Past Events

2023 25th Year of CAMAGA celebrations

Sat Sep 16, 2023

  1. Welcome
  2. Mangala Isai
  3. vAzhga vAzhgave – A musical tribute to CAMAGA
  4. Sangeetha nAtya vaibhavam
  5. Why CAMAGA?
  6. Chief Guest Address and Felicitations
  7. SriRama Charitha Geetham – Dance drama
  8. Conclusion
  9. Dinner
25th year Souvenir  
25th Year Celebrations Photos
25th Year Celebrations Video

2023 Great Composers' Day

Sat Feb 18 & Sun Feb 19, 2023

Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Download Program Details Documents

Composers Day Program Details  
Participants List  

2023 Great Composers' Day Announcement

Sat Feb 15 & Sun Feb 16, 2020

Registration Form

Event

CAMAGA will be hosting the 2023 Great Composers’ day on Saturday February 18th and Sunday February 19th, 2023

Participant

CAMAGA invites you to particpate in the 2023 Great Composers' Day as
  1. Individual performer
  2. Group participant
  3. Accompanist
  4. Participant in the Pancharathna Krithis/Utsava Sampradaya kritis group singing alone

Format

Participants can choose pre-Trinity, Trinity, and post-Trinity compositions.

Participation slot

Because generally there are overwhelming registrations, an individual will be assigned only one slot to participate. For example, if a registrant is proficient in three categories: Vocal, Veena, and Violin, the registrant must choose which one of these three categories he/she wishes to participate. This stipulation, however, does not apply to participate as a member of a group or to provide instrumental support.

Registration Form

If you are interested in participating in the 2023 Great Composers' Day, please
  1. complete the Registration Form
  2. registration fee is $25 per participant
  3. send registration fee by zelle (details in registration form)

Participation as members of a group

If one is intending to participate as a member of a teacher’s group, please request the teacher to submit the form on behalf of the entire group. Kindly note that CAMAGA does not accept registration forms received directly from a group member or from the parents of children participating in a group.

Note to Teachers

In the case of student groups, kindly assign a serial number to each group of participants and include the names of each member within a group. Please note that CAMAGA does not decide the groups or who should participate within a specific group; it is solely the decision of the teacher. For each group, teachers must collect the registration fees of $30 from each non- member from the group and mail a check favoring CAMAGA, to 1415, Carter Road, Decatur, GA, 30030.

Deadline for receipt of registration form and registration fees

The registration fee must be received the latest by January 31, 2023.

Registration acknowledgment

Once CAMAGA receives the registration email along with the registration form, an acknowledgment confirming receipt of the registration form will be sent. If an acknowledgment is not received from CAMAGA within four days of sending in the registration, please immediately contact CAMAGA and confirm that the registration form has been received. If you did not resolve the issue within the four days, CAMAGA can no longer accept responsibility for the non-receipt of the registration. CAMAGA will not make last-minute additions to the registration because of claims that the registration form was sent on time.

Early closure of registration

If CAMAGA receives more participation requests than it could possibly accommodate within the two-day function, CAMAGA will announce an early closure of the registration process (earlier than the stipulated date of January 31, 2023) and it will no longer accept registration requests received after the early closure announcement.



TRINITY DRAMA ONLINE
by Madras Players and hosted by CAMAGA

April 16 through April 19, 2021

The drama is based on the lives of the three Great Composers of Carnatic Music - Sri Syama Sastri, Sri Thyagaraja, and Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. It is produced by the reputed The Madras Players, using the studios of Kalakshetra and using professional recording systems. The participants in the drama are reputed Carnatic musicians such as Vijay Siva, Gayathri Venkatraghavan, to name a few, who also will be singing in their own voices

How to view?

The drama will be hosted online and available for viewing between April 16th and April 19, 2021 (Friday through Monday). The organizer - Madras Players - will be sending a password and site information directly to each of those who were members in 2019 as well as the few joined in 2020 It will be available for 'members' viewing for a maximum of 100 hours during these three days and it will be possible for members to stop and continue as you please within this time frame. Please be on the lookout for the email.

2021 Composers Day

During the year 2020, because of COVID-19, CAMAGA did not hold any in-person concerts or events, with the exception of the Great Composers' Day. However, this did not deter the Atlanta music community of rasikas and performers from continuing with musical activities. In keeping with this spirit, in 2021, CAMAGA hosted the annual Great Composers' day. The event was an online, virtual event and unlike in prior years, the event was smaller in duration. The event consisted of singing the five Pancharathna kritis, followed by select Utsava Sampradaya Kritis. Each of these kritis was sung by one of Atlanta area local musician. Camaga thanks all the artists for their participation.

Annual Composers Day - Virtual Broadcast on February 13, 2021 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time Zone

Posted by Camaga on Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Trinity Drama - Event (scheduled for March 21, 2020) is Cancelled due to Coronavirus Concerns

on Sat Mar 21, 2020

Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta

written by Seetha Ravi
Translated by Prabha Sridevan
Directed by P.C.Ramakrishna

‘Trinity’ is a seamless weave of 3 short stories by Seetha Ravi (published in Kalki) and translated by Prabha Sridevan (in The Hindu) on the “Tiruvarur Three”, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Sastri and Thyagaraja, the fountainheads of Carnatic music, who lived around Thanjavur at the same time in the 18th century.

And starring in the three stories are well-known Carnatic musicians – Vijay Siva, Gayatri Venkataraghavan and Dr S Sunder.




PARIMALA RANGANATHAR

In PARIMALA RANGANATHAR, Muthuswami Dikshitar travels from one holy kshetra to another with his disciples, composing memorable keerthanais on the temple, deity and legend of the place. The scene begins in Mayuram, where he has just composed “Mayuranatham Anisham” in praise of the Lord there. He then travels to Indalur, where he composes 2 krithis with the same pallavi but different charanams in Hamir Kalyani. What makes him do it is the focus of the story. Vocalist Vijay Siva plays the role of Muthuswami Dikshitar.

SHYAMA KRISHNAN

The second story, SHYAMA KRISHNAN is on Lalitha , the wife of composer Shyama Sastri who waits long hours for her husband to return home from the temple. In a conversation with her neighbour, Dharmambal, the poignancy of her married life with Shyama Sastri is revealed. She ultimately merges with the “naadam” of his tambura , singing the great Yadukula Kambhoji Swarajathi of her husband. Vocalist Gayathri Venkataraghavan plays the role of Lalitha

KEERTHI VILAASAM

The third story is KEERTHI VILAASAM, Composer Thyagaraja is preparing for the wedding of his daughter Seethamma, who plies him with a multitude of questions on whether he actually saw Sri Rama, and, if so, why he continues to yearn for Him in every song. Thyagaraja has answers for her, and the scene ends with a revelation of why he uses his Mudra “Thyagaraja” in his compositions. Vocalist Dr. S. Sunder is Thyagaraja.

The play also features Palghat Dr. R. Ramprasad, G. Madhavan, Bharath Narayan, Abhinav Shankar, Mathangi Kailasanath

Vijay Siva (Muthuswami Dikshitar)—is a top-rung Carnatic music artiste. A disciple of the renowned D.K.Jayaraman and D.K.Pattammal, he has also trained in Mridangam under Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer and Srirangarajapuram Jayaraman. He has sung in all major sabhas in India, as also in USA, Canada and Singapore. A recipient of more than 100 awards, he has released several music albums. No stranger to drama, Vijay Siva played recently a pivotal role in “Bharathi Yaar?”
Vijay Siva
Gaytahri Venkataraghavan
Gayathri Venkataraghavan (Lalitha)---is a senior concert musician. Initially trained by Smt. Rajalakshmi, she received advanced tutelage under A. Sundaresan, and has been under the guidance more recently of P.S.Narayanaswami. She is a “TOP” grade artiste of A.I.R. and a recipient of numerous awards. She has performed extensively in India, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Middle East, and released many music albums.
Dr. S.Sunder (Thyagaraja)—is a Kalaimamani awardee, and one of the foremost musicians and musicologists in Carnatic music. He is a very senior disciple of the great D.K.Jayaraman and T.K.Govinda Rao. A professional physiatrist and ergonomic consultant, he has given more than 500 concerts all over the world.
Dr. S.Sunder
Vikram Raghavan
Vikram Raghavan (Vadivelu) - is an upcoming vocalist in the world of Carnatic Music. He had his initial training from Smt. Rajalakshmi Ramachandran and has been under the guidance of T.M. Krishna since 2003. Vikram has performed extensively in Chennai, across India and in North America over the past 10 years. He is a graded artist of the All India Radio and has been awarded several prizes from prestigious institutions.
Bharath Narayan (Sivanandam)—is the son and disciple of noted Vidushi Dr. G. Baby Sreeram from Thiruvananthapuram. Starting to learn music at age 4, he released a CD of Dikshitar’s Navagraha Kritis when he was 8. He has won many prizes & awards. He dons “grease paint” for the first time. Abhinav Shankar (Ponnaiah)—a disciple of well-known musician, Sikkil C. Gurucharan, he juggles between corporate life and music. He has sung at several concerts in Chennai, and has lent his singing “persona” to The Madras Players’ production of “Madaiah the Cobbler”, directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy recently.
Bharath Narayan
Abhinav Shankar
Abhinav Shankar (Ponnaiah)—a disciple of well-known musician, Sikkil C. Gurucharan, he juggles between corporate life and music. He has sung at several concerts in Chennai, and has lent his singing “persona” to The Madras Players’ production of “Madaiah the Cobbler”, directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy recently
Aryamba Sriram (Seethamma)—is an accomplished Bharathanatyam dancer, having received advanced training in Kalakshetra. She has been part of a few internationally renowned dance ensembles, and has performed all over India, Japan, Australia, Cambodia, Germany and Malaysia. A winner of many awards and recognitions, she has in addition actively learnt and performed Carnatic music.
Aryamba Sriram
Sanjay Nag
Sanjay Nag (Ananda) - was initiated into music at the tender age of 4 by his mother, Vidushi Sowbhagya Ravishankar, and continued his learning from Vidwan Dr. K Varadarangan. Currently, he is under the tutelage of Vidwan Abhishek Raghuram. He has been awarded Prathibhakankshi from Sree Ramaseva Mandali, CCRT scholarship, and directly graded "B-High" from All India Radio. He has been performing throughout India and abroad
Shilpa Sadagopan (Kamalam) - is a 22-year-old musician, who just graduated from the University of Southern California’s Pop music program and Business School. She has been learning Carnatic music since the age of 3 - from Kasthuri Shivakumar and Chitravina Ravikiran. She has won numerous prizes in competitions around the US, and has performed concerts in India. She also performs and songwrites American pop music, and currently is doing a sync licensing deal with Sony music and working on an RnB project
Shilpa Sadagopan
2020 Great Composers' Day

Sat Feb 15 & Sun Feb 16, 2020

Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Download Program Details Documents

Composers Day Program Details  
Participants List  


2020 Great Composers' Day Announcement

Sat Feb 15 & Sun Feb 16, 2020




Registration Closed updated on Jan 20, 2020

Thanks to all who have sent in their registration. Unfortunately, owing to overwhelming response and constraints of time, we had to close the registration for the two-day event as of January 20, 2020

If you have already registered, please make sure to send in the registration fee by January end. As always CAMAGA thanks you for your support and cooperation.


Event

CAMAGA will be hosting the 2020 Great Composers’ day on Saturday February 15th and Sunday February 16th, 2020

Participant

CAMAGA invites you to particpate in the 2020 Great Composers' Day as
  1. Individual performer
  2. Group participant
  3. Accompanist
  4. Participant in the Pancharathna Krithis/Utsava Sampradaya kritis group singing alone

Format

Participants can choose pre-Trinity, Trinity, and post-Trinity compositions.

Participation slot

Because of overwhelming registrations, an individual will be assigned only one slot to participate. For example, if a registrant is proficient in three categories: Vocal, Veena, and Violin, the registrant must choose which one of these three categories he/she wishes to participate. This stipulation, however, does not apply to participate as a member of a group or to provide instrumental support.

Registration fee

Registration fee is required from all participants.
  1. Members (those who have renewed membership for the calendar year 2020) will pay a registration fee of $10 per participant
  2. A current member of CAMAGA must renew their annual membership before January 31, 2020, or otherwise, pay a registration fee as a non-member
  3. Non-members of CAMAGA (those who did not renew membership for the calendar year 2020) will pay a registration fee of $30
  4. The non-members must pay a registration fee regardless of whether they participate as a member of a group, or as an individual, or as an accompanist

Participation as members of a group

If one is intending to participate as a member of a teacher’s group, please request the teacher to submit the form on behalf of the entire group. Kindly note that CAMAGA does not accept registration forms received directly from a group member or from the parents of children participating in a group.

Note to Teachers

In the case of student groups, kindly assign a serial number to each group of participants and include the names of each member within a group. Please note that CAMAGA does not decide the groups or who should participate within a specific group; it is solely the decision of the teacher. For each group, teachers must collect the registration fees of $30 from each non- member from the group and mail a check favoring CAMAGA, to 1415, Carter Road, Decatur, GA, 30030.

Deadline for receipt of registration form and registration fees

The registration fee must be received the latest by January 31, 2020. If the registration fee is not received by this due date, we will assume that the registrant is not intending to participate and remove their names accordingly.

Registration acknowledgment

Once CAMAGA receives the registration email along with the registration form, an acknowledgment confirming receipt of the registration form will be sent. If an acknowledgment is not received from CAMAGA within four days of sending in the registration, please immediately contact CAMAGA and confirm that the registration form has been received. If you did not resolve the issue within the four days, CAMAGA can no longer accept responsibility for the non-receipt of the registration. CAMAGA will not make last-minute additions to the registration because of claims that the registration form was sent on time.

Early closure of registration

If CAMAGA receives more participation requests than it could possibly accommodate within the two-day function, CAMAGA will announce an early closure of the registration process (earlier than the stipulated date of January 31, 2020) and it will no longer accept registration requests received after the early closure announcement.

2019 Great Composers' Day
Sat Feb 16 & Sun Feb 17, 2019

Download Program Details Documents

Composers Day Program Details  
Participants List    updated - Feb 14, 2019, 4:49 PM

2018 Carnatic Mela

Celebrating 20 years of CAMAGA

Download Carnatic Mela Program Details  

CAMAGA will host a whole-day Carnatic Mela event starting at 10 AM on Sat Apr 7, 2018. The objective of this event is to give our local talent – seniors, juniors, and sub-juniors (in terms of years of learning and experience) – an opportunity to showcase their talents.

Three performers from each category will give a vocal or solo violin concert for about fifteen minutes each and will be accompanied by local young artists. In the senior and sub-senior categories, the young artists will also show their knowledge of manodharma.

The artists were selected based both on their talents and because, in recent years, they were not given a chance to perform on behalf of CAMAGA.

After the end of their performances, the visiting professional musicians -- Carnatica Brothers – Shashikiran and Ganesh and violinist, Sri V.V.S. Murari will give each artist a brief review of their performance and make suggestions. The purpose is not to do a critical analyses or criticism but to offer an ‘expert’ opinion that would help in the learning process.

The agenda for the day include:

  • Performances by Junior, sub-senior, and senior artists from the community
  • CAMAGA has completed twenty years as a music organization. Following the young artists performances and review, CAMAGA will honor the volunteers who had served and continue to serve this organization with dedication during the last twenty years. The visiting artists will recognize the volunteers.
  • Lunch break (food can be purchased from the temple lunch counter)
  • A brief (20 to 30 minutes) of interaction between the audiences and the visiting artists. It is an open format and would include, general questions about music including a quiz to our knowledgeable audience. Voluntary participation.
  • The day will conclude with a two-hour concert by
2018 Great Composers' Day Celebrations

Sat Feb 17 & Sun Feb 18, 2018

Download Program Details Documents

Composers Day Program Details  
Participants List    updated - Feb 14, 2018, 2:10 PM

2018 Composers Day Registration Announcement

Registration Closed updated on Jan 18, 2018

Thanks to all who have sent in their registration. Unfortunately, owing to overwhelming registration and constraints of time, we had to close the registration for the two-day event as of January 18, 2018

If you have already registered, please make sure to send in the registration fee before January 2018 end. As always CAMAGA thanks you for your support and cooperation.


CAMAGA will be hosting the Great Composers’ day on Saturday February 17th and Sunday February 19th, 2018.

Format: Participants can choose compositions pre-Trinity, Trinity, and post-Trinity.

Participation slot: Because of overwhelming registrations, an individual will be assigned ONLY one slot to participate. For example, if a registrant is proficient in three categories: Vocal, Veena, and Violin, the registrant must choose which one of these three categories he/she wishes to participate. This stipulation, however, does not apply to participation as member of a group or individuals providing instrumental support.

Registration Form:

The registration form is required from 1) Individual performers; 2) group participants; 3) accompanists, and 4) individuals interested in participating only in the group singing of Pancharathna Krithis/Utsava Sampradaya kritis.

Registration fee: Registration fee is required from all participants. Members will pay a registration fee of $10 per participant and non-members of CAMAGA (those who did not maintain membership in CAMAGA during the calendar year 2017) will pay a registration fee of $30. The non-members must pay a registration fee regardless of whether they participate as a member of a group, or as an individual, or as an accompanist. A current member of CAMAGA must renew their annual membership before January 31, 2018 or otherwise, pay registration fee as a non-member.

Registrants (both members and non-members) intending to participate are requested to mail in their registration forms as an attachment to an email and 2) mail a check favoring check to CAMAGA to 6011 Rocky Shoals Court, Tucker, GA, 30084.

For those participating as members of a group: However, if one is intending to participate as a member of a teacher’s group, please request the teacher to submit the form on behalf of the entire group. CAMAGA does not accept registration forms received directly from a group member or from the parents of children participating in a group.

Note to Teachers: In the case of student groups, kindly assign a serial number to each group of participants and include the names of each member within a group. Please note that CAMAGA does not decide the groups or who should participate within a specific group; it is solely the decision of the teacher. For each group, teachers must collect the registration fees of $30 from each non- member from the group and mail a check favoring CAMAGA, to 6011 Rocky Shoals Court, Tucker, GA, 30084.

Deadline for receipt of registration form and registration fees: The registration fee must be received latest by January 31, 2018. If the registration fee is not received by this due date, we will assume that the registrant is not intending to participate and remove their names accordingly.

Registration acknowledgement: Once CAMAGA receives the registration email along with the registration form, it will send an acknowledgement confirming receipt of the registration form. If an acknowledgement is not received from CAMAGA within four days of sending in the registration, please immediately contact CAMAGA and confirm that the registration form has been received. If you did not resolve the issue within the four days, CAMAGA can no longer accept responsibility for the non-receipt of the registration. CAMAGA will not make last minute additions to the registration because of claims that the registration form was sent on time.

Early closure of registration: If CAMAGA receives more participation requests than it could possibly accommodate within the two-day function, CAMAGA will announce an early closure of the registration process (earlier than the stipulated date of January 31, 2018) and it will no longer accept registration requests received after the early closure announcement.

Note: Once the participation details are finalized and announced, no further changes to the schedule will be made. CAMAGA also will not accept requests to substitute one participant’s name from a specific slot and time with another participant’s name.



2017 Great Composers' Day Celebrations

February 18 & 19, 2017

Download Program Details Documents

Composers Day Program Details  
Participants List    updated - Feb 13, 2017, 2:50 PM


2017 Composers Day Registration Announcement

Registration Closed

Thanks to all who have sent in their registration. Unfortunately, owing to overwhelming registration and constraints of time, we had to close the registration for the two-day event as of January 23, 2017

If you have already registered, please make sure to send in the registration fee before 5 PM on January 31, 2017. Please also note that, if the payment is not received by that date, CAMAGA will assign the slot to the individuals in the wait list, with the assumption that you do not intend to participate in the event. As always CAMAGA thanks you for your support and cooperation.


CAMAGA will be hosting the Great Composers’ day on February 18th and 19th, 2017.

Format: Participants can choose compositions pre-Trinity, Trinity, and post-Trinity.

Participation slot: Because of overwhelming registrations, an individual will be assigned ONLY one slot to participate. For example, if a registrant is proficient in three categories: Vocal, Veena, and Violin, the registrant must choose which one of these three categories he/she wishes to participate. This stipulation, however, does not apply to participation as member of a group or individuals providing instrumental support.

Registration Form:

The registration form is required from 1) Individual performers; 2) group participants; 3) accompanists, and 4) individuals interested in participating only in the group singing of Pancharathna Krithis/Utsava Sampradaya kritis. Kindly send the registration form as an attachment to your email and forward it to camaga.atlanta@gmail.com.

Registration fee: Registration fee is required from all participants. Members will pay a registration fee of $10 per participant and non-members of CAMAGA (those who did not maintain membership in CAMAGA during the calendar year 2016) will pay a registration fee of $30. The non-members must pay a registration fee regardless of whether they participate as a member of a group, or as an individual, or as an accompanist. A current member of CAMAGA must renew their annual membership before January 31, 2017 or otherwise, pay registration fee as a non-member.

Registrants (both members and non-members) intending to participate are requested to mail in their registration forms as an attachment to an email and 2) mail a check favoring check to CAMAGA to 6011 Rocky Shoals Court, Tucker, GA, 30084.

For those participating as members of a group: However, if one is intending to participate as a member of a teacher’s group, please request the teacher to submit the form on behalf of the entire group. CAMAGA does not accept registration forms received directly from a group member or from the parents of children participating in a group.

Note to Teachers: In the case of student groups, kindly assign a serial number to each group of participants and include the names of each member within a group. Please note that CAMAGA does not decide the groups or who should participate within a specific group; it is solely the decision of the teacher. For each group, teachers must collect the registration fees of $30 from each non- member from the group and mail a check favoring CAMAGA, to 6011 Rocky Shoals Court, Tucker, GA, 30084.

Deadline for receipt of registration form and registration fees: The registration fee must be received latest by February 1, 2017. If the registration fee is not received by this due date, we will assume that the registrant is not intending to participate and remove their names accordingly.

Registration acknowledgement: Once CAMAGA receives the registration email along with the registration form, it will send an acknowledgement confirming receipt of the registration form. If an acknowledgement is not received from CAMAGA within four days of sending in the registration, please immediately contact CAMAGA and confirm that the registration form has been received. If you did not resolve the issue within the four days, CAMAGA can no longer accept responsibility for the non-receipt of the registration. CAMAGA will not make last minute additions to the registration because of claims that the registration form was sent on time.

Early closure of registration: If CAMAGA receives more participation requests than it could possibly accommodate within the two-day function, CAMAGA will announce an early closure of the registration process (earlier than the stipulated date of January 31, 2017) and it will no longer accept registration requests received after the early closure announcement.

Note: Once the participation details are finalized and announced, no further changes to the schedule will be made. CAMAGA also will not accept requests to substitute one participant’s name from a specific slot and time with another participant’s name.


Vocal and Violin workshop

by illustrious violinist Sri Ganesh

June 18 - 24, 2016

CAMAGA is pleased to announce that Sri Ganesh, the renowned violinist and vocalist (of the Ganesh and Kumaresh duo) will conduct a music workshop organized by CAMAGA. The workshop will be held for seven consecutive days from June 18 through June 24, 2016 in Atlanta.

This is a great opportunity for teachers, students, and others trained in Carnatic music (either vocal or violin) to learn from a senior musician. We also encourage teachers and those with several years of training in music to register for the workshops to learn more about manodharma and other performing skills. Ganesh would offer voice training, fingering techniques for those with a focus on violin, Manodharma, and more.

Venue:
KA Academy of Indian Music & Dance
2731 Sandy Plains Rd, Suite #156
Marietta, GA, 30066

The workshop will be offered to independent groups

  1. Vocal – seniors
  2. Vocal – juniors (who have learnt at the least a few Varnams and Kritis)
  3. Violin Seniors
  4. Violin – juniors (who have had training in violin and are proficient in a few varnams and kritis)

The seniors, Vocal and Violin, would receive two hours of training per day while, juniors (grouped in to batches of 5 to 7 students), would receive one hour of training per batch per day. Consequently, the number of registrants for the entire workshop will be restricted. The registration fee per participant for the one week session is $250 and it is payable in advance. If you are interested in registering, please send an email to camaga.atlanta@gmail.com. Because of the restrictions on the number of registrants, we will accept request for registration until the maximum participant for each group is reached (first come first served based on the date and time of receipt of the email.

Download Registration Form for Music Workshop Conducted by Sri. Ganesh  
Carnatic Mela 2016

Sat April 9, 2016

Venue:
Chinmaya Niketan
Sri Rama Temple
5511 Williams Road Norcross GA

CAMAGA is organizing a Carnatic Mela. The event is being organized to celebrate the centenary of Bharat Ratna Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi, the illustrious musician.

The objective of the Mela is to encourage younger members of the community learning music to participate in enjoyable and yet simple music-related activities (e.g. choir singing, quiz program, debate, and more). The Mela would also include items that adults can participate (the adults group activities will be independent of the kids’ group activities). Since the purpose of the Mela is make participation enjoyable and not stressful, the format, unlike a music competition, will have no winners or losers .

The event starts at 10 A.M. (with registration starting at 9:30 AM). The Mela is scheduled for a total of seven hours including an hour of lunch break. The Mela also includes a concert, Nrithya Katha, and dance. Carnatica Brothers – Sri Shashikiran and Sri Ganesh would be joined by Upanyasa exponent Smt. Suchitra and Bharatanatyam exponent, Ms. Smitha Madhav. The concert would be thematic, celebrating the memory of Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi. The artists will be accompanied on the violin by B. Raghavendra and on the Mridangam by Thiruvarur Bakthavatsalam. At the end of the concert, certificates of `appreciation will be awarded by Carnatica to the participants in the Mela.

The concepts list given below describes the various events that are under consideration.

Carnatic Mela Concepts

  1. Show case Local Talent
    Three young performers (chosen in advance; the rules for the selection process will be announced soon) will perform, each for 15 minutes; we suggest that they focus on compositions that were popularized by Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi.
  2. Carnatic Choir
    Local teachers will take the lead in putting together a choir; the participants can include both the teachers and their students or others they choose. Only two groups would perform and each group would be assigned twenty minutes maximum time
  3. Quiz, anthrakshari or multi-media presentation
    a kids group with a maximum of 4 participants (and a separate group of adults with 4 participants). A multimedia quiz on Carnatic music would be conducted by the artists. If no member from a group is able to answer a quiz question, the question will be opened to the audience participation.
  4. Musical Pattimandram
    30 minutes max including for the moderator to summarize. Two groups of three individuals (only younger individuals) will debate against each other; the topics are wide open – Bhakthi or Melody in Smt. M. S. Amma’s performance; Carnatic music as passion or career, how do we made Carnatic Music youth friendly or what makes MS a Carnatic Icon; we welcome suggestions for other interesting topics ).
  5. Raga Repertoire (time permitting)
    Two young individuals group (less than 15 years of age) and two adults group will be formed (the young and adult groups will participate separately). A member from a group will pick from a box, a slip of paper on which is written a song’s name. One of the three participants from the group will identify the raga; sing the arohanam and avarohanam of the raga and a few phrases and lines from the composition. Points will be awarded to each group. Similar process will be used for the adults groups.
  6. Concert, Nrithya Katha, and the Dance
  7. Awarding of certificates

Rules

  1. Individuals (both young kids and adults) must send in a Registration Form  
  2. A registration fee of $25 must be paid by non-members
  3. Since both the time available and the number of participants for each theme is limited, registrations will be accepted on first come first basis.
  4. Participant of a registration will be assigned only to the theme he/she has indicated as the first preference.
  5. Initially, a participant will be restricted to one theme only.
  6. If, later, there are opening in any of the other themes, CAMAGA may give a participant a second theme also. Participants for this will be chosen by a lottery.

If you have any questions or suggestion, you may send an email to sriramr@bellsouth.net

Download Registration Form for Carnatic Mela  
Download Carnatic Mela Announcement  

Shashank and Shruthi - Congratulations

CAMAGA congratulates our Atlanta’s young musicians, Shruthi Santhanam and Shashank Ganeshan. At the Aradhana celebrations and music competition currently being hosted by the Cleveland Aradhana committtee, Shruthi and Shashank, between the two of them, have won five awards in various categories such as Pallavi rendition, Alapana, Neraval, and Swara Kalpana. Shruthi and Shashank, you have made Atlanta community proud. CAMAGA also appreciates their gurus and their parents for their contribution in making this recognition possible.

Composers' Day 2016

Feb 13 & 14 2016

Venue: Hindu Temple of Atlanta

Documents

Download Composers Day Program  
Download Composers Day Participants List  

February 13, 2016 Program

Time Program
8:30 - 9:45 AM Individual Singing
10:00 - 11:15 AM Pancharatna Krithis
(Group Singing)
11:15 - 1:00 PM Individual Singing
1:00 - 2:00 PM Invited artist
V. Lakshminarayanan Violin
Ram Sriram Mridangam
2:00 - 4:00 PM Individual Singing
4:00 - 4:30 PM Hamsa Ragams
(Thematic Presentation)
4:30 - 6:30 PM Individual Singing

February 14, 2016 Program

Time Program
9:30 - 10:30 AM Individual Singing
10:30 - 11:00 AM Navagraha Krithis
of Dikshithar
(Thematic Presentation)
11:00 - 1:00 PM Individual Singing
1:00 - 1.30 PM Tyagabrahmam and
Tamizh Tyagayya
(Thematic Presentation)
1:30 - 3.00 PM Individual Singing
3:00 - 5:00 PM Kalyana Utsavam
Divya Nama Krithis,
Utsava Sampradaya Krithis
Arathi (Group Singing)
Atlanta Carnatic Samraat - Sep 19, 2015

Below are the results from the Sangeeth Samraat Carnatic Premier League regional event held at Hindu Temple of Atlanta, Riverdale on September 18 & September 19, 2015.

Camaga thanks Nagai Sri. Muralidharan, Thiruvarur Sri. Vaidyanathan, Sri. Ravikiran and Chitravina Sri. Ganesh for judging the participants, Radiance Realty for sponsoring the event and Sri. Shashikiran for organizing and giving an opportunity to host the event here in Atlanta.

Congratulations to all the winners and the selected winners move on to finals in the USA region - to be held in Delaware on October 11 & 12, 2015.

Here is a link to an article written and published about this competition in Atlanta Dunia

Winners of Regional Competition 2015

Category Prize Name Finals
Performing Category - Yuva Samraat - Junior I Shashank Ganeshan Selected
II Shruthi Santhanam Selected
III Sandhya Ramachandran
Performing Category - Yuva Samraat - Seniors I Sudharsan Mohan Selected
Duo I Sree Varshney & Nitheyaa Sri Selected
Special Ranjani Yoganand
Groups I Roswell Rhythms Selected
I Carnatic Band II (Manvyala)
II Shruthilaya Band III
III Pancharatna
Non-performing groups - Seniors II Sandeep Kavitha (Kriti)
Special Ranjani & Sandhya (Varnam)
Yuva Samraat - Juniors - Varnam Singing Special Jyotsna Rao
Yuva Samraat - Juniors - Kriti Singing I Athrey Gonella
II Shruthi Rajagopalan
III Meghna Pothukuchi
Special Neha Rao
Special Neha Murthy
Bala Samraat - Instrumental I Vishaal Ganesh (Mridangam) Selected
I Ajay Balasubramaniam (Violin)
Bala Samraat - Vocal - Varnam Singing I Anish Nair
II Ritvik Ram
Bala Samraat - Kriti Singing I Charanya Srinivasan
II Ruhi Iyer
III Aparna Jonnalagada
Special Anirudh Narayanan
Special Shobana Santhanam
Special Shivanuja Gokarakonda
Bala Samraat - Below 10 years of age I Sridhruti Narayanan
II Pranav Balasubramaniam
III Hasini Balaji
III Bavana Srinivasan
Special Achyutan Narayanan
Special Rohana Suram
Special Adithya Upadhyayala
Carnatic Mela - April 18, 2015

Saturday April 18, 2015 - 1 pm - 3:30 pm

CAMAGA organized a Carnatic Mela program to encourage younger kids learning music to participate in enjoyable and yet simple music-related activities (e.g. choir singing, quiz program, symphony, and more). Since the purpose of the Mela was to make participation enjoyable and not strenuous, it was not similar to a competition. There were no winners or losers.

The Mela was held on April 18, 2015 at the Hindu Temple of Atlanta Auditorium between 1 PM and 3:30PM.

PROGRAM

Swara Jamming

Participantis were given a swara pattern – e.g. s r g p g m (Rupaka) and then he/she created the rest of the Sarali varisai.

Raga Repertoire

Participants had to identify the raga; sing the arohanam and avarohanam of the raga and a few phrases and lines from a composition



Carnatic Quiz

This program was a quiz on Carnatic music conducted by the artists. If no member from a group was able to answer a quiz question, the question was opened to the audience. The quiz tested the basic knowledge on Carnatic music.

Guess the Kriti

Trivandrum N. Sampath played a random line from anywhere inside a kriti on the violin. The participants had to guess the kriti. Some of the kritis were enduku peddala in Sankarabharanam, Bantu reeti in Hamsanadam ....

Carnatic Choir

About 20 students of Jassotha Balasubramaniam performed carnatic kritis in a choir on violin. They were accompanied on mrduangam and ghatam. Here is a youtube video of the performance.



Composers' Day 2015

February 14 & 15, 2015