 Shashank
Shashank, born on Oct. 14, 1978, was barely nine months old when he was initiated to south Indian classical music, even before he started speaking his mother tongue. As advised by Flute Maestro T.R. Mahalingam, he learnt only vocal music from veteran musicians including Palghat K.V. Narayana Swamy. At his six Shashank picked his father's flute and stunned onlookers by playing, spontaneously, to signal his entry into the flute world. His maiden flute concert was at Adelaide, Australia in Sept 1990 when he was eleven followed by his debut in India on Dec 20, 1990.
He became the youngest musician of the century to have been invited to play the prestigious "SADAS" concert on Jan. 1, 1991 at The Music Academy, Madras. Since then, has been a celebrity flautist world over and performs in the company of top ranking artistes in India and abroad.
Some land mark concerts of his have been Rashtrapathi Bhavan (The President's Palace at New Delhi), The Smithsonian, Kennedy Center and National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., J. Paul Getty Hall -Hollywood, Cerritos Performing arts center in Los Angeles, Eastman School of Music - Rochester, World Music Institute - New York, Asian Art Museum - San Francisco, Xebec Hall and Across Fukuoka in Kobe and Fukuoka, Japan, Hong Kong Museum of Art - Hong Kong, World Flute Conference - Nashville, Sawai gandharva Festival - Pune, Saptak Festival - Ahmedabad, Dover Lane Music festival - Calcutta, India Music Group - Bombay, Theater De-La-Ville, UNESCO & Musee Guimet in Paris -France, Tropical Institute - Amsterdam, The Lowry in Manchester-UK, The Sage in Gateshead - UK, Modigliani Hall -Padova-Italy, Museum Rietberg -Zurich, The Munchen Residency in Munich-Germany, Improvisation Festival in Lausanne- Switzerland, Seoul Plaza in Seoul- Korea and a host of other prestigious institutions across the world.
Shashank’s introduction of multi flute transposed fingering technique to merge flutes of different frequencies / lengths to the tonic note (the adhara shadja) – producing deep bass to the shrill sounds gave flute an enviable position in Indian music and has been acclaimed world over by music lovers as his significant/ contribution.
Shashank's performances feature an extraordinary range of musical expression - from the deepest meditations to youthful fun and astonishing virtuosity. Audiences respond enthusiastically to his flair and unpretentious style. His percussionists add pizzazz to the performances with rhythmic texture that ranges from colorful, sparse punctuation to driving motives that swell to exhilarating levels during solo passages. He has 29 CD albums to his credit apart from two DVDs of his live concerts.
Shashank currently pursues Hindustani vocal (North Indian) music from the legendary vocalist Pt. Jasraj
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