L. Subramaniam

b. 23 July 1947, Madras, India. A child prodigy, Subramaniam was taught by his father, a renowned Indian violinist, and his mother, an Indian classical singer. He gave his first violin concert performance at the age of eight, and by 15 was being hailed as ‘violin Chakravati’ (‘world emperor’ of violinists). A year later he received the prestigious President’s Award in India. His Violin Trio, which included his brother, Lakshminarayana Shankar, became a principal attraction at the Madras Festival during the 60s. In 1973 he toured Europe and the USA with George Harrison and sitar player Ravi Shankar. While teaching at California Arts University in the USA, he developed a lasting interest in jazz-ethnic fusions which led to performances with Herbie Hancock, Svend Asmussen, Stéphane Grappelli, Larry Coryell, Stanley Clarke and Stu Goldberg. In 1980, he formed Rainbow with saxophonist John Handy and sarod master Ali Akbar Khan. Since 1983 his compositions have been influenced by the western classical tradition; ‘Spring Rhapsody’ has been described as a polyrhythmic homage to Bach and baroque music. He is also a graduate in medicine from the Madras Medical College.