Saturday, April 13, 2002 Time: 6:00 PM Venue: UTC, UT-Austin Tickets: $20 (adult), $10 (Sr/Stu) Free for ICMCA members. Join today! from sulekha.com/austin  Flute Maestro Shashank accompanied by violin and a percussion ensemble of morsing, ghatam and mridangam! See details here. About the Artists and their Instruments Bamboo Flute (Shashank) Violin (B.U. Ganesh Prasad) Mridangam & Kanjira (P. Satish Kumar) Ghatam (Tripunitura Radhakrishnan) Moorsing (M. Gururaj) Bamboo Flute Use of the bamboo flute in India dates back to the mythological time of Lord Krishna, who enticed maidens with haunting melodies on his bamboo flute. Because the ancient instrument is made from natural bamboo, tube dimensions cannot be standardized and thus, no two flutes are exactly alike. While playing, the artist must make frequent minute adjustments to finger and lip positions to compensate for each flute's unique tonal discrepancies. Click here for Shashank's bio. B. U. Ganesh Prasad - Violin Born in 1973, B. U. Ganesh Prasad had his initial training under G. Nataraj of Bangalore and S. Shankar, a famous vocalist who helped shape his style. It was under the tutorage of violin maestro V.V. Subramanyam that Ganesh Prasad acquired perfect violin technique. A very promising youngster, Ganesh has accompanied veteran musicians and also Shashank in concerts in India and Europe. He has toured Australia giving violin recitals. He is a recipient of many youth awards for music and is a graded artist of radio and television. Ganesh is known for aesthetic presentation and fluency. In south Indian music, the violin can function as either the lead voice or as an accompaniment. It is identical in construction to the western violin, however it is tuned in two ascending sets of perfect fifths ("do" "sol", "do" "sol".) The pitch of "do" is moveable, according to individual preference or, if accompanying, the soloist's requirement. Playors anchor the scroll with one foot in order to facilitate the very rapid hand/arm movements which characterize south Indian violin playing. These movements, called gamakas, imitate an expressive "shake," or embellishment, vocalists produce to emphasize certain notes in a raga. P. Satish Kumar - Mridangam & Kanjira Satish Kumar was initiated to this art by his mother, late Padmavathi, a former lecturer at the Govt. Women's College, Vizianagaram. He learnt mridangam playing from Sreeramachandra Murthy, Appalaswamy and Venkayala Narasimham. Equally proficient in mridangam and khanjira, Satish has many senior artists. He is known for spontaneity, fine artistry and deft fingering. The mridangam ("mri-dung-gam") is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument made from a hollowed-out block of wood with a drumhead on each end. The right head is smaller than the left and is tuned to the main note, or "do." The drumheads are fashioned from overlapping layers of skin, stretched with leather straps that run along the sides of the body. Each head produces a different tone. The pitch is adjusted by moving small wooden cylinders between the drum and the leather straps to increase or decrease tension on the heads. A patch of iron filings is place on the higher drum; a patch of rice flour on the lower. The player can produce an array of different sounds using various finger striking techniques. Kanjira The kanjira is a tambourine with a belly skin of an Iguana stretched across a jackwood frame. Metal "coins" are set in the wooden frame to resonate when the instrument is struck in certain ways. Rhythmic patterns and basic percussion theories are shared with mridangam and ghatam. Tripunitura Radhakrishnan - Ghatam Tripunitura Radhakrishnan is a very popular ghatam artist. He was trained by his father, Narayanaswamy and later by his cousin, mridangam Maestro T. V. Gopalakrishnan. He has toured the U.S. and other countries with famed vocalist, Yesudas. He has also appeared on All India Radio and television broadcasts in India. A pot made from a mix of clay and metal shavings, the Ghatam ("ghu-tum") is one of the most ancient percussion instruments from south India. The player uses fingers, palms, and fingernails to produce different sounds. The position of the pot's narrow opening is held against the player's body and may be changed to alter the quality of the sound. Occasionally, to the amusement of the audience, the performer will toss and catch the instrument while playing!   M. Gururaj - Moorsing M. Gururaj hails from a family of musicians. Trained in the art of percussion by famed mridangam artist, T.A.S. Mani of Bangalore, Gururaj plays both mridangam and moorsing with equal proficiency. He has been a component of the Drums of India ensemble of percussionist, T.A.S. Mani, and has traveled widely abroad in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland, U.S., Canada, Scotland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Germany. Gururaj has provided accompaniment to many stalwarts from south India and has been a prime moorsing accompanist in the concerts of Shashank. He is currently on the staff of All India Radio, Mangalore, India. Same as the western "jew's harp" and found in many parts of the world, the moorsing is made of iron and used in Indian classical music to play complex rhythm patterns. The instrument is held in front of the mouth and plucked with fingers, with the oral cavity acting as a resonator.   Tambura The tambura, a drone instrument, is an essential part of every classical concert, north or south Indian. Players usually sit behind the main artist so he/she can constantly hear the drone. The number of strings varies from four to six, tuned to the pitches, "do" and "sol" in various octaves. Fine silk threads called jiva are carefully positionedn between the bridge and the strings in order to enhance the effect of ringing overtones. Information courtesy of India Artists Management. Web design by JIVI solutions. Art work (c) Leelavati Bagavant.