Musicians
An orchestra of vocals, nattuvangam, mridangam, violin, flute & tanpura
Nattuvangam - KP Yesodha
Vocal - P. Vijeesh
P. Vijeesh grew up surrounded by the arts, his parents being his first inspiration. He has accompanied the major dancers of South India, and has toured with them and others living abroad. A disciple of C.K. Ramachandran, he has accompanied this renowned artist in his Kerala performances. Vijeesh sings for the major artists performing in Chennai's famous cultural sabhas across the "season", composing kritis for many. He is a graded artist on All India Radio.
Mridangam - KP Ramesh
KP Ramesh Babu has been said to be able to turn anything into a musical instrument. From a family of professional artists, his chief guru has been Karaikudi R. Mani. He has been working with Kalanjali here in California for more than 20 years, and has accompanied the major dance companies across the world from a young age. A skilled musician, he has composed many dance pieces for leading artists. A graded artist with All India Radio, he credits the Dhananjayans of Bharata Kalanjali with whom he worked for many years for having placed him firmly on the map of the "greats."
Violin - Palakkad Vishwesh Swaminadhan
Palakkad Vishwesh Swaminadhan, originally trained by his parents, and later by Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna and Parur KA Sundareswaran is a recipient of numerous awards such as the MS Subbulakshmi Endowment Award from Shanmughananda Fine Arts, Mumbai, and several government awards. His prowess as both a violinist and a vocalist has given him opportunities ot accompany India's most respected artists across India and the world, and recently enjoyed performing across the United States with Rama Vaidyanathan.
Flute - Akhil Anilkumar
Akhil Anilkumar excels in both flute and nadaswaram and has been winning prizes since his school days. Trained by some of the greatest nadaswaram players such as Evoor Haridas Warrier, and flute under J.A. Jayanth and T.Sreeraj, he has recorded with leading artists, accompanied dancers around India and abroad, and directs his own band "Paatucompany". He relishes the challenge of pushing boundaries in both classical and semi-classical music.
Tanpura - Barbara Framm
Barbara Framm has been a part of Kalanjali for nearly the entire 50 years of its existence. She is a multi-talented artist, with training in different musical instruments and dance styles, chiefly Bharatanatyam which she teaches in her own school, Saraswati Kala Nilaya in Marin. She has also performed Kathakali with the Kunhiramans, and Odissi with Vishnu Tatwa Das.
