V.V. Srinivasa Rao

Born in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, in 1964, V. V. Srinivasa Rao grew up in a family steeped in the performing traditions of the region. His induction into Carnatic music came from his father, the Harikatha exponent Sri V. S. R. Anjaneya Bhagavatar, in whose company he absorbed the narrative and devotional idiom of the Harikatha stage from childhood. He took his early violin training under Sri Panyam Subramanyam and Sri Tirupati Ponna Rao, and went on to receive advanced tutelage from the violin maestro Sri Dwaram Satyanarayana and Vidwan Sri V. V. Subramanyam. He gave his first significant public accompaniment at the age of twelve, playing for the renowned Harikatha exponent Padmashri (late) Sri Kota Sachidananda Sastry. His formal training was matched by an equally distinguished academic record. He secured the First Position in Instrumental Music (Violin) in the Senior Division category in the State of Andhra Pradesh for two consecutive years, 1979 and 1980, and was awarded the State Government Cultural Scholarship of Andhra Pradesh. He holds a Diploma in Violin from the Government of Andhra Pradesh in the Honours Division, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Violin — “Vadya Praveena” in First Class — a Technical Teachers Certificate from the Department of Technical Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh (1986), and a B.Com. degree from S. V. University, Tirupati. Srinivasa Rao is an ‘A Top’ graded artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, and served as a Staff Artist at All India Radio, Chennai, from 1993 to 2024 — a span of three decades at one of the country’s foremost institutions of classical music broadcasting. Over a concert career of more than thirty years he has emerged as one of the most widely sought-after accompanists of his generation, valued for the steadiness of his sruti, the clarity of his bowing, and an accompanying sensibility that follows the vocalist’s imagination without ever crowding it. He has accompanied a remarkable cross-section of the Carnatic tradition, spanning several generations of vidwans and vidushis. Among them are Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Dr. N. Ramani, Mandolin U. Srinivas,Prof. T. R. Subramaniam, Prof. D. Pasupathi, Prof. V. L. Janakiraman, Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, B. V. Raman and B. V. Lakshman, the Hyderabad Brothers D. Seshachari and D.Raghavachari, the Hyderabad Sisters, Madurai G. S. Mani, A. K. C. Natarajan, Mambalam M. K. Siva, Injikkudi Subramanian, N. Ravikiran, Padmashri Kadri Gopalnath, Dr. Mani Krishnaswami, Suguna Purushothaman, Suguna Varadachari, Dr. Rama Ravi, Geetha Raja, Aruna Sairam, Dr. Vimala Sundararajan, the Sikkil Sisters, the Bombay Sisters, Ranjani–Gayatri, Dr. Prapancham Sitaram, Mandolin U. P. Raju and Nagamani, Thiruvengadu Jayaraman, T. V. Sankaranarayanan, T. N. Seshagopalan, Bombay Jayashri, Dr. S. Sowmya, the Priya Sisters, Sudha Raghunathan, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Unnikrishnan, Abhishek Raghuram, Saketharaman, Ramakrishnan Murthy, Bharat Sundar, and Ashwath Narayanan. On the percussion side of the stage he has shared the platform with the foremost laya vidwans of the era, including Guru Karaikudi Mani, Trichy Sankaran, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Vellore Ramabhadran,Dandamudi Rammohan Rao, Ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram, A. M. Subramaniam, kanjira maestro G. Harishankar, Padmashri Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam, thavil maestro Padmashri A. K. Palanivel, Thanjavur Govindarajan, Mannargudi Vasudevan, and Denkanikottai V. Mani. His work has been recognised by leading institutions of the classical music world. He was honoured as Asthana Vidwan of the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in 2006, and has received the Maharajapuram Santhanam Meritorious Award, the title “Vayuleena Gandharva” from the Thyagaraja Samithi, Ongole, “Nada Kala Vipanchee” from the Vipanchee Arts Academy, Chennai, and the title “Dasa Kalaratna.” He has also received the Best Violinist Award from the Indian Fine Arts Society and from Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. In 2025 he was named to the Roll of Honour of the Sadguru Gnanananda Sangeet Sammelan.