Ghatam Giridhar Udupa is one of the leading musicians in the world of rhythm. Thumping into the musical world at an age as tender as 4, Udupa has been mesmerizing the audience with his immaculate style and innate creativity.
Born into a family of music and literature, rhythm flows in his blood. After initial tutelage under his father and well-known Mridangist Vidwan Ullur Nagendra Udupa, he is currently a disciple of Vidushi Ghatam Sukanya Ramgopal and Vidwan Ghatam V.Suresh.
Udupa, a commerce graduate, has treaded the path of music with a heart of an artist and the will of an innovator. His persistence for perfection has taken him to the league of the nation’s most sought after percussionists.
Udupa performs on the Ghatam, the Indian claypot. He also performs on varied South Indian percussion instruments including Mridangam, Khanjira and Morsing. He renders Konnakol (syllables) with equal aplomb.
He has accompanied eminent musicians including Sarvashree Dr.L.Subramaniam, Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna, M.S.Gopalkrishna, R.K.Srikantan, T.N.Krishnan, Palghat Raghu, Umayalpuram K Sivaraman, A.K.Palanivel, Ganesh Kumaresh, Mysore Nagaraj and Manjunath, Mandolin Srinivas, Dr.N.Ramani, K.J.Yesudas, T.V.Gopalkrishna, T.V.Shankaranarayana, Madhurai T.N.Seshagopalan, Trichur V.Ramachandran, Hyderabad Brothers, O.S.Thyagarajan, T.M.Krishna, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Unnikrishnan, Sanjay Subramanyam, Vijay Siva, Shashank, Kadri Gopalnath, Veenai Jayanthi Kumaresh, R.K.Suryanarayana, Bombay Sisters, Nithyashree Mahadevan, Sudha Raghunathan, Sowmya, M.S.Sheela, Aruna Sayeeram, Ranjinii & Gayatri.
Apart from playing authentic Carnatic Music, he has performed in many Fusion, Jazz, Blues, Flamenco, Symphony Orchestra, Celtic Music, Latin Music, World music and Jugalbandhi concerts and has been part of numerous International Music Festivals with renowned Indian Musicians like Dr.L.Subramaniam, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ganesh Kumaresh, Anindo Chatterjee, Sivamani, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Louis Banks, Niladri Kumar, Amit Heri, Lucky Ali, Ranjit Barot, Bhavani Shankar, Rahul Sharma, Amaan Ali Khan, Ayaan Ali Khan, Swapan Chaudhuri and Keith Peters and Western Musicians like Larry Coryell, George Brooks, John Neptune, Ivry gitlis, Lewis Pragasam, Virginia Mayhew and others. He has also worked with many leading music directors.
Udupa is a founder Member of “Layatharangaâ€, a team of Indian classical musicians who have embarked on creating new waves of music blending different forms of classical, folk and world music. To take his music to the global audience, he has teamed up with Fabrice de Graef and Mishko M’Ba to become part of the global band – “Nasha†that offers Celtic music fused rhythmically with Indian Percussions. Being the core percussionist for the band, Udupa adorns Celtic music with rich Indian rhythmic patterns. He is also a member of Poland based Flamenco Band “Indialucia†featuring Miguel Czachowski, Jan Kubek and Adam Glosnicki. He has performed live on the Berlin radio and recorded CDs for a leading German audio recording company Autogram.
Udupa is the first Indian percussionist to perform at the prestigious Krakow International Percussion Festival (2005). On a special invitation by the organizers, he also conducted a workshop on South Indian percussions and introduced the concept and practice of Indian rhythm to a global audience.
Udupa has given concerts under the auspices of prestigious Sabhas all over India and abroad, including USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Re Union Island, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Widening his horizons with extensive global touring, Udupa has enriched his music with nuances sought from all schools of music. Accolades have come from around the world. Music lovers celebrate the finesse of his fingering, the dexterity of his playing, the incomprehensible speed of his intricate rhythmic designs. His fingers simply fly around Ghatam, perennially holding surprises for the audience.
