Musician Coimbatore R Sundar: Coimbatore Profile

Musician Coimbatore R Sundar's Self Narrating Profile

I was born into a family where Carnatic music, in some form and degree, was part of day-to-day life. While my grand parents and parents were knowledgeable listeners-connoisseurs of Carnatic music, I had in my aunt Smt. Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan a reputed concert musician, who had had her training under stalwarts like Sathur A.G. Subramania Iyer and Semmangudi Sriinivasa Iyer. All these set the tone for what was to become an integral part of my life.

The initial lessons and several kritis were taught by my aunt and I had the privilege of singing with her in a few of her concerts. She, apparently, saw in me a sincere yearning to pursue music and since she visited us only for a couple of months in a year, she persuaded my parents to put me through rigorous training under a guru in Coimbatore. At that time Sri. T.N.Seshagopalan was setting out in his career as a performing musician and it was Smt. Ambujam Krishna, a close friend of the family, who suggested to my aunt that I should learn from TNS. My parents Smt. Vijaya and Sri.A.N.Ramaswamy put my sister Radha and myself under TNS�s tutelage in 1971. That was a turning point in my pursuit of music. My sister and I had our debut in concert at a marriage reception in Pazhani in May 1974. We performed together for a few years until our srutis dictated a separation.

There were a few sabhas in Coimbatore that hosted concerts regularly, giving me memorable moments of listening to musicians like Semmangudi, DKP, MDR, Chembai and so on.

My five years at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras gave me opportunity to compete in the music competitions in Chennai and also listen toattend music concerts regularly.Participating in the competititons helped build both my repertoire and confidence. After securing my bachelors degree in Engineering, I joined IIM (Indian Institute of Management) Ahmedabad for an MBA in Finance and Computer Systems. Despite the excruciating schedule, I had opportunities to both practise and perform.

After my MBA, I branched off into information technology as my mainstay. Padma and I got married in Aug 1985. We have been residents of USA since 1989. We have a son Sai Karthik (b 1998) who is a student of the Mridangam Maestro Dr.Trichy Sankaran

I pursue a dual career - of IT Manager and musician-cum-teacher. My wife and myself run a school by the name Trinity Academy of Fine Arts and offer one-on-one lessons in vocal music.

When I am not singing or teaching, I enjoy a quiet moment reading novels (English and Tamil, especially Tamil) or watching tennis and basketball or riding an exer-cycle. Another favorite past time of mine is long distance driving with my family, while listening to good music.

Coimbatore R Sundar

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