Environmental Ragas
An Evening of Carnatic Violin Music
The presentation of Carnatic music, a form that dates back to the first millennium and is intricately bound up with South Asian religion, literature, philosophy, art, dance and theater, is a rare opportunity. Because of the training needed to play this music, there are few practitioners and opportunities to hear it played live and interact with the musicians in an open dialogue are limited. The ragas, or melodies, of Carnatic music are intimately connected to the natural world – there are ragas that evoke specific seasons, particular times of day, and various flora and fauna from the natural world. For a conference about Asia and the Environment, we are excited by the opportunity to program a concert that will not only be beautiful and entertaining, but will also connect directly to the weekend’s central theme of inquiry. This performance and workshop is an excellent opportunity for music, social studies, art and history teachers to deepen their knowledge and have first-hand experience with elite level teachers and pedagogues.
Son of acclaimed Violin Maestro Dr. Mysore Manjunath, Sumanth Manjunath has been captivating music lovers and critics with his talent from a very young age. He began performing concerts at the prodigious age of nine years old, and has honed his skills over the years under the guidance of his father, as well as his grandfather, veteran violin master Sri Mahadevappa, and his uncle, Maestro Mysore Nagaraj. Sumanth has performed at festivals and concert venues across India and abroad, including Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Scotland. This is his first American tour.
Mridangam Player: TBA
Friday Concert
Carnatic violin and mridangam concert will be held on Friday evening. The concert will be organized by Amanda Culp (Assistant Professor of Drama).
Saturday Outreach Workshop
Outreach workshop will be held on Saturday to promote education about Asia in local schools and to increase interest in learning about Asia among educators and students. The outreach event will be coordinated by Justin Patch (Associate Professor of Music).
These events are financially supported by the Council of Councils of the Association for Asian Studies,
Asian Studies Program at Vassar College, and Mr. Paul Chan (Class of 1993) and Ms. Jessica Yep-Chan
(Class of 1994).