 Shashank,
born on October 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
Narayanaswamy. At 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
September 1990 when he was 11, followed by
his debut in India on December 20, 1990.
He became the youngest musician of the
century to have been invited to play the
prestigious 'sadas' concert on January 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.
Some landmark 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.
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. He has
numerous awards to his credit, including the
prestigious title 'Kalaimamani' conferred by
the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Shashank has enthralled audiences in
India, the US, Canada, the 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.
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 range from colourful, 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. |
