Review Text
About the CD: The third album in the Layopasana series features seven instructional solos for mridangam, the ancient South Indian classical double-sided hand drum. Set against the meditative electronic tambura drone and the bright jalra finger cymbals that aurally enhance the time signatures, these creative solos highlight many of the essential techniques and patterns of the mridangam. Useful for students of all levels, the solos uniquely blend the major percussive styles of South India with the innovative artistry of Rohan Krishnamurthy. About Rohan: Acclaimed an "international performer and promoter" of the South Indian pitched drum, the mridangam, by USA Today, and "Pride of India" by India's leading newspaper, The Times of India, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy is considered a young musical ambassador. Having initially received mridangam training with Damodaran Srinivasan over a telephonic setup in the U.S. and continuing advanced training from the mridangam maestro Guruvayur Dorai in India, Rohan has performed in hundreds of concerts in North America and India since the age of nine with leading artists including Prof. T.N. Krishnan, Dr. N. Ramani, R. K. Srikantan, T.N. Seshagopalan, Chitravina N. Ravikiran, S. Shashank, T. M. Krishna, Ranjani and Gayatri, and S. Sowmya. He has spearheaded new cross-musical collaborations with eminent symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, and distinguished musicians including Grammy Award-winners Glen Velez and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Anoushka Shankar, Jamey Haddad, and Ayano Ninomiya. Rohan has presented Indian percussion institutes and camps, workshops, and academic lectures at several institutions, including the Eastman School of Music, Harvard University, MIT, Berklee College of Music, Sam Houston State University, Western Michigan University, University of Madras, A.R. Rehman's K.M. Conservatory of Music, Society for Ethnomusicology, Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), and the National Institute of Design (India). He is the recipient of prestigious, international awards, including USA Today's "All-College Academic Second Team," "Young Artist of India" by Bharat Kalachar (India), Thomas Siwe Scholarship from the Percussive Arts Society, and "Prodigy in Performing Arts" by the Indo-American Center in New York City. He was named an IndianRaga Fellow in 2013. An innovator, Rohan has designed a new drumhead tensioning system that won him first place in Eastman's New Venture Challenge entrepreneurship competition. His work resulted in a publication in the premier music journal, Percussive Notes. Rohan conducted acoustical research on his new design and was invited to present his work at the Acoustical Society of America's international conferences, where he twice received the "Best Student Paper" award. Rohan recently received a patent for his invention. Rohan's multifaceted accomplishments as a performer, composer, educator, researcher, and entrepreneur earned him a one-on-one meeting and performance for the President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, at the presidential office and estate in New Delhi. Rohan obtained bachelor's degrees in music and chemistry from Kalamazoo College as a Heyl Foundation Scholar, and Master's degrees in musicology and ethnomusicology from the Eastman School of Music. He earned a Ph.D. in musicology at Eastman as a Provost Fellow, where he founded and directed a popular Indian percussion ensemble and summer institutes.
