Artist Information Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan is, today, one of the most sought after, widely acclaimed and popular senior vocalists. He sings with great zest and verve and has endeared himself to pundits as well as lay listeners. He is endowed with a rich, resonant and vibrant voice and has mastered the art of delivering captivating Carnatic music concerts.   Sri T. V. Sankaranarayanan was born on 7 March 1945 in Mayuram ( Tanjavur District, Tamil Nadu ). He commenced his tutelage from his uncle and mentor, Sri Mani Iyer, at the young age of nine. When only fifteen, TVS ( as he is popularly known) commenced teaming up with his father, Sri Vembu Iyer, himself an eminent vocalist and disciple of Madurai Mani Iyer, in assisting his mentor on the concert platform. Today, Sri Sankaranarayanan has evolved for himself a distinct and unique style. It incorporates the strikingly original and inimitable style of his maternal uncle and mentor, Sri Madurai Mani Iyer. Sri Mani Iyer was well known for his impeccable adherence to sruti and his uncanny ability to project the full extent of the raga landscape even in the process of executing delectable and intricate laya patterns. According to the renowned critic, Subbudu ( Financial Express, Madras, 28 April 1991 ), "since [Sri Sankaranarayanan] sports a rich, resounding, reverberating and extremely pliable voice, having a wide range and reach, he took only the structure of his mentor and invested his own idiom with a harmonious blending of the kriti and swaraprasthara style of his guru and his own racy alapana style."   Sri Sankaranarayanan completed his Bachelor of commerce degree in 1964 and his Bachelor of Law degree in 1966. He was called to the Bar in 1967. However, TVS opted for full-time career as a  musician. From the time he gave his initial solo performance in Madras, on 2 February 1968, in the exalted company of Sri .T. N. Krishnan, Sri. Vellore Ramabhadran and Sri. Alangudi  Ramachandran, he has taken the world of Carnatic music by storm by virtue of immense scholarship and strict adherence to tradition.Today, he has carved out a special niche for himself and a TVS  concert is a must, wherever Carnatic music is heard around the globe. TVS has performed for all the major institutions, festivals and sabha-s in India and has won numerous plaudits from critics and rasika-s. He has given numerous radio and television concerts for All India Radio and Doordarshan TV. He has travelled outside of India on many occasions. His maiden tour abroad was in 1975 to USA and Canada for a three-month duration, packed with as many as thirty-eight concerts. He toured USA again in 1976 and had the honour of delivering the John Coltrane Memorial World Music Series  lectures on South Indian Classical Music at the famous Dartmouth College, New Hampshire. In 1981, he toured North America yet again and performed thirty-six concerts. In 1984 and 1993, he traveled to Singapore and Malaysia. In 1990, he toured the USA once again on a three-month tour. In 1994, he toured North America in the inaugural series of concerts under the auspices of the Madurai Mani Iyer Fine Arts foundation.   TVS is the recipient of several titles. A partial list includes: Sangeetha Ratnakara ( in 1975, from the Vassar College, USA and Mid-Houston Music Circle ); Sangeetha Chudamani ( in 1976,   from Krishna Gana sabha); Innisaiperarasu (in 1981, from Bharati Kalamanram, Toronto, Canada); Gayaka Sikhamani (in 1981, from ?Bhairavi?, Cleveland, USA); Swara Laya Ratnakara ( in 1986,  from Sri Ramakrishnananda Saraswati of Sri Vidyasram, Rishikesh); Ganakalaratnam ( in 1987, from Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, at a public function ); Gana Kalanidhi ( in 1989, from Sri   Thyagaraja Sangeetha Sabha, Coimbatore ); Gandharva Ganamani ( in 1991, from Kanchi Sankaracharya ). He has also received numerous awards, prominent amongst these being: the prestigious Yogam Nagaswamy Award from The Music Academy ( 1985-86 ) and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, presented by the then President of India, Sri R. Venkatraman (in 1990). He has also  released several commercial recordings ( cassettes and CD's ) on most major labels and is a popular favourite at record stores.   The phenomenal success of Sri Sankaranarayanan is, no doubt, due to his own irrefutable genius and intellect. Another great asset is his wide repertoire. It is obvious from his music that Sri Sankara narayanan cherishes the affection and adulation of the listening public. It is also obvious that he is particularly proud and happy to be engaged in the onerous mission of keeping alive the  glorious traditions of his musical family. This family has produced musical giants of the stature of his uncle, Sri Madurai Mani Iyer,Sri Madurai Ramaswamy Iyer (the scholarly musicologist) and Madurai Pushpavanam Iyer, who strode the Carnatic music scene as a veritable colossus and trailblazer in the first two decades of this century to become a legend in his own lifetime.