Package A Whirl And A Twirl For The Brass

Made of brass, weighing about 2-5 kilograms, this 19th century musical marvel is one of the greatest gifts given to the western music– the Saxophone. It is the most vocal and produces the richest sound in the family of woodwind instruments. This iconic European instrument has been grabbing major attention in India due to a sensational, record breaking musician, “Saxophone” Lavanya.

At age of six, Lavanya, interested in music, started taking violin and singing lessons. Years later, when she was in high school, the saxophone grabbed her attention and she wanted to learn the art of playing one. Wanting to set herself apart from the mainstream woman musicians, she started taking up saxophone lessons from the great saxophonist Shri Kadri Gopalnath at her father’s bequest, with whom he maintained a close friendship.

Hailing from Mysore, Lavanya comes from a family with rich musical background. Her family is home to over 10 percussionists including her grandfather was a musician at the Royal Court of Mysore and her father, Mr. Sainath is a well-known mridangist.

When asked about the early days of her training, she fondly recalls the countless days her father would sit next to her and her sister, in full professional attire, along with his mridangam just so his daughters got the feel of playing at a concert, every time they practiced. She also recalls the countless days her father made her listen to numerous concerts on the radio, cassettes and CDs to improve her knowledge. Her family, her father especially has consistently been a huge source of support and inspiration throughout her career.

She is well-versed in classical Carnatic music, and with the western counter-parts such as Jazz and particularly, her uniqueness is accentuated by her prolificacy in Fusion. “People generally come with requests to play famous movie songs and when I play them the excitement is palpable. When I play in the southern cities like Chennai the shows consist more of Carnatic songs and further north of the country, at say Mumbai, the concerts comprise more of western music, both attributed to the audience’s choice” she said in a chat about her concert experiences in the country. Her performances have consistently been well-received with an air of appreciation and encouragement – both in India and abroad – as people are enchanted by her enchanting skills.

During the early days of her career, Lavanya and her sister, Subbulaxmi, were known as the “Sax sisters” and played the saxophone together at various occasions. Although the duo was a great success at every stage they stepped onto, for a long time now, Lavanya has been flying solo.

Recently, she toured four different cities in the U.S. during the Festival of India event. In her pursuit of musical mastery, she has travelled to 17 different countries, performed with multiple, well-known artistes like, Grammy award winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, the famous sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee, the versatile musician “Drums” Sivamani and caused quite the rumble at every occasion.

She has garnered various accolades - the Madhura Murali Puraskar award (named after the famous Padma Vibhushan winning vocalist M.Balamuralikrishna), Rajyothsava Award given by the Government of Karnataka, the Yuvakala Bharathi Award, an entry in the Limca Book of World Records as the only woman Saxophonist in India, to name a few.

Being the one of the top women saxophonists in the world comes with its own demands – rigorous practice and rehearsal sessions, learning the routines of musicians with whom you share the stage, follow a proper diet containing walnuts, almonds, milk and fitness plan to meet the physical strength requirements of the saxophone. Due to this very reason – the sax being a very physically demanding instrument, Lavanya believes that children should only take up sax lessons at around the age of 15 as, if they are any younger, any practice of this heavy and complicated instrument would be much more difficult.

Lavanya has also been teaching a lot of aspiring saxophonists online. She has students from the US, Switzerland, Sri Lanka and Dubai. Some of them also visit her in India during vacation to gain a more interactive learning experience. Furthermore, she has joined hands with a lot of DJs in Mumbai in an effort to popularise her instrument. Finally, when I inquire about her future plans and aspirations, she says “I want to grow more as a musician in the western and fusion genres and incorporate new styles in the latter. Aside from that, my lifelong dream has been to share a stage with the popular American saxophonist, Kenny G”.