Shashank Subramanyam

Shashank Subramanyam
Background information
Birth name Shashank Subramanyam
Born Hassan district, Karnataka
Genres Carnatic music
Occupation(s) Musician / instrumentalist
Instruments Venu flute
Years active 1984–present
Website shashank.org
Notable instruments
Venu flute, Bamboo flute (Bansuri)

Shashank Subramanyam is a Grammy nominated renowned exponent of the Bamboo Flute from India and specialises in Indian Classical Music.[1] He was a child prodigy and began performing from his age of 6 in 1984 and has performed in the top circuit for three decades.

Early life

Shashank Subramanyam was born in a Sankethi Brahmin family in Rudrapatna, India to Hemalatha and Subramanyam. His forefathers belong to Tirunelveli dist of Tamil Nadu. He was trained by his father and by vocalists R.K. Srikantan, Palghat K.V. Narayanaswami, and Hindustani music under Pandit Jasraj.[2] Shashank is married to Shirisha, a Bharatanatyam dancer. Shashank and Shirisha have a daughter Swara and son Samvit and live in Chennai, India.[3]


Performing career

Shashank performed for the general public in 1984 for the first time at the age of 6.

A young Shashank at his Eight – 1986
A ten year old Shashank photographed by Times of India, Bangalore

Shashank began performing at the top circuit in 1990 with major performances in Adelaide, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and in Singapore followed by his major performance at Shastri hall in Dec 1990.[4] His career-defining moment came when the Music Academy invited Shashank, just 12 years old, to perform in the senior most performance slot "SADAS concert" at The Music Academy, Chennai 1 January 1991 – a record that is yet to be broken.

Shashank Subramanyam performing the Sadas concert at The Music Academy. 1 Jan 1991

Shashank has been a senior flautist in the field of Carnatic Music and has collaborated with host of musicians from India and around the world including John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, The New Jungle Orchestra, Mikkel Nordso, Terry Riley, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Zakir Hussain, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ronu Mazumdar, Ustad Shujaat Khan,[5] Debu Choudhury

Shashank performs in a wide range of concert environments from the pure Indian classical, Symphonies, Jazz and cross over projects. He has led many ensembles and also has been a guest artist on many famed bands like Remember Shakti, New Jungle Orchestra, etc.

Style

Shashank has evolved a Flute playing style of his own and has been an inspiration to flute players in India and around the world. Some of his techniques including the use of multi flute transposed fingering technique and dual octave production has won him world acclaim. Specialized in Carnatic classical and trained in Hindustani Classical music, he incorporates patterns of improvisation from both systems of Music from India and uses a range of flutes to cover octaves that are not supported by the traditional Carnatic flute. Shashank is known for his intricate and intense (Improvisations), melodious keerthana ( composition) renderings and pulsating kalpanaswaram (Faster and rhythmic improvisations). His concerts generally include a Ragam Tanam Pallavi as a central piece, normally composed by Shashank himself.[6]

The BBC World TV did a documentary on Shashank titled Destination Music, recently.

Pandit Ravishankar, Balamuralikrishna, Shashank

Awards and recognition

Grammy Nomination for the album Floating Point with John McLaughlin – 2009

Kalaimamani' the prestigious state award / title from the Tamil Nadu Government in the year 2001.

Proclamation of the city of Memphis, TN (Shelby County Govt, USA) – May 2014

Proclamation of the city Tulsa, OK – USA – April 2010

A Top ranking in the All India Radio and Doordarshan (TV).

Kuzhal Arasar by Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago.

Empaneled artist of the ICCR under Outstanding and senior category since 1995.

Shashank was awarded a direct A" Grade ranking in the All India Radio and Doordarshan (TV) at his age of 13.

The National Integration Award ( Spirit of Unity series) – 1991.

Rotary awards of excellence 1995 and 1997.

Asthana Vidwan of Sringeri Mutt, by His Holiness Shankaracharya of Sringeri, Karnataka – May 2000


Major Performances

Rashtrapathi Bhavan (The President's Palace at New Delhi),

Shashank in performance with Ustad Zakir Hussain – Tabla – 2007


Sawai Gandharva Festival-Pune,

ShashankwithBhimsenJoshi

Ganga Mahotsav-Haridwar, Saptak_Ahmedabad, Navi Mumbai Sageet Utsav, Skopje Jazz Festival – Macedonia, NCPA – Mumbai, Fes Festival in Morocco - West Africa, Roudaki Hall - Tehran-Iran, Vishnu Digambar Festival-Delhi, Ravishankar Center-Delhi, Harivallabh Sangeet Samora-Jallandhar, the Music Academy-Chennai, Chowdiah Memorial Hall-Bangalore, India Music Group – Bombay, The Mysore Palace Ramakrishna Mission-Calcutta, Dover Lane Festival Calcutta, ITC SRA Festival-Delhi, Krishna Gana Sabha-Chennai, The Smithsonian, Kennedy Center and National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., J. Paul Getty Hall -Hollywood, Cerritos Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, Eastman School of Music – Rochester, World Music Institute – New York, Asian Art Museum – San Francisco, Amadeus Mozart Conservatory-Salzburg, Austria, UC Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, UC Irvine, Arizona State University – Tempe, University of Arizona-Tucson, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech-Lubbock, University of North Texas-Denton, University of Chicago, University of West Virginia, University of Illinois – Urbana, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Maryland-College Park, University of Florida-Jacksonville, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Duke University- Durham, North Eastern University – Chicago, North Western University- Evanston, Royal College of Music – London, Leicester University – UK, University of Washington – Seattle, University of Washington – Pullman, University of Oregon – Eugene, Oregon State University – Corvallis, University of Oklahoma-Norman, Carniegi Melon University-Pittsburgh, Harvard and MIT at Boston, Wesleyan University- Connecticut, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Cincinnati, Rice University-Houston, Florida State University – Tampa, Drexel University, Drake University-Des Moines, Iowa State University-Ames, Colgate University, University of Pennsylvania- Philadelphia, Rutgers University-NJ, Texas A&M College Station, St. Thomas University-Houston, University of Louisiana-New Orleans, University of Alabama, Cornell University, Amherst College, Emory University – Atlanta, Georgia Tech, University of Tenn-Knoxville, Berkeley College of Music-Boston, SUNY Buffalo, Concordia University-Montreal, University of Calgary, Guilford College, Arizona State University-Flagstaff, Lausanne Conservatory-Switzerland, Xebec Hall and Across Fukuoka in Kobe and Fukuoka, Japan, Women's University- Osaka, Japan, Tsuyama Jazz Festival-Japan, Hong Kong Museum of Art – Hong Kong, World Flute Conference – Nashville, Theater De- La-Ville, UNESCO & Musee Guimet in Paris -France, Tropical Institute – Amsterdam, Music Gebou-Amsterdam, Rasa house of World Culture-Antwerp-Belgium, University of NSW, Sydney, Mcquarie University-Sydney, Monash University-Melbourne, University of Darwin, SUNY-Long Island, Judith Wright Center- Brisbane, Port Fairy Folk Festival-Australia, Darwin Entertainment Center-Darwin, University of Auckland, New Zealand, Richard Strauss Conservatory-Munich, WDR-Cologne, Bayriche Radio – Munich and Nurnberg, Rytmisk Conservatory-Copenhagen, Opera House-Copenhagen, University of Uppsala-Sweden, The Club in Oslo-Norway, International Book Fair-Torino-Italy, World Sacred Music Festivals- France, Germany and Belgium, The Lowry in Manchester-UK, The Sage in Gateshead – UK, Modigliani Hall -Padova-Italy, Museum Rietberg -Zurich, The Munchen Residency in Munich-Germany, SLF Auditorium, Singapore, Singapore Radio, Esplanade Theater-Singapore, Putra World Trade Center – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Adelaide Festival- Australia, Improvisation Festival in Lausanne – Switzerland, Seoul Plaza in Seoul – Korea, Les Oriental Festival -France, Festival of Nantes-France, Abbaye Royal Du Fontevraud in Samur -France, Royal Society Flute Conference in Manchester-UK, Oriental Festival in Evora, Portugal, The Meyrin Forum in Geneva, Trondheim Festival, Norway and a host of other institutions across the world.

Countries visited

US, Canada, UK, Macedonia, Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Iran, Morocco, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Discography

He has released over 65CDs and 6 DVDs.

DVDs.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/ms/2006/01/10/stories/2006011000240400.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.shashank.org/images/pressclips/thehindu2009innovativejourney.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.narthaki.com/info/reviews/rev302.html
  4. ↑ http://www.shashank.org/images/pressclips/th90.jpg
  5. ↑ http://www.shashank.org/shashank2.html
  6. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2004/01/02/stories/2004010201911000.htm
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