Artist Information Madurai R. Sundar hails from a musically-oriented family and was initiated into Carnatic music by his aunt Mrs. Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan, herself a musician of repute. Sundar came under the tutelage of Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan in 1972 and made his debut in 1974. He started his musical career by bagging several prizes in prestigious music competitions conducted by All India Radio, Madras Music Academy and The Indian Fine Arts Society,Madras just to name a few. He was the first recipient of VIPANCHI scholarship for music sponsored by Mrs. Padma Varadan of Bombay in memory of her illustrious father Sri. Rangaramanuja Iyengar, a musicologist and vainika. Sundar’s concerts are a regular feature in Madras Music festivals. He won the Musiri Subramania Iyer award for his concert at the Madras Music Academy in December 1996 and Nyayapathi Rangamannar Award, Pankajam Rajam award and K.S.Ramaswamy Sashtiaptapurti award at the Madras Music Academy in December 1998. In the recent music season, Sundar bagged the Best Vocalist award at the Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai. Sundar has performed extensively in India, Australia, USA and the Middle East. He is an A-graded artiste of the All India Radio. He has released pre-recorded cassettes through Kalavardhani and Sangeetha.