Vittal Ramamurthy

Vittal Ramamurthy
Background information
Born Dharmasthala, Karnataka
Origin India
Genres Indian classical music
List of Violinists
Carnatic music
Occupation(s) Violinist
Instruments Violin
Website violinvittal.com

Vittal Ramamurthy (Kannada : ವಿಟ್ಟಲ್ ರಾಮಮೂರ್ತಿ) is a leading and popular violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. He is an outstanding soloist as well as an excellent accompanist. He is a 'Top Ranking' Artiste of All India Radio and has performed extensively in national radio and television, in addition to live concerts.

Musical training

Born in a family of musicians and music connoisseurs, Vittal started his musical journey at home. He started learning Carnatic music from his mother, Krishnaveni, who is the main guiding force in all walks of his life. He was introduced to violin by his grandfather, Late Sangeethabhushanam B.V. Subba Rao. He continued training under Hosahalli Venkataram and T. Rukmini. He has been fortunate to learn the nuances of violin playing from the legend and violin maestro Padmabhushan Lalgudi Jayaraman. Under his able tutelage, he blossomed into a versatile musician.

Style

His authentic rendering of Carnatic music is rich with creativity and innovative improvisation. His playing scores high on the melody scale and is embellished with heart-warming sangatis. His excellent style encompasses aesthetic grace, rhythmic accuracy and captivating melody.

His accompanying style is to subtly blend with and complement the main performer in the best traditions of the Lalgudi style. Sensitive accompaniment, harmony, grace and maturity mark his widely acclaimed performances. He has a strong vocal background also. This adds essence to the quintessence of the Lalgudi style which is characterised by purity, clarity, melody and above all deep emphasis on Sahitya. His bhava-filled raga expositions stand testimony to his talent and arduous training.

Soloist and accompanist

He has performed in 6000+ concerts worldwide. He has been blessed to accompany his guru, Lalgudi Jayaraman in his vocal, violin duet and trio concerts. He has accompanied great vocal stalwarts like D. K. Jayaraman, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, R K Srikanthan, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, T. K. Govinda Rao, T. V. Sankaranarayanan, K. J. Yesudas, Bombay Sisters and Sudha Raghunathan. He has also accompanied the current generation vocal artistes like Vijay Siva, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Sanjay Subramanian, T. M. Krishna, P. Unni Krishnan, Bombay Jayashri, S. Sowmya and others.

He has also accompanied great instrumental stalwarts like N. Ramani (Flute), Kadri Gopalnath (Saxophone), N. Ravikiran (Chitravina), Shashank Subramanyam (Flute). He has participated in the World Music Festival in 'Théâtre de la Ville', Paris and other International Festivals in Singapore and Dubai. In addition to his solo recordings, he has accompanied all the popular artistes in hundreds of commercial audio recordings. He is the most sought after accompanist today.

Teacher and musicologist

In his quest to spread the tradition of Carnatic music, Vittal Ramamurthy has disciples worldwide. He has students in India, USA, Canada, Australia and France. Many of his students have become leading performers today.

As a Musicologist, he has given Lecture Demonstrations and workshops at some major universities like the prestigious Shepherd School of Music (Rice University, Houston, Texas), Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) and Harvard University (Boston, Massachusetts).

In his passion for music and selfless contribution to the growth of Carnatic music, Vittal Ramamurthy and family organize summer camps in his native home, 'KARUNBITHIL', Nidle Dharmasthala in Karnataka every year. About 250 children from surrounding villages attend this camp which is in the style of the Gurukulam system. They stay in his house and learn music for a whole week and share it with all their friends. Boarding, lodging and all expenses are borne by Vittal Rammamurthy's family. Eminent artistes are invited to give workshops and concerts to these young musicians. Artistes like Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, M. Chandrasekaran, Vellore G. Ramabhadran, Kamalakara Rao, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Lalgudi Krishnan, Vijay Siva, T. M. Krishna, Bombay Jayashri, S. Sowmya, Abhishek Raghuram, R. K. Shriramkumar, Embar Kannan, Kalyani Sharma, S.P. Ramh, Sankari Krishnan and others have graced the shibira and motivated the students by their teachings. Every year this is the most awaited musical event by all students and rasikas alike. Students flock to this village for the music camp from not only Karnataka and Chennai, but also as far as New Jersey, Texas and California.

Awards

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