Vikku Vinayakram + Selvaganesh + Swaminathan
About
Three generations of virtuoso percussionists in Carnatic music Vikku Vinayakram, V Selvaganesh and Swaminathan Selvaganesh are renowned for their amazing talent of playing gatham and kanjira marvellously.
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram also known as Vikku Vinayakram is a grammy award–winning Indian percussionist who plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot and is credited with popularising the ghatam.
Vinayakram is the principal of Sri Jaya Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya, an academy established by his late father and teacher in Chennai in 1958.
He has many recordings to his credit and is also the author of several books on percussion in Tamil and English.
His son, V. Selvaganesh, is also an Indian percussionist working in the Carnatic tradition and plays kanjira, a south Indian frame drum, and is one of the leading kanjira players of his generation.
Selvaganesh gained fame through tours with John McLaughlin's group, Remember Shakti. He has also composed and produced records, as well as performed alongside Swedish bassist Jonas Hellborg and American guitar virtuoso Shawn Lane.
He has performed in music festivals with well-known artists such as L. Shankar, Dr. L. Subramaniam, Pandit Jasraj, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia, and toured the United States with Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion.
In 2008, he made his debut as a composer for the Tamil film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, and in 2012, he made his directorial debut with Bodhai, a Tamil short film.
Vikku Vinayakram’s grandson, Swaminathan, is the third generation of percussionists in the family, following his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps in keeping Carnatic music alive. He is well-known for his work in propagating kanjira through cross-cultural cooperation.
He has shared the stage with major artists like Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Balamurali Krishna and Zakir Hussain.
Swaminathan is also a leading composer in the Tamil film industry and a master of Konnakol - vocal percussion.
Awards and accomplishments
Awards and accomplishments
- Vikku Vinayakram was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best World Music Album for his participation in Raga Aberi along with L. Shankar and Zakir Hussain.
- Vikku Vinayakram has also been conferred the ‘Hafiz Ali Khan Award’ for his unmatched contribution to the field of music.
- Vikku Vinayakram was awarded the ’Padma Shri’ in 2002, ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship’, the highest honor in the performing arts in 2012 & the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2014.
Vinayakram was awarded the ‘Dr.M.S.Subbulakshmi Centenary Award’ in 2016.
Why Vikku Vinayakram + Selvaganesh + Swaminathan?
The trio of Vikku Vinayakram, Selvaganesh, and Swaminathan, three generations of percussion masters in Carnatic music, have excelled meticulously. With expertise in creating traditional music through gatham, kanjira and Konnakol respectively, their integration of music has given an unrivalled contribution to the music industry. Alongwith the generations, the music has evolved, and showcases the trio as a soulful rendition of music, art & culture.
