U.P. Raju

U.P. Raju is a distinguished Carnatic mandolin artist and a native of Palakol, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. He underwent seven years of rigorous training through the Gurukulavasam system under Late Sri R. Subbaraju. He and his wife Smt. U. Nagamani form a celebrated mandolin duo. In 1997 he was assessed as an A grade artist by All India Radio Chennai, upgraded to A TOP grade in 2016 -- the top ranking for classical mandolin. He received the K.S. Mahadevan endowment from Narada Gana Sabha for excellence in foreign instrument (1998), the title Sruthi Laya Samrat from Saraswathi Gana Sabha (1999), and Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Asthana Vidwan (2013). A regular performer at Chennai's prestigious December Season Music Festival for over two decades, he has performed extensively in South Africa, USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, France, and Germany. In 2010 he released the instructional DVD Learn To Play Mandolin, and in 2012 he founded Shastriya Mandolin Sikshana, a school for learning mandolin both in person and online.