One would have thought the above scene is at a 1000 year old temple in the middle of Tamil Nadu in India but this is the debut performance of Sakthi Ravitharan, student of Shobha Sekhar Director of Kalakruthi School of Carnatic Music in Melbourne on the 30 January2010 at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre Yarra Valley Grammar School Ringwood. Keeping the tradition alive she was accompanied by the veteran Embar Kannan on the Violin and Vaidyanathan on the percussion Thiagarajan on the Kanjira, SV Ramani on Ghatam and Indika Indralingam on Tambura.
[...] Sakthi Ravitharan a Melbourne resident and student of Shobha Sekhar recently completed her vocal Carnatic Arungetram with accomplished indian artists Embar Kannan [Violin] and Vaidyanathan [Mridangam]. Sakthi’s dedication to music is both in Western classical music and choir and Carnatic Music. Besides being able to sing Sakthi plays the western flute, violin at a high AMEB standard and has participated in several senior orchestras in Victoria. A Young song writer Sakthi’s composition Beneath her Smile received an Award in the Australian Children’s Music Foundation National Songwriting Competition. Sakthi successfully completed a Ragam Thanam Pallavi at her recent Arungetram showing all the makings of a musician and singer of our times, well educated in more than one genre. She has performed in Chennai in 2003 and 2008. It seems Sakthi is preparing for her Bharathanatyam Arungetram .. how does she do it ! Photos from her Vocal Arungetram in Melbourne are here. [...]