Carnatic Vocal Concert by Sandeep Narayan

Sruti is pleased to present a Carnatic Vocal Concert by Sandeep Narayan, accompanied by Vittal Rangan (Violin), R. Sankaranarayanan (Mridangam) and Anirudh Athreya (Kanjira)

This event is part of the Sruti-40 Fest conducted all day during Sep 26/27 weekend.

https://www.sruti.org/event/sruti-40-fest-day-1/

and

https://www.sruti.org/event/sruti-40-fest-day-2/

Lunch and Dinner are available if you pre-purchase using the link https://www.sruti.org/sruti-40-fest-food-pre-purchase/

Sandeep Narayan

Sandeep Narayan is a celebrated musician and vocalist of the South Indian classical tradition known as Carnatic Music. He is known for his melodious voice, his mastery over intricate musical renditions, and his deeply emotive performances, all while connecting to the sensibilities of modern audiences. Though he was born in Los Angeles, California, Sandeep went against the norms and moved from America to India in 2006, to pursue his dream of being a musician full-time. His reverse migration was a first of its kind for an aspiring artiste in Carnatic Music.

In 2024, Sandeep co-created the album Arul with Canadian based artiste “Yanchan Produced,” which featured a combination of Carnatic with Hip-hop and Afro-beats. The album earned the duo a Juno Award nomination, Canada’s highest musical honor. Following this, Sandeep was invited to become a GRAMMY®️ Voting Member of The Recording Academy in 2025, an exceptional recognition shared by very few.

His talent has been recognized across India, including with the “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” from the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Government of India, “Isai Peroli” from Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai, and “Shanmukha Sangeetha Shiromani” from Sri Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai. Adding to his honors, he was named “Artiste of the Year” in 2024 by the Shrinivas Institute of World Music, in tribute to the legendary Mandolin Shrinivas.

Sandeep’s musical journey began at the age of four under the guidance of his mother, Smt. Shubha Narayan, in Cerritos, California. He later received advanced training from esteemed gurus Shri KS Krishnamurthi and Shri Sanjay Subrahmanyan.

Over the years, he has captivated audiences worldwide. As a dedicated music educator, he continues to inspire and mentor students globally in the art of Carnatic music. Today, Sandeep serves as a cultural bridge, connecting traditional Indian music with global audiences.

Vittal Rangan (Violin)

An acclaimed violinist, Vittal Rangan is well known for his flair for innovative ideas while simultaneously maintaining the traditional aesthetics. A disciple of the legendary Sangeetha Kalanidhi Kum A Kanyakumari and Sri RR Keshavamurthy. An ‘A’ graded violinist of the All India Radio, Vittal is a recipient of numerous awards – Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Shironmani Award , Best Violinist Award from the Music Academy etc. Vittal has performed and shared stage with great stalwarts and senior musicians across four generations all over the world, and is a fine solo violin artist as well.

R. Sankaranarayanan (Mridangam)

Vidwan R. Sankaranarayanan* is an Internationally acclaimed performer, collaborator, educator, and scholar, known for his refined musicianship marked by tonal clarity, rhythmic precision, and aesthetic sensitivity.

He hails from an illustrious musical lineage of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Papanasam Sri Sivan. He began receiving his foundational training at the age of three under his uncle Vidwan Sri Papanasam Kumar and Melattur Sri L. Balasubramaniam. He further honed his artistry under the legendary vidwan Sangeet Natak Awardee, Naadabrahmam Srimushnam Sri V. Rajarao Sir.

Sri Sankaranarayanan began performing in professional concerts at the age of nine and is the recipient of several prestigious honours, including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from Sangeet Natak Akademi,

Mridanga Naada Mani & Asthana Vidwan from Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam

Yuva Kala Bharati from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai

Mridanga Bhupathy from KKSF-USA at Dallas on April 5th 2026, along with numerous awards and accreditations from major sabhas across India. He is also a graded artiste of All India Radio, Chennai.

A globe-trotting artist travelling abroad since age eleven, he has performed in over 30 countries, accompanying leading musicians worldwide. His performances have resonated in prestigious venues such as the Sydney Opera House during Festival Of India, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, The Esplanade, Singapore, Queen Elizabeth Hall and BBC Studios, London, as well as Broadway theatres and Carnegie Hall, New York, among many others.

Sankaranarayanan is deeply committed to teaching and mentoring several young and aspiring students, many of whom are now active in the Carnatic concert circuit across the places. He serves as the Founder, Director, and CEO of Naadalayam Arts & Music Inc., Toronto, where he actively nurtures emerging talent across the GTA & visiting artistes. As a research scholar continues to make significant contributions to the North American Universities such as UT Austin, University of Toronto & few western percussion schools across USA & Canada with his research papers & articles on Mridangam resourcefully.

Anirudh Athreya (Kanjira)

Kanjira artist Anirudh Athreya has a great music Lineage. His great-grandfathers Sangita Kalanidhi-s ‘Papa’ K.S. Venkatramaiah and Alathur Sivasubramania Iyer were icons in the twentieth century. His maternal grandfather, V. Thyagarajan was a reputed violinist, and grand-uncle V. Nagarajan was a veteran kanjira vidwan. Nagarajan initiated Anirudh into the kanjira when he was but nine years old and was his guru for five years, later Anirudh came under the guidance of Sangita Kalanidhi T.K. Murthy. Since becoming Murthy’s disciple, Anirudh has not looked back. Within a year he was playing alongside the veteran who went to great lengths to encourage him. He is now a regular accompanist to accomplished artists like Bombay Jayashri, T.M. Krishna and Vijay Siva, among others. He considers it a privilege to have also participated in the concerts of the likes of R.K. Srikantan, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan, P.S. Narayanaswami, O.S. Thyagarajan, and N. Ravikiran. The senior mridangam artists he has teamed up with are his guru T.K. Murthy and Trichy Sankaran, Guruvayur Dorai, Srimushnam Raja Rao, Tiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam and Mannargudi Easwaran. He has toured many cities in India, and played abroad in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Singapore, the U.S.A. and Canada.