Akshay Anantapadmanabhan
Akshay is a reputed mridangam artist based in Chennai, India. After completing most of his education including a master’s degree in engineering in the United States, Akshay moved to India to pursue music full-time in 2012. He has accompanied and toured with leading artists in the Carnatic music field such as Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri R.K. Srikantan, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt. Sudha Raghunathan, Sri. Unni Krishnan, Sri. T.M. Krishna and the likes. Along with being an accompanying artist, Akshay envisions to be an ambassador of Carnatic music, through cross-genre collaborations as well as avant-garde solo productions focused on leveraging the digital space and visualizations.
Akshay has given solo as well as collaborative performances with Hindustani, Latin jazz, American jazz, and rock musicians in unique showcases of mridangam, konnakol, kanjira, and the Cajon. As a multifaceted percussionist, Akshay aims to highlight the possibilities of coupling visualizations with the rhythm in his solo productions. Owing to a background in signal processing, Akshay has published several academic papers on the mridangam and Indian rhythm in international music technology journals. He is the recipient of many awards including the ‘Best Mridangist’ award from the Music Academy Madras. He is also an educator of Carnatic percussion, teaching both classical and multi-genre musicians.
CARNATIC ARTISTE
Akshay Anantapadmanabhan is one of the leading young Carnatic mridangam artists. Known for his sensitive accompaniment, dynamic playing style, and clarity coupled with energy, Akshay is quickly carving a space for himself amongst the top mridangam artists. He has accompanied and toured with several legends and popular artists in the Carnatic music field such as Sri. R.K. Srikantan, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan, Sri. O.S. Thiagarajan, Sri. Unnikrishnan and Sri. Chitravina Ravikiran to name a few. Akshay has toured extensively through North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
HIS STORY
Akshay was first introduced to the mridangam at the age of five in Mumbai, under the training of Sri. T.S. Nandakumar. Ironically, Akshay’s true passion for Carnatic music was instigated after his family moved to the United States. His first concert in New Jersey accompanying his sister’s singing was the catalyst that sparked a life-long journey. During this time, Akshay was guided by his local guru Dr. Venkat Natarajan and began advanced training under Sri.T.H. Subash Chandran (Chennai). This was the beginning of an unbreakable student-teacher relationship and mentorship with his Chennai-based guru. While Akshay was a regular performer in local classical concerts and collaborations in NY, the move to Chennai in 2012 after receiving his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union, marked the beginning of his career as a full-time professional Carnatic musician. This unusual “reverse-migration” to India while quitting a job in the IT field, several Ph.D. admits in prestigious universities, and moving far away from his home, family, and friends was the beginning of a story of true love, passion, and perseverance for music.
RECENT AWARDS
- Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Youth Excellence Award (2018)
- “Best Mridangist” award from the Music Academy Madras (2015)
- C.S. Murugaboopathy award from Krishna Gana Sabha (2015)
- 2015 North America Young Musician Award from SVBF (2015)
- Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande Yuva Sangeet Pratiyogita Puraskar (2014)
- IndianRaga Fellowship (2013)
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Website: https://www.akshaylaya.com
