District of Raga Presents Ram Viswanathan

$10
*cash only accepted at the door

Details:
8:30 PM
Ram Viswanathan: vocal
Kamalakiran Vinjamuri: violin
Vaibhav Sourirajan: mridangam
Sowmiya J. Narayanan: ghatam

10:00 PM
Raga Jam Session

Bossa Bistro & Lounge
2463 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

Ram Viswanathan learned Carnatic Music from his mother, Smt. Thara Viswanathan, from the tender age of 2. Ram further developed his skills by performing both locally in the DMV area as well as internationally in Europe, Canada, Mexico and India. He gave his first concert at the age of 14 and completed his vocal arangetram at the age of 18. Ram’s strong vocal background allowed him to venture into other musical styles and media. Ram learned Tabla from Ustad Narendra Varma in Toronto, Canada, student of the late Tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha. He carried this further while in college, and became a self-taught dhol artist. He has established himself as an internationally acclaimed professional dholi (@DholiRam), performing anywhere from collegiate and independent North American dance teams to private events abroad.

Ram has had the unique opportunity to create musical collaborations alongside UK R&B/Hip Hop artist Jay Sean, Bollywood playback group RDB, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Obama Administration, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, current DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, current Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Sathyarthi and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Overall, Ram has had the opportunity to display his vocal and percussion skills at prestigious venues such as Capital One Arena, Kennedy Center, White House, US State Department, Presidential Guest House, Vice Presidential Residence, Indian Embassy in Washington DC, Pentagon, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base and Arlington National Cemetary. Over the last decade, Ram has donated his time and talents to various charitable fundraisers dedicated to benefitting the United States military, DC Metro South Asian Deaf Association, LGBTQI community, Kailash Satyarthi’s Children’s Foundation, and National Organization for Women.
Ram is excited to perform at his first District of Raga as he aspires to continue his journey to maintain the strong music traditions that were passed down to him for years to come.

Kamalakiran Vinjamuri is a senior in George Mason University. His initial guru was his grand-father, Sri. Parthasarathy Iyengar. Then he had some training from Smt. Malladi Vijayalakshmi. His father Sri.Subhash Vinjamuri, started teaching him the violin at the age of 7. He is also receiving advanced training from Sangeethakalanidhi A. Kanyakumari. He won several prizes in different music competitions, both in India as well as in the US. Kamalakiran has won many prizes in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana. In December 2010 and 2013 music seasons, Kamalakiran got the Best Performer Award from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai. Kamalakiran was awarded the Lalgudi G Jayaraman Award, as best violinist in the 2014 Gokulashtami Series in Krishna Gana Sabha. Kamalakiran has been performing in all major venues in India and the US since 2009, including the Kennedy Center, etc. In the 2014 Spirit of Youth series, and the 2016 and 2017 Music Seasons, Kamalakiran was selected as the best violinist in the prestigious Music Academy in Chennai. Kamalakiran has also been giving many solo performances both in India and US.

Vaibhav Sourirajan is a student of Sri. P.K. Swaminathan who teaches in the DC Metro Area and also has received extensive training from the great Padma Vibushan Dr. Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman in India. Vaibhav has won multiple prizes in music competitions including winning first in accompaniment at the Cleveland Aradhana in 2018. He has played for many musicians from around the country and from India. He is a 10th grader at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD.

Sowmi is a disciple of Mridangam Maestro Trichy Sri Harikumar and Sanageetha Acharya Sri. Subash Chandran and Ghatam S. Karthick. He is a regular performer all over the US and India. Sowmi has accompanied Sangeetha Kalanidhi’s Dr. M. Balamuralikrisha, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan, Sri. Kadri Gopalnath, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Pandit Ronu Majumdar and many other leading artists.

After the performance our jam session will follow. We are focused on encouraging spontaneous collaboration between smaller groups of musicians. Pairs, trios, quartets: join up with other musicians that are present or that you've met at past events and sign up for a slot to play. We only ask that your performance is rooted in or inspired by the tradition of Indian Classical Music.

Thank you for your support!!!
District of Raga