Udupi: The 40th annual Vadiraja Kanakadasa Music Festival would be held at the Nutana Ravindra Mantapa on the MGM College campus here on December 15 and 16.

This event is being organised by the Vadiraja Kanakadasa Sangeetotsava Samithi, the Kanakadasa Adhyayana Samshodhana Peetha, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), MGM College and the Sarigama Bharathi Sangeetha Vidyala.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Varadesh Hiregange and Ashok Alva, coordinators, said that the music festival was being held annually in the memory of the contribution of the two saint-poets of the Bhakti Age, Sri Vadiraja and Sri Kanakadasa.

Along with the festival, a symposium, “Vadiraja Kanakadasa Prapancha” too would be held on December 15.

The speakers at the symposium include K.P. Rao (Around the time of Vadiraja-Kanakadasa), Udyavara Madhava Acharya (Philosophy of Vadiraja Literature), Padekallu Vishnu Bhat (Philosophy of Kanakadasa Literature); V. Aravinda Hebbar (Vadiraja and Kanakadasa in Carnatic music) and T. Ranga Pai (Vadiraja and Kanakadasa in Hindustani music). Ishwarayya A., art critic, would preside over the symposium.

As regards the music programme, Samanvi and Archana would render Carnatic vocal at 4.15 p.m. on Friday. They would be accompanied by Shubhashree Shankar on the violin and Palghat Mahesh Kumar on the mrudangam

This would be followed by a Hindustani vocal recital by Ravikiran from Manipal at 6 p.m. He would be accompanied by Bharavi Deraje on the tabla and Shashikiran on the harmonium

On Saturday, Divyashree from Manipal would render Carnatic vocal at 9.30 a.m. She would be accompanied by Vasanthi Ram Bhaton on the violin and Srinath Vishwanathan on the mrudangam.

At 11.15 a.m., Mahabaleshwara Bhagawath would render Hindustani vocal. He would be accompanied by Dinesh Shenoy on the tabla and Shankar Shenoy on the harmonium.

At 2.30 p.m., Varijakshai R.L. Bhat will render Carnatic vocal. She would be accompanied by Vasanthi Ram Bhat on the violin and Balachandra Acharya on the mrudangam.

At 4.15 p.m., students of Sarigama Bharathi Sangeetha Vidyala would sing kritis of Vadiraja and Kanakadasa. They would be accompanied by Vaibhav Pai on the violin and Hiranmaya on the mrudangam.

K.R. Raghavendra Acharya will sing the kritis of Sri Vadiraja and Sri Kanakadasa at 5.30 p.m. on the same day. Madhava Acharya on the tabla and Shankar Shenoy on the harmonium would accompany him.

Narayana Sabhahit, Registrar of MAHE, will inaugurate the music festival at 9.30 a.m. on Friday.