SPICMACAY at UVA celebrates Classical Violin during Silk Roads
By WTJU
Date: 10/15/2026
Time: 12:30 pm
SPICMACAY at UVA Co-President Megana Kumar will stop by Silk Roads this Thursday afternoon to discuss the October 18 Classical Violin concert at Old Cabell Hall. The Carnatic violin is a highly expressive melodic instrument in Indian Classical Music that adapts the Western violin through tuning and instrumentation techniques. Its flexible tonal range makes it ideal for capturing the fluid transitions between notes Indian Classical Music heavily relies on. The violin breathes with the music, making it truly amazing to listen to. Silk Roads airs Thursday afternoons from 12-2 (eastern) at 91.1FM, online at wtju.net, and via the WTJU app.
The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) at the University of Virginia is a nonprofit organization that strives to share Indian culture and heritage amongst the University and Charlottesville communities.
SPICMACAY at UVA invites you to an evening of Carnatic classical music featuring Lalgudi G.J.R Krishnan on the violin and B. Guru Raghavendra on the mridangam. Lalgudi Gopala Jayaraman Radhakrishnan (G.J.R. Krishnan) is one of the most prominent classical violinists in the world. Disciple of the maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman, Krishnan has spent decades shaping and nurturing his legacy while incorporating his own artistic elements to create a distinctive, beautiful style – defined by a total mastery of technique, bhava, laya, and adherence to the philosophy that the violin must mimic the human voice. Krishnan’s entire life was enveloped by music, being a part of the fifth generation of musicians in a family descended from one of the great jewels of Carnatic Music, Thyagaraja himself. Krishnan has performed all over the world, including the Smithsonian Center, the Lincoln Center, and the Royal Tropical Institute Amsterdam. His collaborations with artists across many instruments and mediums have won him much appreciation.
B. Guru Raghavendra comes from a long family of musicians, starting off his journey learning mridangam from his grandfather. He has since dedicated his career to mridangam. Over the span of 30 years, he has accompanied many accomplished musicians and has performed internationally in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.
