Embar Kannan
Encyclopedia
Embar S. Kannan is an award-winning and pioneering violinist in the fields of Carnatic Music
and Tamil Film Music
. Trained in Carnatic as well as Western Classical methods, he is a Grade 'A-' artist of the All India Radio
and is universally acclaimed as a soloist and an accompanist.
.
In 1986 he received a talent scholarship from the Government of India and earned a place under the mentorship of Kum.A. Kanyakumari. Shortly thereafter he received the Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar and the ‘Best Violinist Award’ from the Madras Music Academy
for eight consecutive years.
Over the course of his Carnatic career he has accompanied many leading artists such as T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Trichur Ramachandran, T. N. Seshagopalan, Sudha Raghunathan
, Kadri Gopalnath
, P. Unnikrishnan, and S. Sowmya
.
One of Kannan’s prodigal accomplishments was the introduction of the silent violin
to Carnatic Music in 2001. In August 2006, he played the silent violin at Puttaparthi in the presence of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba with the musicians of the HeArtBeat Ensemble.
On July 14, 2011, He played at a concert that was organised to raise funds for the Sankalp Trust, the open school and learning centre for special children, at the Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert Hall.
, Yuvan Shankar Raja
, Vidyasagar
, Sharath, A. R. Rahman
and Deva
.
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
and Tamil Film Music
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
. Trained in Carnatic as well as Western Classical methods, he is a Grade 'A-' artist of the All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
and is universally acclaimed as a soloist and an accompanist.
Carnatic Music Career
Born in a family of great musicians to Sangeetha Bhooshanam Sri Embar Sadagopan, Kannan took to playing the violin at the age of six. His initial training in Carnatic music was with Sri Subbanna Bhagavathar and Sri Vittal RamamurthyVittal Ramamurthy
Vittal Ramamurthy is a leading and popular violinist in the Carnatic music tradition of South India. He is an outstandingsoloist as well as an excellent accompanist...
.
In 1986 he received a talent scholarship from the Government of India and earned a place under the mentorship of Kum.A. Kanyakumari. Shortly thereafter he received the Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar and the ‘Best Violinist Award’ from the Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy
Madras Music Academy, or simply Music Academy, is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras, now Chennai. It plays an important role in encouraging and promoting primarily the Carnatic Music south Indian art form. It also played an important role in revival of...
for eight consecutive years.
Over the course of his Carnatic career he has accompanied many leading artists such as T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Trichur Ramachandran, T. N. Seshagopalan, Sudha Raghunathan
Sudha Raghunathan
Sudha Raghunathan is a Carnatic music singer from South India. She was awarded a Padma Shri for excellence in singing. She was born in Bangalore and went to Good Shepherd Convent. She did higher education at Bangalore, Karnataka and obtained a Masters Degree in Economics.She started singing at...
, Kadri Gopalnath
Kadri Gopalnath
Dr. Kadri Gopalnath is an Indian saxophonist and one of the pioneers of Carnatic music on the saxophone.-Early life:...
, P. Unnikrishnan, and S. Sowmya
S. Sowmya
S. Sowmya is a Carnatic music singer. She learnt music initially from her father Dr. Srinivasan, and later from S. Ramanathan and Smt.T. Muktha. In 1998, Sowmya co-founded Carnatica - an online institution dedicated to classical music & dance instruction, archival, talent search and other related...
.
One of Kannan’s prodigal accomplishments was the introduction of the silent violin
Electric violin
An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
to Carnatic Music in 2001. In August 2006, he played the silent violin at Puttaparthi in the presence of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba with the musicians of the HeArtBeat Ensemble.
On July 14, 2011, He played at a concert that was organised to raise funds for the Sankalp Trust, the open school and learning centre for special children, at the Mutha Venkata Subba Rao Concert Hall.
Film Music Career
Kannan received his Western Classical training from acclaimed music director, Diwaker master. Under him, Kannan entered the film industry with the movie Puli Pettra Pillai. Subsequently, he made himself an integral part of Maestro Ilaiyaraja's orchestra and with them, has played in numerous films and concerts around the world. In addition, he has played for other music directors; notably, Karthik RajaKarthik Raja
Karthik Raja is a Tamil musician from Chennai, India. He made his debut as music composer in the Tamil film Alexander.-Personal life:Karthik Raja is the eldest son of musician Ilaiyaraaja and Jeeva. His brother Yuvan Shankar Raja and sister Bhavatharini, who are also Kollywood music directors and...
, Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
, Vidyasagar
Vidyasagar
Vidyasagar may refer to:People*Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the Bengali scholar *Acharya Vidyasagar, the prominent Digambar Jain Acharya *Vidyasagar , the South Indian music directorOther...
, Sharath, A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
and Deva
Deva (music director)
Deva is an Indian film composer and singer. He has composed songs and provided background music for Tamil films in a career spanning about 20 years. Many know his gaana songs, written mostly using Madras Tamil. He is known as the "Father of Gaana Genre" in the Tamil film industry.Deva has composed...
.