Mridangam Maestro to perform in J'nagar

The name’s Yella. Dr Yella Venkateshwara Rao. Rings a bell? If you are a classical music buff, it would. Yella, as he is fondly known in his circles, is the renowned Mridanga Maestro. Adept at playing violin, vocal and veena, his forte is mridangam. Honors and titles sit lightly on this remarkable artist, a child prodigy who gave his first public performance at the age of seven, even before any formal training in mridangam. The maestro and his troop will present Swara Laya Sangamam, an Indian symphony orchestra with a variety of instruments (mridangam, sitar, tabla, tavil, kajeera, ghatam, pads, morching, kongolupatu, sarod, rhythms, veena, santoor, violin, keyboard, saxophone, guitar and tambura) on Sunday, Jan 27 at RV Dental College, JP Nagar.

Yella’s concerts attract large audiences for he appeals to the senses. His concerts of traditional kritis hold the audience spellbound.

Born on 16th December 1947 into a family of musicians, (Mahalakshmi and late Rama Murthy) he was adopted by Yella Somanna, the mridangam maestro and disciple of the legendary late T S Palghat Mani Iyer. He accompanied many renowned and leading artists before going on to give solo performances.

The organizer of the show is Advaita Trust, famous for organizing such musical and cultural programmes of top performers such as Dr Balamuralikrishna and Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan among several others. Interested can contact the Advaita Foundation at No. 29, 38th Cross, 2nd Main, 8th Block, Jayanagar, Ph 51200236, 26535933, 9844013042.