Jayanthi Kumaresh is an Indian

Veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...

musician. Jayanthi comes from a lineage of musicians who have been practising

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

for six generations and started playing the Saraswati Veena at the age of 3. Her mother, Lalgudi Rajalakshmi, was her first teacher and she later underwent intense training from her maternal aunt, Padmavathy Ananthagopalan. She was also taught by

S. Balachander Sundaram Balachander (18 January 1927 – 13 April 1990) was an Indian veena player and filmmaker. He directed, produced, and also composed music for a few of his films. Balachander was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982. He died of a hear ...

and went on to perform with him as well. She is married to Kumaresh Rajagopalan (b 1967), the younger of the violinist duo Ganesh–Kumaresh. She is the niece of violinist

Lalgudi Jayaraman Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Mu ...

. Jayanthi has performed at several festivals in India such as Sawai Gandharv Mahotsav, Gana Saraswati Samaroh, Gwalior Music Festival. She has also performed in international festivals such as San Francisco Jazz Festival,

Darbar festival The Darbar Festival is an Indian classical music and dance festival that takes place annually over three months in London. It uniquely curates music from the north Indian Hindustani and south Indian Carnatic classical traditions as well as dh ...

Queensland Music Festival The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia, usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queens ...

, Darwin Music Festival, Adelaide Music Festival and at venues such as the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

; Palladium, Indiana; Theatre de la Ville,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

; and Northwest folklife festival,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. A collaborator, she has performed with notable musicians such as

Ustad Zakir Hussain Ustad Zakir Hussain (born 9 March 1951) is an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer and film actor. He is the eldest son of tabla player Alla Rakha. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002, ...

, violinist R. Kumaresh, Hindustani flutist

Ronu Majumdar Ronu Majumdar is an Indian flautist in the Hindustani classical music tradition. Awards, nominations, and music collaborations In 1981, Ronu Majumdar won the first prize at the All India Radio competition, and the President's Gold Medal. He ...

, Hindustani violinist

Kala Ramnath Kala Ramnath is an Indian classical violinist. She belongs to the Mewati gharana, a lineage of musicians. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskaar in 2016, Rashtriya Kumar Gandharva Sanman in 2008 and the Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraska ...

, and Carnatic musicians

Aruna Sairam Sangita Kalanidhi Aruna Sairam is an Indian classical vocalist and carnatic music singer. She is a recipient of the Padma Shri award from the Government of India and has been elected as Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy (India's premier ...

Bombay Jayashree "Bombay" Jayashri Ramnath is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer, and musician. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. Born into a family of musicians, Jayashri represents the fourth ge ...

Sudha Ragunathan Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kalanidh ...

, and others. A researcher, Jayanthi holds a doctorate for her work on "styles and playing techniques of the Saraswati veena" and conducts workshops and lecture demonstrations around the world. She founded the Indian National Orchestra, where a group of artists from Carnatic and Hindustani genres representing the rich musical and cultural heritage of India come together under one banner to showcase Indian classical music. Jayanthi composed and released the album "Mysterious Duality," which is a multi-dimensional reflection of the simple yet complex self – through a single instrument, the Saraswathi Veena. The artist has played 7 different Veena tracks and this album is one of its kind.

Awards

Jayanthi has been awarded with the following: * 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 : "Award for Veena" - The Music Academy, Chennai -

Madras Music Academy Madras Music Academy is one of the earliest established music academies in South India. Before the concept of infrastructure was introduced to India in the early 1920s, it was a gathering for elite musicians simply called (and is still more ...

* 1997: Veena Dhanammal Memorial award- Sriragam fine Arts, Chennai * 1999: Kalki Memorial award * 2000: Fellowship from Department of culture for ‘Ragam Tanam Pallavi’ rendering on Veena * 2003: A-TOP grading, from the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

* 2004:

Maharajapuram Santhanam Maharajapuram Santhanam, (20 May 1928-24 June 1992) was an Indian Carnatic music vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1989. He was born in Sirunangur, a village in the state of Tamil Nadu. He followed the fo ...

Memorial Award * 2006: State award of

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

from

Tamil Nadu Government Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, like ...

* 2006: Mahaswami Puraskar * 2007: Sathyashri – Bangalore * 2010: Veena Nada Mani -

Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Sri Kanchi Monastery or the Sarvagna Peetha, is a Hindu institution, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near a temple dedicated to Goddess Sri Kamakshi (Durg ...

* 2011: XL award for the outstanding Instrumentalist of the year * 2013: Gana Varidhi - MA Narasimhachar Music Foundation * 2013:

Sangeetha Choodamani Sangeetha Choodamani ( ta, சங்கீத சூடாமணி) is an award bestowed on selected carnatic musicians by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai (India) every year. The Sabha conducts a music festival called ''Gokulashtami Sangeetha Ut ...

- Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai * 2014: Asthana Vidwan at Sringeri Sharadha Peetham * 2015: Hamsadhwani Award. * 2016: Kala Ratna from Kala Sangam, Mumbai * 2016: Mudhra Vainika Award * 2018: Vishwa Kala Ratna from Milapfest, London * 2018: Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal * 2019: Bhavan's Sangeet Shikhar Samman - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaresh, Jayanthi Living people Indian women musicians Tamil musicians Saraswati veena players Year of birth missing (living people)