Rithvik Raja (born 9 March 1989) is a Carnatic Musician (South Indian Classical Music) from India. He has performed in concerts in India and overseas. Since January 2016, Rithvik is married to Bharatanatyam artiste Shweta Prachande.
Early life and background
Rithvik Raja was born in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He began learning
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
at the age of 5. He had his initial training under Sudha Raja (his mother) for vocal music. Subsequently, after developing a good understanding of the basics and foundation for 6 years, he was trained by Sulochana Pattabhiraman for 2 years. At the age of 13, he started learning from
T.M. Krishna, who is one of the leading figures in the Carnatic music circuit today. Training under Krishna has given Rithvik a larger perspective of music and a passion to strive harder in innovating and excelling within the boundaries of classicism.
Education
His schooling in
Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School
Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School is a school in India, in the southern city of Chennai. Founded in 1956 by M. Subbaraya Aiyar, R. S. Subbalakshmi and Padmini Chari, the school recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016. It follows the ...
, Mylapore, Chennai. He went on to receive his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
from
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was formally inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India, on 20 acres (81 ...
, Madras. He also completed a one year
Multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...
course from Image Infotainment, Alwarpet. He is currently studying for a degree in Sound Engineering at
SAE Institute
The SAE Institute (SAE, formerly the School of Audio Engineering and the SAE Technology College) is a private for-profit college with campuses and facilities, including licensed franchise operations, in 50 cities in 20 countries. It was found ...
of Technology.
Career
Rithvik has been giving public performances and concerts since a very young age. Today, he has performed in all the leading institutions in places such as Chennai as well as Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and other places in India. He has also toured Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka. Apart from performances, he currently heads as the President of an organisation called The Youth Association for Classical Music that deals with spreading the awareness of Classical Music among the youth. Rithvik is known for his solid voice with perfect pitch, mastery over laya and adherence to classicism.
Rithvik's music and his commitment to the artform have led him to tour and perform in a number of esteemed venues across the globe. His has recently completed tours in New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia to name a few.
Awards and titles
* Bala Rasika Award 2004 - Carnatica, Chennai
* Best Male Vocalist Award 2005 - RA Puram Bhaktha Jana Sabha, Chennai
* Most Promising Youngster Award 2006 - Ganamukundapriya, Chennai
* Best Concert Award 2007 - VDS Arts Academy, Chennai
* Best Junior Vocalist Award 2008 - Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai
* Best Male Vocalist Award 2009 - Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai
* Best Ragam Tanam Pallavi Award 2011 - Music Forum, Chennai
* Best Male Sub-Senior Vocalist 2011 - Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai
* Maharajapuram Santhanam Award 2012 - Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai
* Isai Chudar 2012 - Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai
* Yuva Kala Bharathi 2012 - Bharat Kalachar, Chennai
References
External links
Rithvik RajaYouth Association for Classical MusicYACM InterviewArticle on Core Values of Classical MusicInfluence of Internet on students of ArtsArticle on YACM's 25th AnniversaryArticle on Youth influence in Carnatic MusicRithvik sharing with his counter parts from the NorthRithvik interviewed about Pallavi singing in a concertRithvik & his designing interests
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja, Rithvik
1989 births
Living people
Male Carnatic singers
Carnatic singers