Shashank Subramaniam

Shashank, born on October 14, 1978, is one of the renowned flute players of India. He is said to be the magician of flute- one of the celebrated musical instruments from southern India. His outstanding music talent was first revealed at the age of nine months. His father, Subramanyam, a biochemist and also an amateur flutist taught him music as a language. Six-year-old Shashank one day surprised his violin teacher by playing the kanada raga varnam on his father's flute and refused to learn violin any more.

It was Shashank's good fortune to meet the flute wizard T.R.Mahalingam (Mali) in 1985 to seek his guidance. As advised by flute maestro Mali, he learnt vocal music from expert musicians including K V Narayanaswamy.

His debut concert as a flute player was at Adelaide, Australia, in September 1990 when he was only 11, followed by his sensational debut in India on December 20, 1990. He became the youngest musician of the century to have been invited to play the prominent 'SADAS' concert on January 1, 1991, at the Music Academy, Madras. He played with such mastery and imagination that critics gave him a standing applause.

Shashank has done many tours in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Some land mark concerts were at Rashtrapathi Bhavan, the presidents residence in New Delhi; Kennedy Center, Washington D.C; J. Paul Getty Hall, Hollywood; National academy of sciences, Washington D.C and in Japan.

Shashank's introduction of multi-flute transposed fingering technique to merge flutes of different frequencies/lengths to the tonic note - producing deep bass to the shrill sounds gave flute an enviable position in Indian music and has been acclaimed world over by music lovers as his significant contribution. Shashank has enthralled audiences in India, the US, Canada, the UK, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, South Africa, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea.

He has numerous awards to his credit, including the prestigious title 'Kalaimamani' conferred by the Government of Tamil Nadu. 'Shashank sings through his flute', 'musical wiz kid of the century', 'magician flautist', etc., are some of the frequently heard titles conferred upon him. 

Shashank's performances characterize an extraordinary variety of musical expression. Audiences respond passionately to his talent and modest style. He has 29 CD albums to his credit apart from two DVDs of his live concerts. Now he has started learning Hindustani vocal under Pandit Jasraj.

His wife Shirisha is a Bharathanatyam dancer. Acclaimed by critics as a very intuitive performer, Shirisha is a rising star in the field of Bharatanatyam. Happily married to Shashank, she is out to explore new boundaries in the world of dancing.