FUAIM Lecture: Prof. Karaikudi S. Subramanian, 6th October, 11.00 am, O'Riada Hall, Department of Music

6 Oct 2022

Professor Karaikudi S. Subramanian is a senior South Indian classical musician and an ethnomusicologist. He is one among the most renowned masters in the field of South Indian classical music known as ‘Karnatak’ music. He is a 9th generation vina player in the 2.5 centuries old Karaikudi Vina Tradition.

Prof KSS assumes a unique position as a performer and educator. He is an authentic representative of the ancient Karnatak tradition who bridges the traditional and modern educational approaches for effective communication of the music. He has studied Karnatak music in the indigenous ‘gurukula’ approach from several veteran musicians since his early childhood. In addition to this, Prof KSS has done immersive research on music education since 1975 when he started his doctoral studies in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University. In 1989, he founded ‘Brhaddhvani – Research & Training Centre for Musics of the World’ in Chennai to create a space where anyone could study music irrespective of their background. He has done extensive research on how to communicate Karnatak music to a disparate group of students and has collaborated with several prominent artists and scholars from different music genres and arts disciplines. The outcome of his research is the learning methodology Correlated Objective Music Education & Training (COMET) which seeks to meet the demands of any learner.

The focus of COMET is a holistic learning of the aesthetics of Karnatak music. Right from the beginning, the students open themselves to holistic listening at the macro level as well as detailed listening at the micro level. At the microlevel, COMET parses the intricacies of Karnatak music and reveals its basic principles as isolated studies. This facilitates the communication of Karnatak music to any student, including world musicians who are unfamiliar with its musical parameters. This method not only helps a student within the culture but also goes beyond cultural boundaries to sensitise any student of music to the nuances of any musical system. COMET encourages cross-cultural interactions with the purpose of bringing meaningful interactions across music traditions, thereby enhancing every participant’s individual practice. The underlying philosophy of these interactions is that cross-cultural exchanges are mutually beneficial and enhance the understanding of one’s own music tradition.

Several world musicians and artists have visited Brhaddhvani to receive training in COMET, both to understand Karnatak music, but also to improve their own practice through a study of Karnatak music in the COMET way. Furthermore, Prof KSS has visited universities and colleges worldwide to share his expertise. These include Amherst College, San Francisco State College, National University of Singapore, Leeds College of Music, University of York, New University, University of Michigan, University of Limerick and University College Cork.

 livestreamed on youtube.com/musicatUCC.