accompanied all major artistes of the day with remarkable success. At fourteen, Nagaraj won the coveted best violinist award from Madras Music Academy. Later, in quick succession, he won five more titles. At the Music Academy annual festival in 1981, he was acclaimed as one of the best senior violinist and in 1986 Nagaraj was given a gold medal.He was conferred the title "Sangeetha Rathna". Today Nagaraj is among a handful of "A Top" All India Radio artistes. Manjunath breezed through the trail traced by his elder brother, winning the prestigious Best Violinist awards from Music Academy of Madras. An 'A' grade All India Radio artiste and first rank holder with three gold medals in master's degree from University of Mysore for his scholarly thesis on the violin. Individually, both are complete artistes. Their melody full of Bhava and the artistic imagination in their improvisations is enchanting. Their grip over Laya is firm and solid. They can maneuver the most intricate mathematics based Swara Kalpana at incredible speed and still retain the poise, melodic content raga-bhava in its entire splendor. Technically their bowing is superb and fingering is precise to create a breathtakingly beautiful melody. They appeal to varied audiences and know how best to blend good artistry, virtuosity, concert-craft and to develop rapport with the listeners. Manjunath and Nagaraj have created unrivalled record as star performers in prestigious organisations world-wide. Their violin duet concerts have been repeatedly featured in national and international music festivals, conferences, T.V and Radio stations. Mysore Brothers have enthralled audiences in U.S.A, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Austria, Singapore, Gulf countries etc., and in several prestigious University and reputed cultural all over the world, such as Texas A&M University, the University of Iowa, American Institute of World culture, University of Chicago. Dr. Mysore M. Manjunath and Mr. M. Nagaraj continue to preserve the rich cultural heritage of Carnatic classical music, in all its glory. Srimushnam Raja Rao Srimushnam Rajarao was a childhood prodigy and started performing at the age of 7. He has an illustrious musical heritage going back to his great grand father Sri Sethumadhava Rao, a renowned mridangist and musician. Sri. Rajarao got his initial training from his father Vidwan Venkataramana Rao and subsequently from the well-known Kumbakkonam Rajappa Iyer. Sri Rajarao has captured the hearts of music lovers in India as well as abroad with his versatile and masterly performance on the mridangam. His artistry, consistent technical perfection have made Sri. Rajarao one of the leading mridangist in the Carnatic music scene. Sri Rajarao has been conferred numerous titles and has won several awards including “Kalaimamani” (Government of Tamil Nadu), “Rasika Kalaratna” (Sydney), “Sangeetha Ratnakara” (Cleveland Aradha Committee) and Best Mridangist award (Music Academy, Madras). Sri Rajarao has performed all over the world including numerous visits to USA. Web design by JIVI solutions. Art work (c) Leelavati Bagavant.