Dr. P. K. Swaminathan is a highly sought after mrudangam artist residing in Maryland. He has been praised for his pleasant ‘naadha’, vibrant embellishment of songs, accuracy in closely following the nattuvangam and the dancer’s footwork. He has been accompanying dancers and musicians for over two decades.
He has also performed in many Carnatic/Hindusthani Jugalbandhi’s as well as Jazz Fusion concerts. Swaminathan’s early training began at age 14 from Koduvayoor Radhakrishnan (Disciple of Padmashri Palghat Raghu) and then Trichur Akhileswaran.
While developing as a performer, he obtained guidance from USA-visiting artists: Trichur Narendran (Senior disciple of Padmashri Palghat Raghu), Srimushnam Raja Rao, Yella Venkateswara Rao, J. Vaidyanathan (Senior disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi T. K. Murthy), Nellai D. Kannan (on Dance accompaniment), always maintaining the Tanjore tradition.
Since 1999, he has come under the direct tutelage of mrudangam Maestro Padmashri, Sangeetha Kalanidhi Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. By profession, Dr. P. K. Swaminathan is a Senior Physicist/Principal Staff at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
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.
