Garimella Balakrishna Prasad Songs

Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (born 9 November 1948) is an Indian classical devotional singer and composer.He has been the Asthana Gayaka of the Tirumala temple at Tirupati from 1978 to 2006.
He is regarded as a pioneer in rendering devotional music in classical style, especially the Annamacharya sankirtanas. He set the musical tune for more than 600 Annamacharya songs. He composed tunes for famous keerthanas such as Vinaro Bhagyamu Vishnukatha, Jagadapu Chanavula and Pidikita Thalambralu... which became popular among the devotees. He sings in classical styles like carnatic classical, light classical, folk and light music

Early life

Balakrishna Prasad was born in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh to Krishnaveni and Narasimha Rao, a music teacher and a Vaggeyakara. He holds a Diploma in Carnatic Music. He is 'A' grade vocal artiste of All India Radio (AIR).

He specialised in Annamacharya songs under the tutelage of Sangita Kalanidhi, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, who initiated him into the nuances of classical music. He is still closely associated with Nedunuri Krishnamurthy in not only learning music, but also in composing music to Annamacharya Sankeerthanas and publishing books with musical notation and recording audio CDs. He also trained under Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna and Prof. D.Pasupathi also inculcated the finer aspects of music while he was undergoing two year scholarship course offered by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

Performing career

Garimella Balakrishna Prasad joined Annamacharya Project after completing the course in 1978 as a vocal artiste. The project established to promote Annamacharya's music and literature, soon became the medium through which he was able to bring forth his musical prowess. From the inception till his retirement in 2006, he remained the principal exponent of Annamacharya Project. He rendered remarkable services at various levels to raise it into a top cultural organization.

His Nadopasana spans over four decades. Absolute faith, total commitment and the zeal for perfection are the hallmarks of his music. He consistently endeavours to improve his art and continues to grow as an artist.
He presented more than 6000 vocal concerts, set tune to more than 600 Annamacharya songs, gave audio recordings for TTD, published books with musical notations and conducted classes, teaching Annamacharya songs to make them more popular.