Amritha Murali

Amritha Murali is a Carnatic Vocalist (South Indian Classical Music) and Violinist from India. She has performed in many prestigious organizations and has been on concert tours of the U.S.A & Canada, United Kingdom, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

A first-generation performing artist, Amritha Murali, born on 16 July 1982 to Rama and G. Murali, is an established vocalist and an accomplished violinist. Amritha continued to do both comfortably until recently when she decided to concentrate on her solo performances as a vocalist and also to resolve this identity crisis of whether she is a violinist or vocalist. Amritha enjoys a musical pedigree that includes some outstanding gurus. Hardworking and dedicated to the art, she is among the more talented Carnatic vocalists of today. Endowed with a mellifluous voice and sharp intellect, she has displayed steady growth over the years. Amritha’s performances combine erudition and emotion. Her presentation may not be flamboyant but her holistic approach to the art and her orthodox vocalization devoid of populist impulses have helped her gain a lot of appreciation from rasikas and critics.

An A grade artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Amritha has performed in many prestigious music festivals in India and abroad. She has received many awards and accolades including the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi, Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial Award, and Kala Ratna from the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Committee. In a candid interview, Amritha speaks about her musical journey and issues faced by artists today.

Early Life and Background

Amritha had her initial lessons in vocal music from her grandmother Smt Rajam Nagarajan and advanced lessons from great musicians - Vidvan Shri K R Kedaranathan, Vidushi Smt Meera Kedaranathan, Vidushi Smt Rama Ravi and Vidvan Shri P.S.Narayanaswamy. She is currently under the tutelage of Vidvan Shri R.K.Shriramkumar. She is also adept at playing the violin and is a disciple of Vidushi Smt.T.Rukmini. She has performed for many premier institutions and centres all over India and abroad. She has many awards to her credit and her music has earned the appreciation of the cognoscenti and the layperson alike. 

Education

A bright student in academics, Amritha is an alumnus of P S Senior Secondary School and Ethiraj College, Chennai. She holds a Masters degree in Finance Management.

Shows and Major Performances

Amritha has been performing for all the major organizations all over the country that include prestigious ones such as the

Madras Music Academy, Narada Gana Sabha, Kartik Fine Arts, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,  Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, Nada Inbam, Bharat Kalachar, the Indian Fine Arts society, Brahma gana sabha, Carnatica’s Bharat Sangeet Utsav and many other organizations in Chennai, Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Rasika Ranjani sabha Ghatkopar, Mulund Fine Arts and Bhandup Fine Arts in Mumbai and Poona Sangita Sabha in Pune, Shanmukhananda Sangeetha sabha in Delhi, Sri Rama Lalita Kala Mandira , Odakathur Mutt and other reputed sabhas in Bangalore, Kalasagaram and Sharada Bhakta Mandali in Secunderabad, Manoranjitham,  Alapana and Rajalakshmi Fine Arts in Coimbatore, Rasikapriya, Calcutta, Sangeeta Parishad in Mangalore and Ragadhana in Udupi. 

She has had the blessed opportunity to perform at the prestigious Navarathri Mandapam in Trivandrum during their Navratri festival. 

Amritha has been on vocal concert tours of the  U.S.A and Canada and has also performed at the prestigious Tyagaraja Utsavam at Cleveland, Ohio. 

She has also been promoted to sing in the senior slot during the Music Academy’s(Chennai) December music festival. 

Amritha has sung for many contemporary theater performances directed by the renowned art critic Smt Gowri Ramnarayan.   She has also performed at the popular November fest hosted by The Hindu.

Musicians, rasikas and critics have been highly appreciative of her adherence to classical values and the aesthetic appeal of her concerts.

Awards and Prizes

A recipient of many prizes and awards, Amritha has to her credit:

• “Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar” from Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi
• “Isai Chudar”from Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai
• ‘Yuva Kala Bharathi’ from Bharat Kalachar, Chennai,
• Kalki Krishnamurthy memorial award
• ‘Nada Oli’ from Nada Inbam, Chennai,
• ‘M S Subbulakshmi Award’ and Dr MLV award from Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai,
• “Dr.M.L.Vasantakumari memorial award” from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha.
• “Shanmukha Shironmani” from Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts, Mumbai,
• “ Kala Ratna” from the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Committee, USA
• “Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer Youth Award of Excellence” for Vocal and Violin
• “Sangeeta Sapta Sagara” from SAFE
• Vidvan V Subramanian Memorial award
• “Dharmatma Vaidyasubrahmanya Iyer Award” from R A Puram Bhakta Jana Sabha, Chennai,
• Bharat Ratna Smt. M.S.Subbulakshmi Endowment award from Vishakha Arts Academy, Vishakhapatnam.
• All India Radio National Competition Prize , 2000,
• “Outstanding Vocalist award” for many years from the Music Academy, Chennai and the Best Lecture- Demonstration award
• ‘Best Vocalist’ from The Indian Fine Arts Society and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai
• Voleti Venkateshwarulu Endowment Award from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha