Vidhwan N. Gopalakrishna Iyer
Sangeeta Vidhwan N. Gopalakrishna Iyer resides in Mangalore and is the director of Kalaniketana, Mangalore. He is well known in Mangalore as an accomplished flutist and vocalist. Guru Gopalakrishna Iyer is the cousin of Mridangam maestro T. V. Gopalakrishnan (TVG), and also the first guru of saxaphone maestro Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath.
Hailing from a musical family, Chandrika gave her first performance on stage with accompanists at a tender age of five, even before she received formal lessons. Enthralled by her performance, Vidhwan Gopalakrishna Iyer decided to start her formal vocal training. Chandrika was under the tutelage of Guru Gopalakrishna Iyer for 12 years.
Hailing from a musical family, Chandrika gave her first performance on stage with accompanists at a tender age of five, even before she received formal lessons. Enthralled by her performance, Vidhwan Gopalakrishna Iyer decided to start her formal vocal training. Chandrika was under the tutelage of Guru Gopalakrishna Iyer for 12 years.
Sangeeta Kalacharya Chengleput Ranganthan
While residing in Chennai, India, Chandrika was fortunate to have received advanced vocal lessons from Sangeetha Kalacharya Chengleput Ranganathan, who was the prime disciple of the great Alathur Brothers Srinivasa Iyer and Sivasubramanya Iyer. Visit the Wikipedia page on my Guru here. Visit the Wikipedia page of Alathur Brothers here.
Vidushi Sudha Suresh
Music is an integral part of Chandrika's family. Her older sister Sudha Suresh had already begun vocal lessons with Sangeeta Vidhwan N. Gopalakrishna Iyer a few years before Chandrika started her formal lessons. It was therefore Sudha who initiated Chandrika into Carnatic vocal music. Every day, when Sudha practised at home, she would ask Chandrika to sit by her side and repeat after her. In no time, Chandrika became accustomed to the nuances of the vocal art form, and owing to her sister's lessons at home, she gave her first performance on stage along with accompanists at the tender age of 5.
Chandrika owes immense gratitude to her sister and cherishes the long hours they would spend practising together every day at home. In time, both Sudha and Chandrika became popular vocal artistes in the region, and gave concerts together on multiple occasions. Music aficionados in the region fondly called the duo "Mangalore Sisters".
Chandrika owes immense gratitude to her sister and cherishes the long hours they would spend practising together every day at home. In time, both Sudha and Chandrika became popular vocal artistes in the region, and gave concerts together on multiple occasions. Music aficionados in the region fondly called the duo "Mangalore Sisters".