B.U. Ganesh Prasad

=B.U. Ganesh Prasad is an accomplished and sought after concert violinist & vocalist in Carnatic music.=
==Musical Training and Early Beginnings==
His parents were connoisseurs of Carnatic music and he was introduced to music at a tender age. His father late B.S. Umakanth recognized his talent at an early age and nurtured his passion for Carnatic music. Ganesh Prasad often fondly describes his supportive parents who went out of their way to pave the way for his musical career.
Ganesh Prasad had strong foundational training from his teachers in Bangalore. He took violin lessons from Basavanagudi Nataraj & as his love for Carnatic music blossomed, he also trained vocal music under Bangalore S. Shankar during his formative years. He began to perform concerts at a very early age and by the time he finished his formal education, he decided to dedicate himself as a fulltime Carnatic musician.
==Apprenticeship with Carnatic exponents==
Around the time he started his college education, Ganesh Prasad decided to travel regularly to Chennai from Bangalore as he was fortunate to be taken under the wings of violin maestro V.V.Subramaniam. He fondly describes those days to his students - especially remembering the teaching style of the great VVS, one needed to be on their toes as such a wealth of knowledge was available to the sensitive student! This immersion with his teacher helped him further hone & nurture his skills. His exploration of Carnatic music further accelerated under the tutelage of Sangeetha Kalacharya P.S. Narayanasway of Semmangudi school. 
Thanks to these two exponents, and Ganesh’s dedication - he is today an accomplished vocalist and is able to vocalize his violin style with fluency. Many students and audience members observe that Ganesh Prasad brings a unique finesse to his concerts due to the dual expertise in vocal and violin concert performance.
==Performance and Concert Career==
Ganesh Prasad is an “A” graded artist of All India Radio & Doordarshan. He has travelled extensively throughout the world and has performed in varied locales in 5 continents. His performances have included vocal and violin concerts, both as soloist and as accompanist. He has performed in prestigious international venues like Paul Getty art museum, Esplanade theatre in Singapore, Theatre de la vie Paris to name a few.
At the age of 22, he had the privilege of accompanying the legendary D.K. Pattamal in a concert in Bangalore. This bolstered his opportunities to accompany exceptional artists including T.V. Shankaranarayanan, Madurai T.N. Sheshagopalan, R.K. Srikantan in his 20s which enhanced his knowledge and shored up his accompaniment skills. It also launched his International career as a solo Violinist with a concert tour in Australia. 
He had opportunities to tour extensively with great artists Internationally, including a concert tour with legendary Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna in the US and Canada, as well as K.J. Yesudas.
In the present day, he is a sought-after accompanist by the current generation of top artists like Bombay Jaysree, Sudha Raghunathan, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Abhishek Raghuram, T.M. Krishna and Flautist Shashank to name a few. 
He has been featured in many commercial CD's & DVD's with various artists, and also has produced a violin solo album called Blissful Strings.
==Awards and Accolades==
Ganesh Prasad has won many awards & accolades from prestigious music institutions. His music has been recognized through the following: 
======Titles bestowed on him:======
# Nada Oli
# Nada Kala Vipanchee
# Vani Kala Nipuna
======Prestigious awards conferred on him:======
# Ananya Yuva Puraskara award
# Maharajapuram Santhanam Memorial Award
Category:Musicians
Category:Artists
Category:Music teachers