About Me
ARUN RAMAMURTHY is an exciting violinist who has made his mark in Indian Classical music in the United States. Arun, born and trained in the U.S, immersed himself in India's ancient musical tradition in his teenage years. His music has led him to perform at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Juilliard School of Music, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Gracie Mansion and others.His very first violin lessons were in western classical music under distinguished violinist Jim Mate. It was that initial training in western music that gave Arun his precise bowing and fingering techniques. Influenced by his family surroundings, Arun developed an interest in the soulful classical style of South India. His first guru, Sri Ananthakrishnan, a much esteemed teacher and performer, taught Arun from age 10 not only Carnatic music but instilled in him a sense of tradition and a musical culture based on rigorous discipline. Later Arun, while still in his teens, got the good fortune to be taken as a pupil by the celebrated violinist brothers, Sri Mysore Nagaraj and Dr. Mysore Manjunath. Nagaraj & Manjunath, generally acknowledged as the foremost violinists in Carnatic music today, made a profound impression. Arun came under their spell; he learnt from them, he listened to their music constantly, and even lived with them in India for one year learning day in and day out in the age-old, gurukula fashion.Arun started playing in Carnatic music competitions early on and soon was getting awards from organizations like CMANA, Cleveland State Thyagaraja Aradhana, etc. Notable musicians such as N. Ramani, Raja Rao, and T. Govinda Rao recognized Arun‘s talent and gave advice and encouragement. Arun progressed quickly and started playing solo concerts as well as accompanying top artists such as Shashank, Trichur Ramachandran, Ramprasad, Sikkil Gurucharan, Carnatica Brothers, TNS Krishna, Flute Raman, and many others. Recently, he joined his guru Dr. Mysore Manjunath on a concert tour and played concerts all over the US.Growing up in the US in and around New York City, Arun's musical interests varied. He mixes with musicians of numerous different genres to explore the opportunities World Music can offer. Some projects Arun is currently working with include Banyan Trees (myspace.com/banyantrees1), Akshara (myspace.com/aksharapercussion), Lotus 5 (myspace.com/thelotusfive), Directions (a Carnatic/Hindustani group).
