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Vidwan Sri Amrit Nataraj | |
|---|---|
 Vidwan Sri Amrit Nataraj | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Amrit Nataraj |
| Born | 1977 Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
Vidwan Sri Amrit Nataraj a.k.a. Bangalore Amrit (born on 1977) is the world's leading top ranking artiste of the Khanjira, the Indian frame drum & is regarded as 'The Brand Ambassador of Khanjira'[1]. He is a one of the very few Khanjira Solo Artistes of the world. Amrit is the worthy successor to the throne of his Guru Khanjira Legend Sri G. Harishankar upholding the tradition of Khanjira playing & taking forward his Guru's Legacy to greater heights.
Amrit's playing of Khanjira is a rare blend of skill, technique, versatility, speed, intricate patterns, aesthetics, grace & beauty. His power packed performances are 'trend setting' and have fascinated large audience all over the world.
Amrit is the youngest Khanjira Artiste to be awarded with the "A-Top Grade" from the All India Radio.
Sri Amrit N. stands as a Bastion of Indian Percussion propagating & upholding the Classical Tradition throughout the world contributing enormously towards promoting the Khanjira, not just as a percussion instrument but also as a solo instrument as well as a versatile musical instrument in the International Music Scenario.
Parents and Gurus
[edit]Born in 1977 at Bangalore, Amrit is the son of Virtuoso Violinist Vidwan Sri Basavanagudi G. Nataraj and Smt. N. Lakshmi. He started learning Mridangam at the age of 5 from Vidwan Sri M. Vasudeva Rao. Later on continuing advanced training under Vidwan Sri A. V. Anand.
Sri Amrit had the great fortune of learning Khanjira from "Khanjira Legend" Mahavidwan Late Sri G.Harishankar (Chennai).
Amrit also learnt Vocal & Violin from his father Late Vidwan Sri Basavanagudi G.Nataraj & performed Violin in many concerts too.
Career
[edit]Amrit started performing at the age of 7. Since then he is performing with Top artists of the world in India and abroad for over 35 years. He has been giving performances in All India Radio, National TV, and many other TV channels. He has featured in many National & International Music Festivals, Symphony orchestras, Percussion Ensembles, Jugal Bandhi's, Fusion Concerts, Audio CDs, Cassettes, Movies, TV Serials & documentaries. He has composed, conducted & directed many music, percussion and fusion projects.
Amrit has collaborated with international stars like Pandith Jasraj, Dr. M.Balamuralikrishna, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Pandith Anindo Chaterjee, Mr. Louis Banks, Pandith Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Rashid Khan, Mr. A. Sivamani, Mr. Bengt Berger (Drums, Sweden), Mr. George Brooks (Saxophone, USA), Mr. Victor Wooten (Bass Guitar, USA), Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar), Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Pandith Yogesh Samsi (Tabla), Pandith Rakesh Chaurasia (Bansuri), Pandith Shubhankar Banerjee (Tabla), Zohar Fresco (Israel), Andrea Piccioni (Italy), Aleix Tobias (Spain), Abbos Kosimov (Uzbekistan), Pandith Shubendra Rao (Sitar), Pandith Ramdass Palsule (Tabla), Sri Mattanoor Sankarankutty Marar (Chenda), Thomas Strønrn (Drums, Norway) Pandith Purbayan Chatterjee (Sitar), Stephen Devassy (Keyboards), Mr. Vijay Prakash many other world renowned musicians.
Amrit has worked with Music Directors like 'Oscar Award Winner' Sri A.R.Rahman, Sri Nagendra (Rajan - Nagendra Duo), Sri Hamsalekha, Sri V. Manohar, 'Grammy Award Winner' Sri Ricky Kej & others.
Amrit has performed with eminent artists like Dr. R .K. Srikantan, Prof. T. N. Krishnan, Dr. N. Ramani, Dr. T. K. Murthy, Mavelikkara Sri Velukutty Nair, Sri Palghat R. Raghu, Sri Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Vellore Sri Ramabhadran, Prof. T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Prof. Trichy Shankaran, Guru Sri Karaikudi R. Mani, Prof. Yella Venkateshwara Rao, Sri T. V. Shankaranarayanan, Madurai Sri T. N. Seshagopalan, Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, Kum. A. Kanyakumari, Sri Haridwaramangalam A. K. Palanivel (Thavil), Thanjavur Sri Govindarajan (Thavil), Thiruvarur Bakthavatsalam, Chitravina Sri Ravikiran, Mysore Sri M. Nagaraj & Mysore Dr. M. Manjunath, Sri Ganesh & Sri Kumaresh, Sri Shashank Subramaniam & many others.
Sri Amrit has represented the Government of India as a cultural Ambassador from the Indian Council For Cultural Relations {I.C.C.R.} for a concert tour in the FIJI ISLANDS. He has performed at Chicago World Music Festival 08, Madison World Music Festival 08, Global Union Fest MILWAUKEE, Symphony Space (New York), Painted Bride Arts Center (Philadelphia), Arizona State University and many more. Sri Amrit has performed in United Kingdom, Australia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Germany, Jordan, Israel, Sri Lanka, China, Singapore & others.
Amrit is a prime member of 'Sruthi Laya' Percussion Ensemble lead by Guru Sri Kariakudi R. Mani for almost 2 decades.
Solo Artiste
[edit]Amrit performed as a solo artiste with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra[2] as a member of 'Sruthi Laya' in 2010.
Amrit performed as a solo artiste with world renowned musicians in the Global Sai Symphony in 2015, to commemorate the 90th Birth anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Amrit performed as a solo artiste in Sai Symphony by the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra[3] at The Historiche Stadthalle, Germany in May 2017. Amrit again performed as a solo artiste in Sai Symphony by the Shanxi Symphony Orchestra at Taiyuan, Shanxi Province in North China in November 2017.
Amrit performed as a solo artiste in the first ever Special Percussion Trio concert at the Darbar Festival 2017 (United Kingdom)
Percussion Ensembles
[edit]Amrit is the head of a Percussion group "Laya-Naadaamrit" which, through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations {I.C.C.R.} Govt. of India, was invited to Mexico to perform in the prestigious Crevantino festival in 2011.
Amrit lead & performed in the 'Percussion Discussion' Special Percussion Concert at Amman, Jordan organized by Shoman Foundation.
Workshops & Lectures
[edit]Amrit has conducted a Clinic on "Modern Khanjira Art" & gave a 'Khanjira Solo' performance in the Percussive Arts Society International Convention - PASIC 2007 in Columbus, Ohio, USA..
Amrit's lecture demonstration on "Sri G. Harishankar's Playing Techinques of Khanjira" was awarded the "Best Lecture Demonstration Prize" by the Madras Music Academy in 2011.
Amrit has conducted many Workshops & Lecture Demonstrations for many prestigious institutions, which includes Berkley School of Music (Boston) & Arizona State University and more.
Productions
[edit]Amrit has released a Solo album named "KhanjirAmrit"[4] which is mainly oriented on highlighting the scope, strength, beauty & other nuances of Khanjira as a Solo instrument.
Amrit has been teaching a lot of students around the world, about various aspects of Indian Classical Music & Rhythm. Many of his students are performing in concerts.
Amrit has released an instructional educational DVD called "Khanjira - The journey within..."[5] which is a very useful guide for learners to practice the traditional classical authentic way of Khanjira playing. This DVD has received huge acclaim among performers & learners worldwide.
Amrit has recently released an online Khanjira course for the benefit of the beginners. This course is uniquely crafted, teaching the special techniques of playing the Khanjira creating a lifetime opportunity to learn the authentic techniques of Khanjira, the Indian frame drum from Khanjira Legend Late Guru Vidwan Sri Harishankar's school of thought. The course is designed in such a way that anyone interested & passionate about music & rhythm can learn from it & benefit immensely from this treasure trove of lessons
Awards
[edit]Aryabhata Youth Award, Khanjira Praveena, Ananya Yuva Puraskara, Cmana Prize - 2004, Sallari Gana Laya Vitthgar, Yuva Kala Bhaarati, Layaprathibhamani, Nadajyothi Puraskara, Gurukalasri, Sathyashree, Lalitha Kala Suma.
Prizes and Scholarships
[edit]A recipient of the CCRT Scholarship for Khanjira from the Ministry of Human Resource & Development, Govt. of India.
A recipient of Karnataka State Scholarship for consecutive 3 years.
I Prize in All India Radio National Level Competition for Khanjira.
II Prize in the All India Radia National Level Competition for Mridangam.
I Prize for Mridangam, in the National Level Competition conducted by South Central Cultural Zone (Nagpur), in the year 1996.
References
[edit]- ^ N, Prathibha; N, akumarPrathibha; Jun 2, akumar / Updated:; 2011; Ist, 18:27. "Khanjira gets its brand ambassador". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
{{cite web}}:|last4=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Indian rhythms in Finland". The Hindu. 2010-02-19. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- ^ Mary, S. B. Vijaya (2017-05-11). "Percussion at centre stage". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- ^ Amrit N., Khanjiramrit, retrieved 2021-08-22
- ^ "Amrit-Khanjira: A Journey Within (DVD)". Steve Weiss Music. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
External links
[edit]Category:Kanjira players Category:Indian folk music Category:Indian classical music