Dr. Krishnamurtha (Kanniks) Kannikeswaran, popularly known as Kanniks, is an Indian-born American musician, scholar, composer, writer and music educator based out of Cincinnati, OH... Often described as ‘The Magic Musician From Madras’, Kanniks has numerous productions, choral performances, lectures, workshops and articles to his name. He has founded and led community choirs in 10 cities in North America including Cincinnati OH, Bethlehem PA, Houston TX, Tampa FL, Ft. Lauderdale FL, Minneapolis/St Paul MN, Toronto ON, Washington DC, Atlanta GA and Chicago IL. He has expanded his work to Europe (The Hague - Netherlands). He has done extensive research on the music and life of 19th century composer Muthuswami Dikshitar.
Career
Kanniks has trained in the classical Carnatic and Hindustani music traditions of India. He founded the Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir in late 1993 and produced his first musical production "Basant - A Musical Celebration of Spring" in 1994. His productions combine Indian voices, chants with Western choruses and orchestral arrangements. Kanniks has assembled and led Indian American choirs in 10 cities in the United States. His doctoral work is on the music and life of Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), one of India's foremost composers. He has regularly presented lecture demonstrations at the prestigious Music Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on the music of Dikshithar. His articles on music have appeared in online forums and he has contributed to music columns in newspapers.
Choral Music
Kanniks has assembled and conducted Indian American choirs across North America. He founded the first Indian choir in the United States in Cincinnati in 1993. The Greater Cincinnati Indian Community Choir, directed by Kanniks Kannikeswaran, won two silver medals in the prestigious Champions Category in the World Choir Games 2012, held in Cincinnati Ohio. Shanti, his flagship production is an oratorio for large mixed choruses, orchestra, dance, narration and multimedia. It has been performed many times in Cincinnati, Houston, Atlanta and other cities in the United States. Recently, he produced "Sangam to Silicon Era", a choral presentation of the work of various Tamil poets through various ages, in Chicago at the 40th annual convention of the Tamil Nadu Foundation
Significant Creations
Shanti – A Journey of Peace is an oratorio for large mixed choruses, western and Indian instrumental ensembles, dancers, narration and multimedia. Shanti has recorded the participation of Indian community choirs, the Martin Luther King Chorale and the United Nations Association International Choir. Shanti has been performed by over a 1000 people in Cincinnati OH, Bethlehem PA, Houston TX and Atlanta GA. Shanti premiered in 2004 and recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014.
Chitram - A Portrait of India – tells the story of the diversity in Indian culture through Indian choral music, dance and multimedia. Chitram premiered in Dayton OH in 2005 and has been performed in Dearborn MI, Cincinnati OH, Wilmington OH, Tampa FL, Fort Lauderdale FL, Minneapolis/St Paul MN, Toronto, and HoustonTX.
Ragas in Symphony portrays the intimate relationship between ragas and the seasons of the year. Written for mixed choruses, chamber orchestra and dances, this work was presented by the Korzo Dance Theater in the Netherlands in October 2015. It featured the Surinamese Indian choir (Sharad choir), the Dario Fo choir and the Residentie Orkest of the Anton Philipszaal in The Hague.
Sharad – A Celebration of Autumn for Indian choir, western orchestra, performed in the Netherlands (2013) and in Tampa (2014). Colonial Interlude – Featuring the life and music of Indian composer Muthuswami Dikshitar, performed by the National University of Singapore Indian Instrumental Ensemble (March 2010)
The Silk Road – performed by the National University of Singapore Indian Instrumental Ensemble (March 2011)
The Indus Spirit – performed at the TiE Silicon Valley Convention (TiECon 2015) at the Santa Clara Convention Center (May 2014).
Other Significant Compositions
Kanniks composed the invocation that was performed by his daughter Vidita Kanniks at the reception held in honour of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Madison Square Gardens, New York on Sep 28, 2014.
''Sul taal'' dhrupad in Raga Jog in honor of the Sai Temple in Mason OH – performed by the Gundecha brothers.