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Shashank,
born on Oct. 14, 1978, 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), Kennedy Center -Washington D.C. , J. Paul Getty Hall -Hollywood, National
Academy of Sciences -Washington D.C., Xebec Hall –Kobe, Japan and Across Fukuoka –Fukuoka, Japan, India Music Group at St.Xaviers college
-Bombay, UNESCO -Paris,
Tropical Institute-Amsterdam, Modigliani Hall-Padova, Italy, Museum Rietberg, Zurich,
Seoul Plaza, Seoul, Korea, etc |
(With the legendary Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar) |
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Shashank’s
introduction of 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 gave flute an enviable position in Indian music
and has been acclaimed world over by music lovers as
his significant/ contribution. "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. Has numerous
awards to his credit including the prestigious title "Kalaimamani"
conferred by the Govt. of Tamilnadu.
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, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.
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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. He has 29 CD albums to his credit apart from two DVDs of
his live concerts. |
(With His Excellency The
President of India
R. Venkatraman at The Presidential Palace, New Delhi, 19 June, 1992)
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