CHENNAI: Violinist A Kanyakumari was chosen for the Sangita Kalanidhi award by the Music Academy on Sunday, making her the first female violinist chosen for the award, a statement from the academy said.
She will preside over the 90th annual conference of the Music Academy scheduled from December 15, 2016 to January 1, 2017. She has an experience of over 50 years as an accompanist, soloist and teacher. The award will be given to her on January 1 at the Sadras. The academy’s executive committee has chosen the following musicians for the respective awards:
Sangita Kala Acharya award to Rudrapatnam brothers R N Thyagrajan, R N Tharanathan (vocal duo) and Professor K Venkatramanan (vocalist and music teacher); TTK award to Dr Nirmala Sundararajan (vocalist) and M Kodilingam (Thevaram singer and teacher); musicologist award to Dr Rama Kausaliya; the Pappa Venkatramiah award for violin to Sikkil Baskaran; Natya Kala Acharya Award to Bharatnatyam dancer and choreographer Malavika Sarukkai.
Except the Natya Kala Acharya award, the above awards will be conferred on January 1, 2017 at Sadras. The Natya Kala Acharya award will be conferred on Jan 3.