K. Arun Prakash (born 3 May 1968 in

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

) is an Indian Carnatic

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, specializing in the

mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

Early life

K. Arun Prakash was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as the son of Vasantha Krishnan and Kalai Mamani L. Krishnan. His father, L. Krishnan, was a

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

and a disciple of

G. N. Balasubramaniam Gudalur Narayanaswamy Balasubramaniam (6 January 1910 – 1 May 1965), popularly known as GNB, was an Indian Carnatic music, Carnatic singer. He innovated the art through emphasis on ''laya ''control and reducing the ''gamakas'' which eventuall ...

. Prakash began learning the mridangam at age nine under the tutelage of mridangam maestro Ramanathapuram M. N. Kandaswamy Pillai and started performing in concerts by the age of eleven.

Career

Prakash has participated in jugalbandhi, (duets between two solo performers), and collaborative performances with both Hindustani and Western musicians, organized by the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...

and

Sampradaya ''Sampradaya'' (/ səmpɾəd̪ɑjə/,; ), in Indian-origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmissi ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. He composed the theme music for the ''YACM Millennium Show'', held at The Music Academy of Chennai, on December 31, 1999. He has also contributed to numerous devotional recordings and has accompanied leading Carnatic vocalists. Prakash has toured extensively, performing in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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, and the

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Awards

* 1984 – First prize from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha during their Gokulashtami Series * 1994 – Vishwapriya Award for Excellence * 1996 – Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai * 2000 – Kalki Memorial Award from

Kalki Krishnamurthy Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy (9 September 1899 – 5 December 1954), better known by his pen name Kalki, was an Indian writer, journalist, poet, critic and Indian independence activist who wrote in Tamil. He chose the pen-name "Kalki", the future i ...

Trust (first percussionist to receive this award) * 1994, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2013 – Best Mridangist awards from The Music Academy, Chennai * 2012 – Vani Kala Nipuna award from Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha (Vani Mahal)

Works

* Arun Prakash has composed Tillanas and numerous Pallavis performed by many prominent musicians. * He conducted "AIKYA 2017" with

Sudha Ragunathan Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kala ...

and

Aruna Sairam Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy (India's premier ...

, designing, composing, and conducting the performance with a 21-member orchestra. * He released a CD titled "Sri Rama Jayarama", featuring compositions on

Lord Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda'' ...

by various composers, performed by 13 artists. Arun Prakash composed the musical interludes and oversaw the orchestration and arrangement.

References

External links

Arun Prakash: More than an accompanist by T.M. Krishna

K. Arun Prakash on Apple Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prakash, K. Arun 1968 births Living people Carnatic composers Carnatic musicians Indian percussionists Mridangam players Indian musicians