Arjun Ayyangar, left, with Aishu Venkataraman. (Photo, as it appears on www.arjunayyangar.com)

Eleven year old violin virtuoso Aishu Venkataraman and six-year old pianist prodigy Arjun Ayyangar performed at a fund-raiser for Sen. John Kerry and John Edwards at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, CA, on Oct. 8.

It was for the second time only that the two prodigies came together. Born in 1998, Ayyangar began his music studies with Antonio Gandia (B.A., Berkley College of Music). Currently pursuing Grade III curriculum from Calvert School, MD, he has performed in an NBC’s show ‘America’s Most Talented Kid.’

Started on a 1/8th-size violin at a very tender age of two and a half, Venkataraman was initiated into the Suzuki style of playing by Marjorie Weese. At the age of four, she learned the Carnatic style of music under the tutelage of the eminent violin maestro T. N. Krishnan, a living icon in Classical South Indian violin.