Rithvik Raja

Rithvik Raja is one of the leading young faces of South Indian Classical Music.  His music is fresh, youthful and vibrant with a natural flair. With a uniquely endowed voice, his pitch perfect singing combined with honest and soulful music, make his performances a treat. With his emotive style of rendering the songs, punctuated with abundant creativity, his music is of the highest quality. He has traveled extensively in India and abroad for workshops, lectures and concerts while collaborating with the best artists of this genre. He has won all major competitions, holds a number of prestigious awards to his credit, and has government grants and scholarships under his belt. He contributes to the world of arts in many ways. He works closely with a number of organizations to create an awareness for the arts and help the youth of the country understand the underlying link between the arts and our own cultural traditions.

His guru is a star on the Carnatic music stage and off it, having received international acclaim for his ideals and work. His mother is a popular music teacher who has trained hundreds of children. But this young man comes with no sense of entitlement; instead, he combines his tutelage with plenty of talent and tenacity, and is charting his own — successful — course. Over the past few years, he has traveled far, performed widely and won much appreciation. Confident and candid, he is ascending the ladder to the top, surely and steadily. Rithvik Raja is a prime disciple of the redoubtable Shri T.M. Krishna.

Early Life and Background

Rithvik Raja was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He began learning Carnatic music at the age of 5. He had his initial training under Sudha Raja (his mother) for vocal music. Subsequently, after developing a good understanding of the basics and foundation for 6 years, he was trained by Sulochana Pattabhiraman for 2 years. At the age of 13, he started learning from T.M. Krishna, who is one of the leading figures in the Carnatic music circuit today. Training under Krishna has given Rithvik a larger perspective of music and a passion to strive harder in innovating and excelling within the boundaries of classicism.

Education

His schooling in Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Mylapore, Chennai, which is a premier body of education in South India influenced his perceptions and outlook towards life. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Madras. He also completed a one year Multimedia course from Image Infotainment, Alwarpet.

He is currently studying for a degree in Sound Engineering at Society of Automotive Engineers Institute of Technology.

Career

He is currently one of the rising stars of Carnatic Music. He believes that Carnatic Music is one of the most important forms of Classical Music in the world and that it"s awareness should be spread. He began learning Carnatic music at the age of 5.

Subsequently, after developing a good understanding of the basics and foundation for 6 years, he was trained by Sulochana Pattabhiraman for 2 years.

At the age of 13, he started learning from T.M. Krishna, who is one of the leading figures in the Carnatic music circuit today. Rithvik has been giving public performances and concerts since a very young age.

Today, he has performed in all the leading institutions in places such as Chennai as well as Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and other places in India. He has also toured Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka.

Apart from performances, he currently heads as the President of an organization called Youth Association for Classical Music (YACM) that deals with spreading the awareness of Classical Music among the youth.

Awards and Titles

• Bala Rasika Award 2004 - Carnatica, Chennai
• Best Male Vocalist Award 2005 - RA Puram Bhaktha Jana Sabha, Chennai
• Most Promising Youngster Award 2006 - Gana Mukunda Priya, Chennai
• Best Concert Award 2007 - VDS Arts Academy, Chennai
• Best Junior Vocalist Award 2008 - Narada Gana Sabha, Chennai
• Best Male Vocalist Award 2009 - Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai
• Best Ragam Tanam Pallavi Award 2011 - Music Forum, Chennai
• Best Male Sub-Senior Vocalist 2011 - Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai
• Maharajapuram Santhanam Award 2012 - Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai
• Isai Chudar 2012 - Kartik Fine Arts, Chennai
• Yuva Kala Bharathi 2012 - Bharat Kalachar, Chennai