About The Event
Swaralaya Sandhya 2026 is a celebration of the finest artists from the great world of Carnatic music, and it is a reaffirming event that promises melody, rhythm, Sahitya, Bhakti, folk essences, and devotional verses on all three days of its staging. Swaralaya Sandhya 2026, a three-day festival, is an offering of music and Swaras on August 12, 13, and 14, 2026, at the prestigious Chowdiah Memorial Auditorium, Bangalore. All the concerts begin at 6:30 PM.
August 12, Wednesday, features the Mandolin Maestro Mandolin U. Rajesh, who shall be presenting a Mandolin Recital along with his coartists, who shall be playing on the Mridangam, Khanjira, and Tabla.
Mandolin U. Rajesh, he started playing Carnatic classical music on mandolin at the age of 6, and performed his first concert, at Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in the presence of His Holiness Shri. Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi. Rajesh is an ardent devotee of the Param Acharya of Kanchi. He is also a follower and devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and has performed before him on several occasions.
His work with John McLaughlin’s album Floating Point, received a Grammy nomination in 2009. He was the youngest participant in the Magic Mandolin Festival, (Germany), has performed at the Lincoln Centre, New York City, and has given concerts in BBC Live at London, Melbourne Concert Hall, Cité de la Musique, Paris,Greece,Canada,Middle-East, United States, and Europe.
He has performed live with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra (with Dominique Di Piazza), KZN Philharmonic Orchestra and Closer home (with Stephen Devassy). His music performance at New York in 2006, was voted among the best concerts of the year, by The New Yorker. He was specially honoured by the President of India, in April 2007.
He is accompanied by notable and highly respected artists from Karnataka on the Percussions. Mandolin Rajesh is accompanied on the Mridangam by Bangalore Praveen, Khanjira Guru Prasanna,and on the tabla by Praveen Narayanan.
Event is Curated and Produced by Jyoti Easwaran
