Nirmala Rajasekar is a Carnatic Saraswati veena player, composer, vocalist, and educator.[1] One of the world's premier veena players,[2] Rajasekar has performed at Carnegie Hall,[3] the United Nations,[4] the Madras Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha,[4][5] Sawai Gandharva Festival,[3] and the Konya International Mystic Music Festival.[4] Rajasekar is the current co-chair of the American Composers Forum.[6]

Early life

Nirmala Rajasekar began her training in the Saraswati veena at the age of 6 in Chennai[7] with Sri Deva Kottai Narayana Iyengar and Smt. Kamala Aswathama,[8] the mother of Smt. E. Gayathri. After moving to Bangalore, she studied at the Gana Mandira School in Basavangudi with Smt. G Chennama and Smt. E. P. Alamelu.[9][8] Rajasekar also received guidance from violinist Sri A.D. Zachariah[8] and Veena Sri S. Balachander.[8]

Rajasekar began her career as a soloist at the age of 13.[10][11][12] Upon returning to Chennai, Rajasekar came under the tutelage of Saraswati veena player Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan, with whom she trained for nearly thirty years.[8][13] Through Swaminathan, Rajasekar is part of the Dikshitar shisya parampara.[14] In Chennai and Delhi, Rajasekar studied Carnatic vocal music with Sri B. Sitarama Sarma and Prof T.R. Subramaniam,[15] receiving a Government of India scholarship to study with the latter.[8]

Musical career

Nirmala Rajasekar has been performing and composing for over forty years.[16] In her career, Rajasekar performs traditional Carnatic repertoire as a Saraswati veena exponent[1][7][8][12] and creates contemporary works through compositions and collaborations.[7][11][16] In 2020, Rajasekar was the annual Commissioned Composer of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, the longest-running program of its kind in the United States.[16][17] Past composers include Pauline Oliveros, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Jennifer Higdon, and Julia Wolfe.[17]

In 2007, Rajasekar's album Song of the Veena was released by Innova Recordings,[18] and in 2010, Innova released her album Into the Raga.[19] Rajasekar's third album with Innova, a collaborative world music album called Maithree: The Music of Friendship, was released in 2018.[20][11] The album was reviewed by Songlines,[21] WNYC New Sounds, and Jazz Weekly.[20] Other albums include Sudha Saagara, released by Charsur Digital Workstation,[22] and Melodic Expressions.[23]

Rajasekar has collaborated with artists including Pt. Ronu Majumdar,[5] Pt. Tarun Bhattacharya,[24] Pt. Gaurav Majumdar,[25] Sri Mysore Manjunath,[5] Sounds of Blackness,[2] Gao Hong,[26] Anthony Cox,[3] and poet Robert Bly.[27]

Rajasekar is an A-Grade artist of All-India Radio,[28][9] and has appeared on Australian Broadcasting Corporation,[29] British Broadcasting Company,[2] and Doordarshan Television.[28] Since 1989, Rajasekar has been a performing artist for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.[28] Rajasekar has been featured at the National Music Museum[2] and the "Beyond Bollywood" exhibit presented by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Smithsonian Institution.[30]

Since 1995, Rajasekar has lived in Minnesota, USA,[7][11] touring several months each year to countries such as India,[7] Turkey,[4] Australia,[29] New Zealand, and Singapore.[28] Rajasekar's daughter and student, Shruthi Rajasekar, is a composer and vocalist.[3][10]

Positions

Nirmala Rajasekar is the founder and artistic director of the Naadha Rasa Center for Music,[9][27][4] and was recognized with the Prof. T.R. Subrahmanyam Teaching Award by the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival.[31] She is also a COMPAS teaching artist.[1] Rajasekar currently serves as the co-chair of the Board of the American Composers Forum[6][32] and the Vice President of the Global Carnatic Musicians Association.[33][3]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c "May Artist Spotlight: Carnatic Composer Nirmala Rajasekar". COMPAS. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "USD Public Events NMM Live! Sounds of South India - Nirmala Rajasekar - Bedework Events Calendar". calendar.usd.edu. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Swaminathan, G. (25 December 2019). "A vainika's journey around the world". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e Shen (29 May 2017). "Smt Nirmala Rajasekar (veena - Chennai/USA)". QLD Sangeet Mela Association. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b c B. Sivakumar (25 December 2019). "TN: Veena exponent, violinist and flautist to present trigalbandi | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Board". American Composers Forum. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Renowned south Indian musician in Plymouth". MPR News. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Venkataramanan, Geetha (29 December 2014). "Strings that sing". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. ^ a b c "Carnatic Saraswati veena by Nirmala Rajasekar". Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Carnatic music master Nirmala Rajasekar passes on love for music". MPR News. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d "Four artists from India who made their mark on Minnesota". Star Tribune. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  12. ^ a b Khanna, Shailaja (12 February 2020). "A sublime saraswati veena baithak by Nirmala Rajasekar". The Asian Age. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Upcoming Music Performances include Indian veena, American art songs and British Invasion". Otterbein University. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Kalpakam Swaminathan | RadioWeb Carnatic". old.radioweb.in. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  15. ^ Romero, Angel (7 August 2018). "Artist Profiles: Nirmala Rajasekar | World Music Central.org". Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  16. ^ a b c "Vainika to win over Wisconsin". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b c "Commissioned Composers". www.uwrf.edu. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Song of the Veena | Innova Recordings". www.innova.mu. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Into the Raga | Innova Recordings". www.innova.mu. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Maithree | Innova Recordings". www.innova.mu. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  21. ^ "Review". Songlines. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Kutcheri- SudhaSaagara". Charsur Digital Workstation. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  23. ^ Melodic Expressions - Veena (1998) - Nirmala Rajasekar, archived from the original on 21 August 2014, retrieved 22 October 2020
  24. ^ Upadhyay, Aninda (18 October 2019). "Jugalbandi". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Renowned Indian Musicians Take the Stage at CSUSM". Renowned Indian Musicians Take the Stage at CSUSM. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Butterfly - Home Page". www.chinesepipa.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  27. ^ a b "Performer & Teacher Nirmala Rajasekar – Ampers". ampers.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  28. ^ a b c d "Veena Recital by Nirmala Rajasekar – Dhvani". dhvaniohio.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  29. ^ a b "Music from the Goddess". ABC Radio National. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  30. ^ Minnesota Historical Society (2016). "Vibrant Accompaniment" (PDF). Minnesota History.
  31. ^ "Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival". stepoutside.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  32. ^ a b "IMSOM Concert: Nirmala Rajasekar (Veena)". www.imsom.org. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Global Carnatic Musician's Association - Committee Members". www.gcma.in. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  34. ^ "KALAIMAMANI NIRMALA RAJASEKAR – Soorya Performing Arts". Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  35. ^ "Nirmala Rajasekar | Performing Artist | Diversity in Focus".
  36. ^ "Meet the Fellows".
  37. ^ "Nirmala Rajasekar".
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirmala_Rajasekar
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