Percussionist Rohan Krishnamurthy and his mother, singer and teacher Sujatha Krishnamurthy perform Carnatic music of southern India, an artform which is over 2000 years old.
Six years ago, Rohan Krishnamurthy graduated from Kalamazoo College and enrolled at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he recently completed a masters degree in ethnomusicology and a masters and PhD in Musicology. While in graduate school, Rohan continued his professional career as a player of the two-headed pitched Indian drum called the mridangam, and widened his interests to include Balinese gamelan music and the mbira music of Zimbabwe. The Eastman School awarded him a prize in composition for an original work scored for two mridangam drums and gamelan orchestra.
Rohan's mother Sujatha Krishnamurthy was closely involved in the Rohan's early training, and continues to share her musical knowledge by teaching children aged 3 to 15 at the Indo-American Cultural Center and Temple in Kalamazoo. At the beginning of a session with Cara Lieurance at WMUK with Rohan and Sujatha, Rohan was quick to point out how his parents' musical interests influenced his own. Listen above for the full interview, and hear solo and duo performances by Rohan and Sujatha Krishnamurthy.
