Vittal Ramamurthy

Vittal Ramamurthy (Kannada : ವಿಟ್ಟಲ್ ರಾಮಮೂರ್ತಿ) is a violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. He is a 'Top Ranking' Artiste of All India Radio and has performed in national radio and television, in addition to live concerts.

Vittal Ramamurthy
Background information
BornDharmasthala, Karnataka
OriginIndia
GenresIndian classical music
List of Violinists
Carnatic music
Occupation(s)Violinist
InstrumentsViolin
Websiteviolinvittal.com
In this Indian name, the name Ramamurthy is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Vittal.

Musical training

Born in a family of musicians and music connoisseurs, Vittal started his musical journey at home. He started learning Carnatic music from his mother, Krishnaveni, who is the main guiding force in all walks of his life. He was introduced to violin by his grandfather, Late Sangeethabhushanam B.V. Subba Rao. He continued training under Hosahalli Venkataram and T. Rukmini.

Soloist and accompanist

He has performed in 6000+ concerts worldwide. He has accompanied his guru, Lalgudi Jayaraman in his vocal, violin duet and trio concerts. He has accompanied vocal stalwarts like D. K. Jayaraman, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, R K Srikanthan, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, O. S. Thyagarajan T. K. Govinda Rao, T. V. Sankaranarayanan, K. J. Yesudas, Bombay Sisters and Sudha Raghunathan. He has also accompanied the current generation vocal artistes like Vijay Siva, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Sanjay Subramanian, T. M. Krishna, P. Unni Krishnan, Bombay Jayashri, S. Sowmya and others.

He has also accompanied great instrumental stalwarts like N. Ramani (Flute), Kadri Gopalnath (Saxophone), N. Ravikiran (Chitravina), Shashank Subramanyam (Flute). He has participated in the World Music Festival in 'Théâtre de la Ville', Paris and other International Festivals in Singapore and Dubai. In addition to his solo recordings, he has accompanied all the popular artistes in hundreds of commercial audio recordings.

Teacher and musicologist

Ramamurthy has students in India, USA, Canada, Australia and France.

As a Musicologist, he has given Lecture Demonstrations and workshops at some major universities like the prestigious Shepherd School of Music (Rice University, Houston, Texas), Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Harvard University (Boston, Massachusetts).

In his passion for music and selfless contribution to the growth of Carnatic music, Vittal Ramamurthy and family organize summer camps in his native home, 'KARUNBITHIL', Nidle Dharmasthala in Karnataka every year. About 250 children from surrounding villages attend this camp which is in the style of the Gurukulam system. They stay in his house and learn music for a whole week and share it with all their friends. Boarding, lodging and all expenses are borne by Vittal Rammamurthy's family. Eminent artistes are invited to give workshops and concerts to these young musicians. Artistes like Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, M. Chandrasekaran, Vellore G. Ramabhadran, Kamalakara Rao, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Lalgudi Krishnan, Vijay Siva, T. M. Krishna, Bombay Jayashri, S. Sowmya, Abhishek Raghuram, R. K. Shriramkumar, Embar Kannan, Kalyani Sharma, S.P. Ramh, Sankari Krishnan and others have graced the shibira and motivated the students by their teachings. Every year this is the most awaited musical event by all students and rasikas alike. Students flock to this village for the music camp from not only Karnataka and Chennai, but also as far as New Jersey, Texas and California.

Awards
  • Kalaimani
  • Yuva Kala Bharathi
  • Swara Gyana Bharathi
  • Best Violinist (from Music Academy and Sri Krishna Gana Sabha of Chennai, India)
  • Asthana Vidwan of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam
  • Vadya Kala Vipanchee
  • Best Teacher Award from the VD Swami Arts Academy
  • Maharajapuram Santhanam Foundation Meritorious Award for Achievement
  • Vigneshwara Gana Mani Award from Sri Vigneshwara Cultural Academy
  • Asthana Vidwan of Sri Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada Peetham
  • Vani Kala Sudhakara from Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha
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