Shashank Subramaniam - Flute

Shashank is a self-taught flute prodigy. He performed for the general public in 1984 for the first time at the age of 6. He began performing at the top circuit in 1990 with major performances in Adelaide, Australia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and in Singapore followed by his major performance at Shastri hall in Dec 1990. His career-defining moment came when the Music Academy invited Shashank, just 12 years old, to perform in the senior most performance slot "SADAS concert" at The Music Academy, Chennai 1 January 1991. Shashank has worked extensively presenting collaborative performances with host of musicians from India and around the world including John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, Wuppertal and Shanxi Symphony Orchestras, The New Jungle Orchestra, Mikkel Nordso, Terry Riley, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Zakir Hussain, Ustad Sultan Khan, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ronu Mazumdar, Ustad Shujaat Khan and many others. Shashank performs in a wide range of concert environments from the pure Indian classical, Symphonies, Jazz, Films and crossover projects. He has led many ensembles and also has been a guest artist on many famed bands like Remember Shakti, New Jungle Orchestra, Blue Lotus, etc.

Akkarai Sornalatha - Violin

Akkarai Sisters S Subhalakshmi and S Sornalatha are among India’s most distinguished musicians today, renowned for their soulful music that has won the hearts of music lovers worldwide. The sisters are the disciples of their father, Akkarai Shri S Swamynathan, a veteran violinist and founder of the Swara Raga Sudha school of music. Under his rigorous training, they both came to the stage by the age of eight and stunned the world with a skill and maturity that belied their years. The sisters also learnt under other renowned gurus such as Shri V Janakiraman, Shri O V Subramanian and his daughter Smt Padma Natesan of New Delhi, and later on, Padmabhushan Shri P S Narayanaswamy and chitravina maestro Shri N Ravikiran. Today, Akkarai Sisters hold the unique distinction of being highly sought-after as both vocalists and violinists. They are renowned for their soulful music filled with fine nuances and creative artistry, whether in their duets, their skillful and sensitive accompaniment for many a legendary artiste, or their acclaimed collaborations with Hindustani, Jazz, Western Classical, and other artistes from around the world. Both the sisters have performed at numerous prestigious venues around the world, including the Indo-Russian cultural exchange programme, the Théâtre de la Ville Festival (Paris), the farewell concert for Zubin Mehta (Munich), the Queen Elizabeth Hall and BBC Radio (London), the Mahatma Gandhi Institute Sangeet Utsav (Mauritius), Umeå Jazzfestival (Sweden), and a special duet concert for the Emperor and Empress of Japan and the Chief Minister and Governor of Tamil Nadu in 2013. They have had the privilege of being accompanied by stalwart accompanists, including the tavil legend Aridwaramangalam Shri A K Pazhanivel, in their concerts. Sornalatha is a gold medalist MA music graduate from the University of Madras and an A-Grade artiste in both vocal and violin at All India Radio and Doordarshan; her accolades include Kalashree, Yuva Kala Bharathi, the Vipanchee Award, the national intercollegiate gold medal at Kurukshetra (2005-06), and the Best Violinist Award from the Indian Fine Arts Society (2007). The sisters were together awarded the Shanmukha Sangeeta Shiromani from Shanmukhananda Sabha, Mumbai (2009), and the Yuva Purandara Award from Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha, Bangalore (2016).

Patri Satishkumar - Mridangam

Patri Satishkumar is an explosive mridangam artist and composer with a deep interest to innovate and explore the art form. His specialization is his precise fingering technique and the fine balance of sounds between the treble and base heads of the Mridangam. Trained by Gurus Sree Ramachandramurthy, V.A.Swami and V. Narasimhan, Satish Kumar continues to evolve a style of his own that is distinctly his own. Satish Kumar has been a regular feature in prestigious venues and festivals across India and around the world including BBC Proms at The Royal Albert Hall - London, The Music Academy - Chennai, Saptak Festival - Ahmedabad, Theater De La Ville - Paris, Villa Cardova - Cardoba - Spain, Rashtrapathi Bhavan - New Delhi, Pablo Festival in France, Harbor Front Festival - Toronto, Madrid Jazz Festival, to name a few.