Utsav 2004

Madurai R Sundar

Madurai R Sundar was initiated at a very early age into Carnatic music by his aunt Mrs. Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, herself a musician of repute. Later Sundar came under the tutelage of the musical legend Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan in 1972 and made his debut in 1974.
Sundar’s resonant voice and aesthetic delivery have attracted discerning audience world over. He is a musician whose raga swaroopa answers to his dictates.
Sri Sundar has an intuitive gift to use his voice unerringly for musical excellence that gives him a perennial inspiration. He has the distinct ability to inspire his audience by infusing feelings into every verse he sings. His rendering is known for its Akshara Suddha or perfection of syllables.

Amongst numerous prestigious prizes, distinction and awards bagged by Sri.Sundar, the following deserve special mention.

2. Best Sub-Senior vocalist award from the Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai in
December 1999.

3. NYAYAPATHI RANGAMANNAR AWARD, RAMASWAMY IYER SASHTIAPTAPURTHI AWARD & PANKAJAM RAJAM AWARD at Madras Music Academy in Dec 1998 as the best sub-senior vocalist.

4. MUSIRI SUBRAMANYA IYER AWARD for best Niraval singing at Madras Music Academy in December 1996.

5. Prize in the ALL INDIA RADIO MUSIC COMPETITION in 1979 for Carnatic music vocal

6. ‘VIPANCHI’ scholarship for further study in music instituted by Mrs. Padma Varadan of Bombay in memory of her father Sri Rangaramanuja Iyengar.

Sundar, a resident of the United States of America, and his wife Padma Sundar(disciple of Sri Vairamangalam Lakshminarayanan of the Tiger Varadachary lineage) run a music school called ‘Trinity Academy of Fine Arts’ in the metropolitan Detroit area.

Sundar has performed extensively in India, Australia, USA and the Middle East. He is regularly featured in the prime time by Madras Music Academy. He is an A-graded artiste of the All India Radio. He has released pre-recorded cassettes and CDs through Kalavardhani and Sangeetha.

Sundar is a B.Tech from IIT-Madras and secured his MBA from the reputed IIM-Ahmedabad. He has a masters in Information Technology Project Management from George Washington University.Currently he works for the automobile giant Daimler Chrysler at their Information Technology division in Detroit.