Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan
The mrudangam is a double-headed drum. It is said to be the “king of percussion” and dates back to 4 or 5 century BCE, with references found in the great Indian epics Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Srimad Bhagavatham. Today it is featured in all South Indian classical music (Carnatic) concerts as a rhythmic accompaniment to vocals and also as a solo instrument. Mastery of the mrudangam and the intricate rhythms used in Carnatic music takes years of intensive training.
Ravindra Bharathy Sridharan began his formal mrudangam training in 1980 under Sri M.A, Krishnamurthy in Mysore, India, and has been a performing artist since 1982. He has also studied under Sri Sriram Brahmanandam and Sri Nyevili Narayanan. Ravindra has been teaching students in the United States since 1999, founded the Nadhopasana Academy of Fine Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2007, and is an active performing artist.
As a current master artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, Ravindra is working with apprentice Shreyas Ramaswami. The focus of their apprenticeship will be developing Shreyas as a concert performer with a focus on more complex rhythms, as well as training him to conduct beginner level classes.
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