Born at Chennai, of S.Sankaran & Aruna, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, initially learnt the violin from Shri V. Lakshminarayana Iyer, father of Shri L. Subramaiam and Shri L.Shankar. Later he switched to vocal music and learnt from his grand aunt Smt Rukumini Rajagopalan and has also been receiving advanced training from Calcutta Shri K.S.Krishnamurthi.   Sanjay has been the recipient of innumerable awards and prizes. He has won the A.I.R prize in the men's category in 1986. He has also won lots of prizes in the competitions conducted by Music Academy and other leading sabhas in Chennai. He has also received the Maharajapuram Vishwanatha Iyer Trust scholarship for advanced training.

Neyveli R.SANTHANAGOPALAN ( VOCALIST)

Neyveli Santhangopalan was born to Sri M.S.Ramanathan & Smt. Jayalakshmi Ammal. He is recognised for his tradition bound rendering. He had his initial training from Late. Chembai C.S.Anandan, a nephew of Late. Chembai Vaidyanatha Bagavathar and from Srirangam R.Ranganathan. However, Santhanagopalan's talent flowered with the Gurukula training under the famed vocalist Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan. Santhanagopalan had his debut at the age of 10 and has been performing for the prime slots of most sabhas in India and abroad. He is an 'A' grade artiste of A.I.R, Chennai. He runs 'Gurukrupa', a msuic school in Chennai. Also adept at playing veena, Mridangam and khanjira, he has lectured on music and its appreciation.

USSR, USA and Reunion Islands are some of the countries that he has visited giving concerts. He is a recipient of many awards including the 'Isai Peroli' by the Karthik Fine Arts Sabha of Chennai in 1993.
 

SAROJINI SUNDARESAN

Sarojini Sundaresan acquired her direct tutelage for over a decade under the Late Sri Alathur Venkatesa Iyer, father and teacher of the famous Alathur Brothers. Her Guru imparted complete training in all aspects of performing concepts and also teaching the great art.  She commenced her career as a performer at the age of 14.  She has performed in almost all the major cities of India - important art festivals and concert platforms such as the Music Academy, Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, Gayana Samajam, Shanmugananda Sabha and Lalit Kala Academy.

She has a wide repertoire of known and very rare kritis of the popular composers the Trinities, Purandara Dasa, Vedanayagam Pillai, Ramalinga Swamigal, Meesu Krishna Iyer and others. She has given innumerable concerts and lecture demonstrations in the UK.

SHASHANK

Master Shashank was born in Rudrapatna. Shashank displayed an ear for music at a very early age. His father Subramanyam, a biochemist and also an amateur flautist recognised his talent and began his training momentarily. In 1990, Sastry hall, Chennai was the venue for 12 year old Shashank's debut. Since then Shashank has created an unrivalled record as a Star performer in prestigious organisations world over - Krishna Gana Sabha, Mylapore Fine Arts and the Music Academy at Chennai, Sawayi Gandharva, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (London), ANZ Grindlays Kalasangam, School for Advanced Study (Princeton-USA), Swara Laya (Delhi) and Rashtrapathy Bhavan (President's Palace in New Delhi).

On the insistence of flute wizard MALI, that Shashank learn only vocal music in a sound tradition and follow his own genius to play the flute, he learnt vocal music from Sangeetha Kalanidhi K.V.Narayana Swamy and Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa Rao. He acquired performing skills from Trichur C.Narendran, a mridangam vidwan. He has enthraled audiences in India, USA, UK, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Middle East and Singapore.

VALAYAPPATTI A.R.SUBRAMANIAM

Born on 1940, A.R.Subramaniam started his early training under his father Arumugham Pillai in nadaswaram and then switched over to thavil under his brother Palanivel. He has performed in 3442 concerts upto 1990 - which is by any standards a colossal figure. Laya maestro among thavil vidwans, Subramaniam's forte is pleasing sound. He gave concerts in Europe, USA in 1985 and received many awards - "Kalaimamani", "State Artiste Tamilnadu Government", "Sangita Natak Academy", "Isai Perarignar" from the Tamil Isai Sangam, Chennai (being the first thavildar to recieve the honour).

 

SUDHA RAGUNATHAN ( VOCALIST)

Sudha Ragunathan is one of the prime disciples of Padmabushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi, Dr. M.L.Vasanthakumari. Sudha started her early training in Carnatic classical music (vocal from her mother Smt. Choodamani at the early age of nine and then continued training under Sr. B.V.Lakshman for a brief period. In 1977, Sudha received the Central Governments' scholarship for young artistes for advanced training in Carnatic music for two years and she thus came under the expert tutelage of Smt. M.L.Vasanthakumari.   Sudha has won over 200 prizes in music competitions conducted by various institutions at State & National levels.

Sudha has received many awards - Tamil Sangam of New York - "Amudha Isai Vani", Bharat Kalachar - "Yuva Kala Bharathi", Karthik Fine Arts - "Isai Peroli", Telugu Academy - "Ugadi Puraskar , "Kalaimamani".

T.H.SUBASHCHANDRAN - PROMINENT PERCUSSIONIST.........(b. April 25, 1946)
Subashchandran had his initial training from his father T.H.Harihara Sahrma. He also continued his percussion training under K.M.Vaidyanathan-ghatam artiste, Palghat Ramachandra Ayyar-mridangam artiste. He hhas held the post of Vice Principal, Sri Jaya Ganesa Tala Vadya Vidyalaya (since 1959) founded by his father and headed by his brother, T.H.Vinayakram after his father's demise. He has taught percussion at the California Institute of Arts as Visiting Professor - October 1976 - December 1977 & as Visiting Summer Music Teacher during summers of 1989 to 1992 at Sri Venkateswara Temple, pittsburg, USA.
Subashchandran is an accomplished percussioist whose fingers speak with their devilrous play nd foreign countries beckon him more often to his immense joy. Percussion is in his blood and in his family. His dexterous, breezy play is effortless and brings out his rich expertise born out of innate ability and association with artistes of top cadres and styles.

SATTUR A.G.SUBRAMANIAM - DEVOTED VOCALIST.........(1916-1977)
Born in Angarai, Tiruchirapalli district of Ganesa Sastrigal and Thailammal, he obtained his Sangita Bhushanam diploma in 1936 from the Annamalai University. A.G.Subramaniam had the good fortune of having distinguished maestri at the University like Tiruvaiyaru Sabhesa Ayyar and Thanjavur Ponniah Pillai as his preceptors. He was well conversant with Sanskrit, Telugu, Hindi and Tamil and his rendition was rich and soaked in bhava-rasa. A purist to the last, his raga alapanas and pallavi elaboration in different ragas were masterpieces of expertise, lakshana - lakshya elegance, high level artistic exuberance of manodharma which endeared him to the top artistes of his days like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Ayyangar, Madurai Mani Ayyar and G.N.B. He was given the privilege of inaugural concert at Sri Rama Navami Celebrations at Coimbatore consistently. Fortunately, two gramaphone records and three cassettes of his rendition have been retrieved and a beginning to popularise the same was made with the release of a cassette on August 15, 1995.

Subramaniam was a dedicated guru adored by his disciples like Sirkali V.R.Subramaniam, Sirkali R.Jayaraman, Musiri Rangarajan, Tiruchi N.Natarajan, Sulochana Pattabhiraman, Sitamani Srinivasan and a host of others including his musical daughters. His disciples celebrated his Eightieth Jayanti on the Independence Day, 1995 with rare devotion and dedication. Subramaniam had an enjoyable voice and his music was orthodox with laya and sruti suddham. A devoted guru, a gentleman and a good musician, he was lovable. He came of a religious family and was capable of nothing but heed to the Divine Call.

L.SUBRAMANIAM - VIOLINIST / COMPOSER
L.Subramaniam is a renowned violinist and a composer in East-West orchestral fusion. Born in an enviable environment of music as son of Prof.L.Lakshminarayanan (1911-1990) and Seethalakshmi, he had his training in theoretical and practical music with his father, whom L.Subramaniam describes as 'a torch-bearer in introducing fabulous, masterful, original, new techniques in playing the violin and as one who introduced innovative concepts in the art'.

Subramaniam received his Master's degree in Western Classical music from the California Institute of Arts. The intense passion he has for Western music and the training in Indian music he had received earlier have helped him to draw on and establish his versatility, in both the systems and present "a blend of the melodic and rhythmic richness of his native idiom with the contrapuntal and harmonic progressions of the European classical music". In his multi-sided endeavours, he received the whole-hearted participation of his musical wife, Vijayasree. He is a stalwart soloist too. Full-blowing, tonal modulations, brevity in presenting sangatis are among the virtues of his play.
Honours:
Sangit Natak Akademi Award in 1990

SUKHANYA RAMGOPAL - GHATAM ARTISTE..........(b. June 13, 1957)
Percussion and woman are perhaps poles apart. Percussion continues to be a near-male-monopoly. In medical parlance, percuss is to tap gently with finger or instrument to diagnose. But when it comes to 'percussion' in musical sphere, usually it means 'forcible striking' of something - an instrument or otherwise. Perhaps, man in his chivalrous mood thought of retaining this 'forcible striking' task to himself or perhaps he was nervous of allowing the fair sex to get trained in it for obvious reasons. We see scores of woman vocalists and instrumentalists but few percussionists ! The first lady-mridangist is known to be Tirugokarnam Ranganayaki Ammal (Pudukottai) and there has probably been none playing on ghatam.

Sukhanya ramgopal was born in Mayiladuthurai (Thanjavur district) of K.Subramanyan 7 S.Renganayaki. She took training in ghatam from T.H>Vinayakaram, the ghatam maestro and his knowledgeable father, Harihara Sarma for six years. She made her debut performance at the age of fifteen. Sukhanya Ramgopal is now an accomplished, prominent and popular ghatam player of repute. She has won acclaim in India and abroad and is an 'A' grade artiste of All India Radio. She has been providing accompaniment to numerous vidwans in sabhas, radio, television, etc. with merit and grace. She has conducted and participated in many talavadya programmes. She is the reigning lady with the ghatam!

She has developed 'Laya Raga Sangama' where a raga is played with six ghatams with different srutis (pitch), persumably on the model of jalatarangam. Cups with water may produce ringing, rsonant tones but ghatam to produce sounds to formulate a raga is a herculean task. And Sukhanya has done it! No wonder, this great grand-daughter of mahamahopadhyaya Dr.U.Ve. Swaminatha Ayyar, the foremost of Tamil research scholars hailed as the Father of Tamil research, is capable of originality!

SULAMANGALAM (JAYALAKSHMI, RAJALAKSHMI) SISTERS - VOCALIST DUO...............(b.April 24, 1937 ; b. November 6, 1940 - 192)
Born in Sulamangalam near Tanjore - a village with musical heritage, of Karnam Ramaswmai Ayyar & Janaki Ammal, the sisters had their training in music from K.G.Murthi of Sulamangalam, Pathamadai S.Krishnan, Mayavaram Venugopalayyar. The duo-sisters were very popular for their inimitable rendition - particularly of national and devotional songs. They had a hectic practice for about three decades and were much sought after for providing background music in films. Their Kandar Shashti Kavacham disk is very popular.
Honours & Titles:
Muruga Ganamrtha, Kuyil Isai Thilakam, Isaiarasi, Nadakanal and Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Mandram's Kalaimamani in 1992.