Grand musical event
Experience joy through enchanting Bhajan, music and spiritual discourses
Sita Rama Kalyana Mahotsavam – Birmingham
Tag: Karnatic Birmingham
Carnatic Circle is an organization created to promote Indian culture in the form of music. We are committed to expand and expose the various music forms by teaching, sharing and learning together.
Carnatic Music & Tabla Classes – New batches
With the start of the Autumn term, we have new batches starting in Indian classical Carnatic Music vocals as well as Tabla Classes.
Indian classical vocal classes are run by Preetha Gopal for beginners/intermediate or Advanced levels and caters for Adults and Children of all ages. The teaching is based on the age old tradition of learning the Swaravalis and gradually build up to Alankarams, Gitam & Varnams. Here are some testimonials
Tabla Lessons – Percussion lessons in Tabla are held as group lessons by Santhana Gopal and are conducted for children and adults on Sunday evenings. Lessons usually delve into the theory & practical aspects such as Kaydas/Paltas and gradually progressing into taals, Moharas, Mukhdas and Relas.
All lessons include theory and the necessary preparation for Grade exams conducted by the OFAAL/PRSSV/Open University.
Ramanavami Carnatic Bhajans – Birmingham
Carnatic-Circle.com was invited to perform at the phenomenal Ramanavami celebrations on Saturday, the 31st March at the Spacious New Bingley Hall, Birmingham. The divine Sita-Rama kalyanam event held on Utharapalguni Nakshatram in Vilambi nama year was attended by not less than 2500 people – full of energy and lively. The ambience at the hall was stunning due to sheer numbers. This shows the excellent strength of our community and a typical example for the togetherness in serving the lord by serving for the community.
Carnatic-Circle’s music/singing was an integral part of the community and enjoyed the blessings of Sree Rama. We primarily chose some Telugu based krithis composed by Annamacharya & Bhadrachala Ramdas keeping in line with the interests of the audience. The energised performance kept up a relentless pace for 40 minutes. It was full of positive vibrations and was very well received by the community. We received quite a lot of words of praise. Admittedly, we had some background noise in our video recordings, but the fact that we were invited to perform for this divine event as a highlight was indeed a great blessing.
Some Photos/Excerpts from our previous Weekly Bhajan sessions since last year
Bhajans/Krithis Birmingham Balaji Temple 21st Oct 2017
Carnatic-Circle’s Midlands based “Sampradaya” Bhajan group and “Mantrasara” came together to put together a traditional & impressive performance at the Tividale Balaji temple community hall on Saturday, the 21st Oct 2017 (5pm- 7.15pm).
The event was graced by the presence of Tabla Pandit Sandip Banerjee (From Kolkata) and Chief guest – Dr Kanakaratnam (Chairman of Trustees at the Balaji Temple) who graced the occasion with their presence and support.
The Balaji temple has been ever supportive of our Carnatic based Devotional singing & Bhakthi initiatives and we are very grateful to them and their volunteers who made this event successful in every sphere. Such a unique choir consisting of Adults & Children does not exist in the entire country and it is with utmost pride that we present our Bhajans/Krithis and ensure that we uplift everyone that participate in our community gatherings.
This performance was well received by the audience who came from across the midlands to see us perform. One of the feedbacks that we received from few of the experienced elders was that, we have implemented a traditional system in the same lines as it is done in South India. Below were the songs that were sung as a part of our repertoire at the temple Continue reading “Bhajans/Krithis Birmingham Balaji Temple 21st Oct 2017”
AIKYA – Annual Music & Dance showcase
Carnatic-circle.com and Aabheri Nritya Vidyala come together to present AIKYA – a grand ensemble of Indian classical Bharatanatyam dance and music
AIKYA – Our annual Music & Dance showcase event on 8th October 2017 (4-8 pm) will be one of Birmingham’s biggest event in 2017 for portraying Indian culture & tradition with local upcoming talent in its pristine form. All performances will be delivered by our group of students who come from varying ages, linguistics & background. We all have come forward to perform with utmost fervour.
Tickets can be bought from http://tickets.ruddockpac.co.uk/Sales/events/ruddock-hall/aikya/ticket. This will be an agglomeration of Indian classical Carnatic Music which will be followed by a Tabla Ensemble & Bharatanatyam dance in a concert environment on a professional stage in a hall with renowned acoustics. The Chief Guests will be the Queen’s representative for West midlands – Deputy Lieutenant Gurpreet Bhatia. Guests of Honour are Head of Chancellor from the Indian Consulate Shri S.M. Chakraborty, District Judge Asokan from the Judicial appointments Commission and Sri Harmohinder Bhatia (Upasak Ji) from Sant Nirankari Mission.
All performances will be delivered by our group of students who come from varying ages, linguistics & background. The Vocal music will be accompanied by instruments such as the Sitar, Veenas, Flute, Violins, Guitar & Tabla. Any musicians who are interested to perform are welcome to apply for an Audition. Bharatanatyam performances will be performed with live vocals and music. Carnatic vocal renditions following age old traditions will be sung.
Mark your diaries – 8th October! All are welcome!
Devotional Chant/Singing
Sampradaya & Mantrasara run by Carnatic-Circle.com are 2 groups that run free Bhajan workshops every week in Birmingham & Solihull, UK. For those interested in weekly Shloka/ Vedas/Stothram recitation in Birmingham, please get in touch. We also perform devotional singing of a large repertoire of Bhajans and Abhangs. These workshops are primarily geared to adults which can read Lyrics independently. If you are interested to participate or simply want to listen to our weekly performances, please call in.
We are always looking for any music instrumentalists that want to add colour to the sessions.
All these efforts are mainly to preserve our heritage and is done on a group basis free of cost.
Thyagaraja Aradhanai 2017
Solihull Carnatic music Circle will be singing for the Birmingham Thyagaraja Aradhanai 2017. It is scheduled for the 11/12th of March 2017. Please join and be part of it.
The original Thyagaraja Aradhanai is an annual event celebrated on the banks of River Cauvery in Tiruvaiyaru (near Tanjavur) in India. Musicians sit by the samadhi of the Saint and render Pancharatna krithis in chorus in honour of the saint. This spirit of music has spread worldwide. Here is a list of Krithis or Bhajans that we practice. 
Mohanam & Shudha Saveri Ragams
We have discussed about quite a few Ragams before in our class. But, in this context we will discuss the relationship and difference between Shuddha Saveri and Mohanam.
Both are Audava ragams or Pentatonic in nature – meaning, this raga has 5 notes. In Carnatic music, Ragas are classified as Melakarta Ragas and Janya (Subset or Derived) Ragas. As you are all aware, there are 72 Melakartas Ragas which are all Sampoorna (all 7 notes) ragams. Shuddha Saveri and Mohanam are both Janya Ragams and they are both derived from their respective Melakartas. (Use the link to find the 28th & 29th Melakarta before reading forward). Continue reading “Mohanam & Shudha Saveri Ragams”
Shloka & Stothram classes
For those interested in weekly Shloka/ Vedas/Stothram recitation, please get in touch. All these efforts are mainly to preserve our heritage and is done on a group basis free of cost.
We have a group that meets every Tuesday evening either in Person or Via Skype. A sample of the recitations are below
Carnatic vocal exam preparations
Dear Parents,
Following are the Carnatic music vocal exam preparation targets for all participants depending on which class you are attending during the week. Continue reading “Carnatic vocal exam preparations”