M.R. Venupuri Srinivas started as a child prodigy, playing kanjira when he was only one year and eight months old, in Tirupathi. He gave his first concert in All India Radio when he was merely three years old.
Srinivas learned mridangam under legends Ramanathapuram C.S. Murugaboopathi and Trivandrum Mahadeva Iyer. He studied in Madras Music College under Thanjavur Srinivasan obtaining his master degree with distinction and a gold medal. He is an “A” grade artist from the Indian National Radio (All India Radio). He was honored with the respectable asthana vidwan of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam.
Venupuri Srinivas has accompanied renowned artists like M.S. Subbulakshmi, M.L. Vasanthakumari, Madurai Somasundaram, Dr. Balamuralikrishna, Veenai Balachander, T.K. Govinda Rao, Maharajapuram Santhanam, T.N. Seshagopalan, Ravi Kiran, U. Srinivas, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Hydrabad Brothers, T.N. Krishnan, N. Ramani and many more acclaimed artists.
Srinivas is in a fusion group with Louis Banks, Shankar Mahadevan, and Shiva Mani. In addition to mridangam, he plays other percussion instruments such as kanjira, ghatam, thavil, tabla, dholak and western instruments. He also performs konnakol.
Srinivas lives in Tampa, Florida and directs an institution called Navarasa Academy of Performing Arts
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
