D Balakrishna - Carnatic Veena
Bala Skandan - Mrdangam
Join us in Princeton New Jersey for a Carnatic Veena Concert by D. Balakrishna. The performance will be live at the Sophia Fahs theater, and will also be streamed live.
D. Balakrishna
Sri. D. Balakrishna is the son and disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. Mysore V. Doreswamy Iyengar (Padmabhushana Awardee) who was a Veena artiste par excellence of the glorious Mysore School of Veena playing, synonymous with the
great Veena Sheshanna. He underwent rigorous training under the tutelage of his father since childhood. He
has given innumerable duet performances with his father as well as critically acclaimed solo performances in India and abroad. The highlights of his artistry lie in his natural flair for purity of notes, raga opulent with mellifluousness and bhava, expertise to rhythm and smoothness of style. He enjoys the distinction of performing as a Top Grade artist of All India Radio and brought laurels to Karnataka by performing numerous national programmes on AIR and Doordarshan. Apart from solo concerts, he has played numerous jugalbandhis/ duets with eminent artistes namely Sangeeta Kalanidhi M Chandrashekaran, Ustad Bahuddin Dagar, Pandit Rajeev Taranath and Pandit Debiprasad Ghosh to name a few.
Balakrishna aims at preserving and sustaining the authentic classicism of the Mysore veena tradition (a k a Mysore Baani) for the posterity. As a part of this endeavor, he is grooming disciples of whom several are currently well known AIR artistes and concert performers.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES: Sri Balakrishna is the worthy recipient of many prestigious awards and honors.
1. Honored as the “Best Veena Player” from Madras Music Academy in the years 1979, 1991, 1996, 2006 and 2008.
2. Conferred the title Ganakalshri from the Karantaka Gana Kala Parishat in 1997.
3. Received Puttachar memorial award from the percussive art centre, Bangalore in 1997.
4. The Gana Kala Parishat honour for presenting the best concert at their annual music conference 2002.
5. Best Lecture demonstration of pallavis given by the Karnataka Gana Kala Parishat at their annual music conference 2003.
6. In the year 2009, The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham honoured by appointing him the Asthana Vidvan of Sri Kamakoti Peetham.
7. The prestigious Naada Brahma Sangeetha Sabha of Mysore conferred on him the title “VAINIKA BRAHMA” in October, 2013.
8. The Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy has conferred on him the title “KARNATAKA KALASHREE” (award of honour) in 2014, in recognition of his contribution in preserving and propagating the excellent Mysore style and
Veena technique.
9. In Jan 2014, the prestigious Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha, Mysore conferred on him the title “KALADEEPHTI”.
10. He was conferred with the title “KALABHUSHANA” by the prestigious Sri Thyagaraja Gaana Sabha Trust in May 2016.
11. In Nov 2016, he was presented with the Veena Sheshanna Memorial National Award by the prestigious Swaramurhty V.N. Rao Trust in recognition of his contributions to Carnatic Music.
12. Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira, Bangalore, honored him with the title “Lalitha Kala Suma” on 23 rd August 2017, in recognition of his contribution in propagating Carnatic Music.
13. Belakavadi Sangeetha Sabha conferred the title “Srivara Kalaratna” during their 59 th Hanuma Jayanthi Music Festival at Bangalore in Dec 2017, in recognition of his service to Carnatic Classical Music.
14. Chintalapalli Parmpara Trust (with 800 years of rich history) honored him with Lifetime Achievement award and conferred the title “Parampara Pradheepanacharya” on him in Feb 2018.
15. M.A. Narasimhachar Music Foundation conferred the title of “Gaanavaaridhi” in Nov 2018.
16. In Mar 2019, Violin Maestro M. Chandrashekaran, President of Charubala Trust, Chennai, conferred the title “Veena Nadamani” during the annual music festival of the Trust.
17. Ananya Bangalore, an Institution dedicated to the cause of Carnatic Music and Dance honored D. Balakrishna with the “Ananya Puraskara” in Dec. 2021.
18. Sri Academy of Music and Arts (SAMA), presented the “SAMA Life Time Award” on Sept. 25 th 2022.
19. The Prestigious Bangalore Gayana Samaja (Estd. 1905) conferred the title of “Sangeetha Kala Rathna” on D.Balakrishna during its 52 nd Annual Music Conference held from 09-10-2022 to 16-10-2022.
INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM
It is creditable that Sri D. Balakrishna has taken the flavor of Carnatic Classical Music to foreign shores. As part of his father’s Pancha Veena Troupe he traveled to Russia in 1987. The year 1988 saw him winning a wide audience in Britain while accompanying his father. Again, in the 1991 prestigious Festival of India held in Germany he participated successfully in the Pancha Veena Programme under his father’s guidance. His 2002 tour of the USA was an impressive musical voyage showcasing the unique elegance of the Mysore Veena Tradition. He represented the
Govt. of Karnataka in the Vishwa Kannada Sammelana held in 2006 at Washington,
USA and was lauded by the audience. He has given concerts at the Cleveland
(U.S.A.) Tyagaraja Festival in 2010 teaming with Sangeetha Kalanidhi T N Shesha Gopalan on the Veena.
Bala Skandan
Bala Skandan is a performer, teacher and composer of Carnatic music. He is a multi-instrumentalist performing the mridangam, Carnatic violin, kanjira and vocal rhythm. He has accompanied musicians and dancers of various genres across the world and has also given leading percussion performances through his own band Akshara. He has trained many Mridangam and Violin students over the years who themselves perform widely in the tri-state area. He has been a guest teacher at Manhattan School of Music, NYU Music Department as well as the prestigious Juilliard School of Music.
Bala Skandan is the lead musician and composer of Akshara, a NY based ensemble rooted in Carnatic music. His composition Mohana Blues won the best world music track in the 13th independent music awards ceremony. Bala Skandan trained under the legendary Karaikudi Mani on mridangam.