Grand veena concert by Smt. Rajeswari pariti

 Mrs. Rajeswari Pariti is a renowned Carnatic music artist, originally from Andhra Pradesh, India. She learnt music from her father, Late Sri Ayyagari Someswara Rao. Mrs. Pariti hails from a musical family and has been teaching and performing Carnatic music for over 40 years.  Mrs. Rajeswari is the founder and Artistic Director of Rajaveena School of Music Foundation, an accredited nonprofit organization to promote Carnatic music in Chicago area.

Mrs. Pariti is a professional musician and an "A grade artist" of All India Radio (AIR). She is a dual Master’s degree holder in Carnatic Music and Sociology. She was a faculty member at Telugu University, Hyderabad; and trained students studying for their advanced degrees in Veena. Mrs. Pariti has given numerous performances in India as well as in the USA.

Mrs. Pariti has performed extensively for All India Radio invited audiences in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka states and recorded concerts for South hookup programs in India. She was invited by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) to perform as part of Nada Neerajanam.  Her Ragam, Tanam Pallavi (elaborate expanse of a Carnatic Raga in various rhythms) and her Mano Dharma (extempore elaboration) are exceptional treats to the listeners' ears. She gave several Veena performances and lecture-demonstrations in prominent music organizations in North America such as Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana, Chicago Tyagaraja Utsavam, SAPNA (Chicago), CMANA (Atlanta), SIFA (California), ICMS (Chicago), etc. Her renditions were aired many-a-time on AIR and Doordarshan (television) of India as well as on TV stations in the USA. She organized several musical performances with her students, including Tyagaraja’s musical operas “Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam” and “Nauka Charitram”. Her orchestra compositions with fusion of Western, Hindustani and Carnatic Music are very well received by North American audience. Her students perform regularly in various music festivals in North America.

Mrs. Pariti received several grants and fellowships from Illinois Arts Council and has performed in events sponsored by the State of Illinois. She received the coveted title “Sri Kala Purna” from Sri Annamacharya Project of North America (SAPNA); and has been honored by organizations such as Telugu Association of North America (TANA), American Telugu Association (ATA) for her contributions in teaching and promoting Carnatic Music. 

 Sri Shankar Krishnaswamy will be accompanying Smt. Rajeswari on the Kanjeera. Sri Shankar learnt vocal music under Smt. Sita Subramanium at Chennai and has always evinced keen interest in laya aspect of Carnatic music. He later took Kanjira training with Sri Manoj Siva and Sri Neyveli Venkatesh during their visits to the US. 

He has developed into a Kanjira player mostly by listening to great stalwarts and imbibing their styles. As a percussionist trained in vocal, he is able to bring out a good following of the vocal and enhance the performance of the vocalist. He has accompanied artists in many performances in the metroplex and many youngsters during their arangetram.