Trichy Sankaran

"...The highpoint of the whole concert was the percussion support of mrgangam Tiruchi Sankaran and the young kanjira vidwan B.S. Purushothaman. It was mesmerizing mrdangam play all through while Sankaran accompanied the Kritis. What a thani it was!"

~ The Hindu, Dec 25, 2009 (Music Academy Concert)

Professor Trichy Sankaran is a world-renowned percussion virtuoso,

Indian music scholar and composer, and the founding director of Indian music studies at York University. Over the years, Prof. Sankaran has bridged eastern and western pedagogical styles and has influenced generations of students who have become noted performers, composers, and music educators themselves. He has made valuable contributions to many scholarly conferences across North America and has published two major books: one on the theory and techniques of South Indian classical drumming, and the other on the Art of Konnakkon (Solkattu).

Trichy Sankaran has performed at major festivals in India, South-East Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. In his 55 years of concert experience in Carnatic music, he has accompanied all top rank artists of India. He has performed in jugalbandhis (North-South combo) with famous Hindusthani musicians. In addition to his usual traditional settings, he has performed with Nexus, gamelan, jazz, electronic, African music ensembles and world drums, as well as his own group, Trichy's Trio.

As a composer, Trichy Sankaran has to his credit numerous pieces in the genres of gamelan, jazz, traditional western classical orchestra and world music ensembles. He continues to perform and write compositions for contemporary and world music ensembles. He has received numerous honours and awards for his contributions to University teaching and artistic excellence in the professional field.

Professor Sankaran has published numerous articles, as well as two major textbooks: The Rhythmic Principals and Practice of South Indian Drumming and The Art of Konnakkol.

ABOUT KARNATAK MUSIC

The Two Styles

There are two distinct styles in the modern performance of Indian classical music, the Karnatak in the South and Hindustani in the North. According to the history of Indian music, there was no distinction between Northern and Southern musical traditions until after the 13th century A.D. The split was largely effected by political changes; there were frequent Moghul invasions and economic upheavals in the North at that time, until the Moghuls conquered North India and established Muslim rule. Indian music captured the imagination of Muslim rulers and, as a result, Muslim musicians adopted the performance of Indian music, and added many new melodic and rhythmic forms to the repertoire, while promoting the use of new musical instruments.

Hindustani music flourished in Moghul courts, while Southern India's culture remained relatively undisturbed, and the music of the South prospered mostly in the temples and in the courts of some Southern kingdoms. South India became the centre of Hindu learning, and Sanskrit literature continued to play an important part in the development of its music where, protected from foreign influence, it retained a more traditional form. The fundamental principles of melody and rhythm are common to both systems and the differences between modern performance of Karnatak and Hindustani music are largely a matter of style, instrumentation and repertoire. (more on Karntak Music.)