Kannan Balakrishnan
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Kannan Balakrishnan (born 26 June 1964) is a classical musician and
veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.
exponent from
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 ...
,
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 ...
, in the
Carnatic Music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...
genre. He is also a vocalist and exponent of the instruments
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 ...
, Suddha Madhalam and the
Ganjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in the Indian subcontinent for many centuries. The Kanjira's emergence in Sout ...
. He is also known his work in promoting the Veena and the annual ten-day ''Veena festival'' organized in Chennai.


Early days and personal life

He is the disciple of Vidushi Vasantha Krishnamoorthy and Vid. R. Pichumani Iyer. He later trained for advanced
raaga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, from the perspec ...
rendition under veena maestro Dr S. Balachander. Kannan comes from a family that has a rich art and cultural heritage. He is the nephew of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam, the danseuse and research scholar. His father V. Balakrishnan is a noted film maker of documentaries. His mother Shyamala Balakrishnan was a classical music singer. His paternal grandfather Director K. Subrahmanyam was a veteran pioneer in Tamil films in the 1930s. He has performed for many Yuva Utsavs conducted by
Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...
(New Delhi) at
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 ...
and
Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
.


Career

He is a prolific exponent of the veena. He is also a vocalist and exponent of the instruments
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 ...
, Suddha Madhalam and the
Ganjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in the Indian subcontinent for many centuries. The Kanjira's emergence in Sout ...
. He has toured for performances globally across Canada, USA, UK, Dubai, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. He has also toured the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in the year In 1987, on invitation from the Government of India for the ''Festival of India'' in the USSR.


Accompanist

He has been accompanist on the Veena, Vocal and other instruments for Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam's dance concerts. He has toured numerous countries including Portugal, Sri Lanka, Greece, Spain, Indonesia, Austria, Switzerland, France, Thailand, Mauritius, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and many other for these performances.


Veena festival

He actively promotes the cause of the divine instrument veena through various forums and activities. He organizes the annual ten day ''Veena festival'' in Chennai with support from
Narada Gana Sabha Narada Gana Sabha is one of the foremost music associations in the city of Chennai, India. It regularly organises programmes during the Chennai Music Season. History The Narada Gana Sabha was founded on 9 February 1958, in Mylapore. After f ...
.


Other contributions

He was the founder president of the Youth Association for Carnatic Music (YACM) that was established in 1985.


Awards & felicitations

* Prize from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai (1981) * Prize from
Music Academy A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
, Chennai (1987) * "''Yuva Kala Bharati''" awarded by Bharat Kalachar, Chennai (1988). * Young Veena Artiste Award by
Narada Gana Sabha Narada Gana Sabha is one of the foremost music associations in the city of Chennai, India. It regularly organises programmes during the Chennai Music Season. History The Narada Gana Sabha was founded on 9 February 1958, in Mylapore. After f ...
(1995) * Fellowship of the Department of Culture,
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
for a research project in Veena.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balakrishnan, Kannan Saraswati veena players Musicians from Chennai Living people 1964 births