Girijashankar Sundaresan

Girijashankar Sundaresan (born 30th July, 1988) is a Carnatic music Vocalist from Chennai. He is a disciple of Chitravina Narasimhan|Chitravina N Narasimhan and N. Ravikiran.
== Early life and education ==
Girijashankar was born in Ranipet, North Arcot, India. He did his schooling in Chennai. He completed his bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College and his master's degree in econometrics and a master's degree in music from Madras University.
== Musical career ==
He was initiated into Classical music by his parents at the age of 5. His first Gurus were his grandparents. Formal training in music started with Smt. Gayathri Shankar and Late Smt. Seethalakshmi. He further went on to learn from Late Smt. Ranganayaki Iyengar, a faculty of Sampradaya. He is currently trained by Chitravina Narasimhan and N. Ravikiran.
Girijashankar's first stage performance was in early 2008. He took a hiatus from performances for a few years after he went under the tutelage of Chitravina maestros, Narasimhan and Ravikiran. Since 2013, he performs regularly at The Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha and Mylapore Fine Arts Club (Chennai), Vani Mahal (Chennai) Shanmukhananda Sabha and The Fine Arts Society (Mumbai), Rama Seva Mandali and Kalavanta Festival (Bangalore), Tamil Sangam (New Delhi), Kalasagaram (Hyderabad) and Edappally Sangeetha Sadas and Kalpathy Rathotsavam (Kerala) and Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana & Shruti Laya (United States).
== Projects and collaborations ==
# Marga, a journey was a project that Girijashankar curated for The Ink Link DAM's (Design Art and Music) Annual festival. The concept involved presenting different composers and their works to highlight their respective journeys in Bhakti (Devotion). The ensemble had musicians like Madan Mohan (Violin), Arjun Ganesh (Mrudangam), MT Aditya (Tabla), Preeth and Mani (Tanpuras). The event took place at Dakshinachitra Heritage Museum, Chennai.
# Concert for Autism, was a special performance for the children with Autism and their parents and caregivers. It was organized by The Lotus Foundation, Chennai. The concert took place in November 2019 at Spaces, Besant Nagar. Girijashankar has been involved with Lotus Foundation since 2013.
# Girijashankar has worked closely with Vyjayanthimala|Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali in several projects for over a decade such as 'Sita Vislesha Trayam' and Bhavanbhava. He has also composed music and sung for her dance operas, namely - Nava Vidha Rama Bhakti and Kaisika Puranam.
# Girijashankar has been part of many recording projects such as Chitravina Ravikiran's Vintage Virutosos' ensemble presentation of Ottukkadu Venkata Kavi Saptaratnas. Under the music direction of Bombay Jayashri|Dr. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, he has also sung for productions such as Meghadootam and Meera, the soul divine.
#Single titled 'Entahadayya' a 12th-century poem on devotion written Basava|Basavanna.
#Single titled, 'Pushpa Ki Abhilasha' (The dream of a flower) written by the celebrated poet Makhanlal Chaturvedi.
#Single titled, 'Vande Mataram' written by the celebrated poet Subramania Bharati as a tribute to the healthcare workers during the ongoing pandemic.
== Teaching ==
Girijashankar is establishing himself as a music educator, giving talks and demonstrations on Carnatic music appreciation at various venues and festivals such as Learn Quest Academy of Music, Boston. He is currently training students in India and North America.
== Awards and Accolates ==
=== 2019 ===
*Best Individual Performer, Radel Mid Year Concerts from The Music Academy, Chennai
=== 2017 ===
*Yuva Kala Bharathi from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai
=== 2015 ===
*Best Male Vocalist from Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Vani Mahal, Chennai
=== 1998 ===
*Received the Bharatiyar Memorial Prize from the late music legend Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi at the age of 10.
Category:1988 births
Category:Carnatic musicians
Category:Singers