(Srikanth will be performing a solo recital on Saturday, August 6 at 4:30 pm at Sri Lakshmi Temple, Ashland, MA. He will be accompanied by Haribabu on the Mridangam and K.V.S. Vinay on the Violin.)

SRIKANTH GOPALAKRISHNAN is a versatile vocalist from Chennai. He is the son and disciple of the veteran Smt. LEELAVATHY GOPALAKRISHNAN. He had his advanced training from Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri T M Thyagarajan and later from Sangeetha Choodamani Sri O S Thyagarajan. He is an A Graded artist of the AIR Chennai and holds a masters degree in Indian Music, apart from holding an Engineering degree in Computer Science. He has been awarded titles like Sangeetha Kala Sarathy, Gaana Kalaa bhaaskara etc. He is a research scholar, done extensive work on the Haridaasa Movement of Karnataka. He has released many cds and cassettes from different esteemed companies. He runs a School of Music where more than 200 students are imparted training in Carnatic music.

How were you initiated into music?

I was raised in a family of musicians and music lovers. My mother Mrs Leelavathy Gopalakrishnan, is a very well known Carnatic musician. She knows so many compositions that she is often known as a library in the Carnatic music field. Our house was always filled with musicians. Music training was almost akin to eating and sleeping. My sister and I  used to learn music along with all my mother's students.  I took extensive coaching from Sangeetha Kalanidhi T M Thyagarajan and later took concert guidelines from Sangeetha Choodamani Sri O S Thyagarajan. I learnt many compositions from great vidwans like Sangeetha Kalanidhi TK Govinda Rao, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, A Sundaresan etc. By the age of 18, I managed to learn more that 2000 songs.I gradually started performing in temples and sabhas in chennai.

Could you describe your musical career path?

When I finished my 12th grade, Prof TR Subramaniam coaxed my parents to allow me to take up music full time,  but my grand parents wanted me to be professionally qualified. I was enrolled in Bachelor's degree in Computer Science Engineering  a college run by Muslims, affiliated to Bangalore university in the year 1989.  The college provided no scope  for me to pursue classical music. As Urdu was widely spoken, I picked up the language and started performing Urdu Ghazals, both in the University level and public concerts. This gave me some comfort but I was missing Carnatic music. I worked for about 2 yrs but that aggravated my thirst for learning and practicing music. During this period, I got a chance to perform my first main concert at Mysore. This was an instant hit and I started getting regular chances to perform in the state of Karnataka. By then I became proficient in the language Kannada too. I started enjoying to perform Kannada Devaranamas and Vachana Sahityas. I composed tunes for over 300 Devaranamas and regularly include them in all my concerts. I became the soft target for musicians and students to learn kannada dasarnams,in chennai. By then, I had finished my Masters in Indian Music from the Madras University.    I also have a great interest in Hindustani music.

I consider stalwarts Voleti Venkateshwarulu and S. Kalayanaraman as my  Maanasika Gurus and  I follow their style of singing.

You have a master's in computer science. What motivated you to quit that financial rewarding profession to pursue a career in music?
 
Pursuing music full time may not be lucrative but the amount of self satisfaction cannot be explained. I am generally not a tech savvy person. I decided not to sit before a computer but practice, practice and just practice music. The practice sessions often go more than 14 hours every day. This made me very confident. I analyzed and equipped my voice to handle hardcore Carnatic ragas and lighter ragas in a balanced way. This is my 23rd year of performing. Shruthi alignment/melody is my primary focus . I do not indulge in mathematical calculations while singing the swara prasthaaras. This was my success as a Solo artist.

I felt the need to learn Telugu and Sanskrit in which most of the compositions are sung. I made it a point to learn and understand the lyrical content and started visualizing the meaning. This quality, lifted me to become the most sought after musician for bharathanatyam, where the dancer enacts for the lyric. I have given vocal accompaniment to the startlwarts like Dr Padma Subramaniam, Prof Sudharani Raghupathy, Padma Shri Chitra Vishweshwaran, Padma Shri Adyar K Lakshman, Ms Leela Samson, Ms Priyadarshini Govind and many young and upcoming dancers.

You have unusual twin successful career of being a successful soloist and a most sought after dance vocalist. How is singing for dance different that giving a recital?

Singing for dance is very much different from singing solo concerts. In a solo concert, the artist has the liberty to choose the items, perform at any length. But we are an accompanying artist in a dance concert. The dancer sets the hand movements and jathis accordingly and so there is little freedom for a musician. But, I took up this as a challenge. For example, in a thillana, the pallavi will be repeated for at least 50 times, where rhythmic patterns are incorporated. I used to do niraval or improvisation of the line and come back to the original tune when each pattern gets over.Moreover, singing during the story enactment ( Sanchaari ), the enunciation of raga, or usage of particular lyric without disturbing the actions is a very great challenge. We cannot sing fast sangathis when there is a soft hand movement or emotion is depicted. Ragas like kuntalavarali will not be a good choice for depicting pathos. So, picking the right ragas for the right mood is very important.

What advice do you have for upcoming musicians? 

The opportunities to perform Classical music nowadays are tremendous. To learn, there are many mediums available. But I would advise the younger generation to become proficient and then start performing. I would advice them to learn straight from the Teacher. Vocal music is where we use lyrics. The pronunciation and the correct accent of languages should be given importance. These can be achieved swiftly, if learned from the guru directly. Moreover, a lasting impression will be give if gimmicks are avoided.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

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