Musicians
Celestial Message Troupe
The Celestial Message Troupe consists of master musicians specializing in both South and North Indian instruments. Band members began their musical journeys early in life and have trained in classical Indian music. Respecting the musical genius of Sri Swamiji’s compositions, they have devoted their lives to his music.
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The Healing and Meditation Music Concerts range from therapeutic to inspirational to spiritual. The Celestial Message Troupe have performed internationally with Sri Swamiji for more than 25 years, including over 300 concerts of this uniquely rhythmic and melodious music.
Mridangam • Shankar Ramesh
Rudrapatna Shankar Ramesh, from Mysuru, has studied mridangam since childhood. Sri Swamiji predicted that Ramesh would be His mridangam player. Ramesh is the mridangam disciple of legendary Karaikudi Mani. He earned a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Mysore.
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The mridangam is an ancient double-headed barrel drum played with the hands. Known as “the king” of Indian percussion, it is the main drum used in Carnatic (Southern) Indian music.
Tabla • Mahesh Bhat
Mahesh Bhat was born in Cochin into a musical family. He grew up in the Mysuru ashrama, and Sri Swamiji instructed him to learn tabla. He earned a degree in tabla performance from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai.
The tabla is known as “the queen” of Indian percussion and is the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani (Northern) Indian music. The Tabla consists of a pair of small, tuned drums, one larger than the other, played with the hands.
Violin • Jaitra Varanasi
Jaitra Varanasi was born in Guntur and taught violin by his mother from a young age. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music (violin and voice) from Sri Venkateshwara University. He has performed on All India Radio numerous times.
The violin has been an important instrument in Indian music for over 200 years. The Indian violin is tuned and held differently when played as compared to the Western violin.
Keyboard • Mani Tadepalli
Music has been a gift since childhood in Machilipatnam for Mani Tadepalli, who is from a family of musicians and musicologists. He earned a diploma in music for key-based instruments and voice, and is known for his playing of multiple classical styles.
Traditional Carnatic music includes keyboard melodies and accompaniment. The modern use of synthesizers has allowed incorporation of the traditional half- and semi-tones of Indian classical music.
Renowned musicians who have performed Sri Swamiji’s music include
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O. S. Arun—singer
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Sudar C. Babu—singer
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Sri B. V. Balasai—flute
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S. P. Balasubrahmanyam—singer
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Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt—veena
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Bombay Sisters —singers
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Anindo Chaterjee—tabla
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Hari Prasad Chaurasia—flute
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Chinmaya Sisters —singers
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Gayathri Girish—singer
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Kadri Gopalnath—saxophone
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Zakir Hussain—tabla
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Pandit Jasraj—singer
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Sangeetha Katti—singer
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TM Krishna—singer
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K. Krishna Kumar—singer
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Jayanthi Kumaresh—veena
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Kumaresh and Ganesh—violin
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Malladi Brothers—singers
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Mambalam Sisters—singers
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Madurai G. S. Mani—singer
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Karaikudi Mani—mridangam
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Mysore Brothers—violin
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Dr. Narayanan—singer
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K. V. Narayanaswamy—singer
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Priya Sisters —singers
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Sudha Raghunathan—composer and singer
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Rithvik Raja—singer
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Maharajapuram Ramachandran—singer
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Dr. Jayaprada Ramamurthy—flute
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N. Ramani—flute
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Jayashri Ramnath—singer
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Palghat Ramprasadh—singer
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Yella Venkateshwara Rao—mridangam
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Savitha Sai Shravanam—singer
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Sowmya—singer
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Nagamani Srinath—singer
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Dr L. Subramaniam—violin
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O. S. Thyagarajan—singer
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Trichur Brothers —singers
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Unnikrishnanan—singer
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Suresh Vaidynathan—ghatam
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Ram Vakkalanka—sitar
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Pradeep & Ramesh Vinayakam—singers