AIR artiste on Australia tour

Visakhapatnam: Local All India Radio (AIR) artiste (Mridangam) Vankayala V Ramana Murthy is proceeding on a cultural tour to Australia with Oscar nominee and noted vocalist Dr Bombay Jayashri, who performs at the Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney, on April 28. Mr Venkata Ramana Murthy is the son and disciple of Mridanga Kala Sagara Vankayala Narasimham. He is working as top grade Mridangam staff artiste of AIR. He has been an extensive performer for more than three-and-a-half decades with top Indian classical musicians of Carnatic and Hindustani styles. He had participated in many national music programmes of AIR and Doordarshan and also in Akashvani Sangeet Sammelans. He had widely toured with stalwarts like Padma Vibhushan Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Padmabhushan Dr L Subramaniam, Voleti Venkateswarlu, Sangeeta Kalanidhi Nedunuri Krishna Murty, Padmasri Emani Sankara Sastry, Padmasri Dr N Ramani and MS Gopalakrishnan. He had performed in symphonies and fusion music composed and conducted by 'Violin Chakravarthi' Padmabhushan Dr L Subramaniam and also with Jazz groups in India and abroad. Recipient of 'Mridanga Ratna' and 'Nadopasaka' awards, Mr Ramana Murthy performed in UNO where ambassadors from over 80 countries attended on March 2011 in Parliament of Switzerland and in Vatican City in the presence of Pope John Paul. Both Dr Jayashri and Mr Ramana Murthy will continue their tour and perform concerts in China till mid-May, including one at World Music Festival in Shanghai and at a workshop in Peking University.