Alex Abisheganaden hails from a family of musicians -- the Abisheganadens, an Indian Christian family who trace their roots to the Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu. A classical guitarist and double bassist he was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1988. According to an article on Alex Abisheganaden published in Singapore Infopedia, “Alex credits his late brother, Gerard, a fine amateur pianist and cellist, as his greatest influence in music. His first memories of music are hearing his father playing Christian hymns on the violin in the early hours of the morning and classical singing on Geoffrey's gramophone records in his Buffalo Road home. At 15, he inherited Gerard's guitar and taught himself to play using merely a textbook, the Ellis Through School for Guitar. Armed with the basics of playing classical guitar, he attained a technical proficiency equivalent to Grade Six on his own steam. “Among Abisheganden’s earliest performances was his guitar playing with the Indian National Army’s Band at the Azad Hind Radio Station during the years of Japanese Occupation; this being a rare opportunity for earning during the turbulent years. An educationist by profession, Abisheganaden dedicated much of his life to popularising guitar playing. Among his attempts to promote classical guitar playing was his production of the programme Music Making With The Guitar, which was broadcast on national Education Television (ETV) in 1970 and 1971. Abisheganaden also founded the Singapore Classical Guitar Society and was it’s the primary force behind it for over two decades. This is a leaflet for the programme ‘X’Mas with the Abisheganadens’ showcasing the Abisheganaden family including Paul Abisheganaden, Alex Abisheganaden, Gerard Abisheganaden and Jacintha Abisheganaden in performance.
