Gowrishanker Balachandran is an internationally renowned Toronto-based mridangist who has been performing for almost four decades. He is the first and prime disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. Thiruvarur Bakthavatsalam. He has the distinction of accompanying many celebrated artists like Dr. N. Ramani, T. N. Seshagopalan, T. N. Krishnan, T. V. Sankaranarayanan, Kadri Gopalnath, K. J. Yesudas, O. S. Thyagarajan, P. Unnikrishnan, Neyveli Santhanagopalan, N. Ravikiran