Silambam Phoenix is proud to collaborate with phenomenal artists in the United States and around the world. We look forward to expanding our artistic family.
R.K. Shriramkumar belongs to the Rudrapatnam family of musicians, a family with a glorious musical tradition. He is the grandson of the much respected Vidvan Shri R.K. Venkatrama Shastri. Having had his initial lessons in violin playing from Vidushi Smt. Savritri Satyamurthy, Shriramkumar was trained in violin playing and vocal music by his grandfather Shri R.K. Venkatrama Shastri. He later received guidance in violin playing from Vidvan Shri V.V. Subrahmanyam and in vocal music from Sangita Kalanidhi Shri D.K. Jayaraman.
His skills were further honed through the association and knowledge that he gained by accompanying the doyens of Carnatic music like Sangita Kalanidhis Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Smt M.S. Subbulakshmi, Smt D.K. Pattammal, Shri D.K. Jayaraman,Shri Palghat K.V. Narayanaswamy, Smt. T Brinda and others. Shriramkumar’s discography includes, apart from his solo recordings, his violin accompaniment with reputed artistes and has the blessed opportunity of participating in a very unique recording entitled ‘Divine Unison’ featuring the veterans Shri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Smt M.S. Subbulakshmi.
A recipient of many awards, Shriramkumar has traveled far and wide on concert tours. His solo performances, lec-dems and outreach programs have also been greatly received and appreciated by audiences world-wide. he has set to music many a lyric and has also composed music for many dance productions. ‘Sri Sharada Stuti Manjari’- a recording rendered by Smt Bombay Jayashri that contains the compositions of the Jagadgurus of Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham. ‘Sita Vishlesha Trayam’- a dance production by Dr. Vyjayantimala Bali and ‘Sayujya’- a collaborative production by Smt. Priyadarshani Govind and Shri T.M. Krishna are a few notable works, amongst many, that feature Shriramkumar’s musical creations.
Shriramkumar has been associated with Silambam Phoenix since 2006 and he has composed and tuned several kritis and slokams for our productions and rangapraveshams. He has also named almost all of our productions.
R.K. Shriramkumar
Greg Paladino (he/him/his) is a music director, conductor, and pianist driven by his dedication to helping develop musical theatre into new and innovative sonic spaces. Greg is currently the associate music director and accordion player for the Fiddler on the Roof national tour. He has also been seen as a performer and pianist at Feinstein's/54 Below. He has established relationships with professional theater companies and educational programs around the country including Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, Arizona State University, The Phoenix Theatre Company and James Madison University. He is an experienced educator of musical theatre score interpretation, and an independent vocal coach for singers/actors of all training levels and styles. Using synthesizing software, he has explored virtual instrument technology applications in musical theatre. With other music technology platforms, he has created arrangements for producing original musical projects, realizing large-scale works for pit ensembles, and for remote recording. Greg occasionally appears onstage as well, as a cabaret artist, singer, accordionist, and pianist.
Kalaimamani Priya Murle, Bharatanatyam artist, choreographer, teacher, and researcher, has been in the field of Bharatanatyam for over 4 decades. A disciple of the legend Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy, Priya is the artistic director of Shri Silambam Academy of Fine Arts. An MPhil in philosophy with research in the Rasa theory, Priya has performed the world over and received several awards, including the Tamil Nadu State Award, Kalaimamani. Along with Shreya Nagarajan Singh, Priya has started an initiative - the Parivartan Research Initiative - that provides annual short grants for research scholars. Priya is actively involved in outreach programmes that make classical dance accessible to all. She is currently the President of Abhai. Priya has conducted several workshops for the students of Silambam Phoenix and was one of the creators along with Srimathy Mohan of Dasamahavidya (2022). She is currently developing Bhandavam with Silambam Phoenix which will premiere in April 2025.
Priya Murle
Vaibu Mohan (she/her/hers) is an Indian-American writer, singer, songwriter, dancer, and storyteller currently based in New York. Vaibu began her journey as a Bharatanatyam dancer and Carnatic vocalist. She gained a deep appreciation for the stories she was told and portrayed as a child through music and dance and her love for storytelling brought her to the world of musical theatre. Vaibu received her BM in musical theatre performance from ASU and her MFA in musical theatre writing at the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Vaibu has now produced over 20 shows at various venues in New York City with more coming in 2024. Vaibu is dedicated to creating anti-racist theatre pieces which highlights BIPOC voices and her personal mission is to bring more South Asians into the theatre on stage, backstage, on the creative team, and in the audience.