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Shashank,
was barely nine months old when he was
initiated to south Indian classical music, even before he started
speaking his mother tongue. As advised by Flute Maestro T.R. Mahalingam,
he learnt only vocal music from veteran musicians including Palghat K.V.
Narayana Swamy. At his six Shashank picked his father's flute and
stunned onlookers by playing, spontaneously, to signal his entry into
the flute world. His maiden flute concert was at Adelaide, Australia in
Sept 1990 when he was eleven followed by his debut in India on Dec 20,
1990.
He became the youngest musician of the century to have been invited to
play the prestigious "SADAS" concert on Jan. 1, 1991 at The
Music Academy, Madras. Since then, has been a celebrity flautist
world over and performs in the company of top ranking artistes in India
and abroad.
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Some land mark
concerts of his have been Rashtrapathi Bhavan (The President's
Palace at New Delhi), The Smithsonian, Kennedy Center and
National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C.,
J. Paul Getty Hall -Hollywood, Cerritos Performing arts
center in Los Angeles, Eastman School of Music - Rochester,
World Music Institute - New York, Asian Art Museum
- San Francisco, Xebec Hall and Across Fukuoka in
Kobe, and Fukuoka, Japan, Hong Kong Museum of Art - Hong Kong,
World Flute Conference -
Nashville, Sawai gandharva
Festival - Pune, Saptak Festival - Ahmedabad, Dover
Lane Music festival - Calcutta, |

(With the legendary Sitar Maestro
Pt. Ravi Shankar
and Mrs. Sukanya Shankar) |
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India Music Group -
Bombay, Theater De-La-Ville,
UNESCO & Musee Guimet in Paris -France,
Tropical Institute
- Amsterdam, The Lowry in Manchester-UK, The Sage
in Gateshead - UK, Modigliani Hall -Padova-Italy,
Museum Rietberg -Zurich,
The Munchen Residency in Munich-Germany, Improvisation
Festival in Lausanne- Switzerland, Seoul Plaza in
Seoul- Korea and a host of other prestigious institutions
across the world.
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Shashank often
collaborates with many legendary musicians from India and around the
world including Guitarist John McLaughlin, Tabla Maestro
Zakir Hussain, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pt.
Ajoy Chakraborthy to name a few.
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(With His Excellencies The
President, Prime Minister & Home Minister of India - after a
performance along with Legendary Vocalist Pt. Jasraj in New Delhi on
Jan 14, 2006) |
With
scintillating, primal tones he truly sings through the most organic
and ancient of all instruments. His logic-defying virtuosity is the
result of a magical innate talent coupled with the best possible
training.
Shashank has propelled the Bamboo flute into an
enviable position by his playing techniques of which “the multi
flute transposed fingering technique”
to merge flutes of different frequencies / lengths to the tonic note
(the adhara shadja) – producing deep bass to the shrill sounds
and the dual octave production”” have won him world acclaim. |
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Shashank has enthralled audiences in India, USA, Canada, UK,
France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy,
Denmark, Norway, South Africa, The Middle East, Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.
"Shashank
sings through his flute", "musical wiz kid of the century",
"magician flautist" , etc., are some of the often heard critics in
the music world.
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Shashank's
performances feature an extraordinary range of musical expression -
from the deepest meditations to youthful fun and astonishing
virtuosity. Audiences respond enthusiastically to his flair and
unpretentious style. His percussionists add pizzazz to the
performances with rhythmic texture that ranges from colorful, sparse
punctuation to driving motives that swell to exhilarating levels
during solo passages. |

(With H.E. The President
of India R. Venkatraman at The Presidential Palace, New Delhi, 19
June, 1992)
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Shashank has numerous awards to his credit including the
prestigious title "Kalaimamani" conferred by the Govt. of Tamilnadu
and holds an "A Top" grade in the All India Radio
/ Television. He has 32 CD albums to his credit apart from two DVDs
of his live concerts.
Shashank currently pursues Hindustani vocal (North
Indian) music from the legendary vocalist
Pt. Jasraj. |
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