Lavin Exclusive Speaker
Vijay Gupta believes that the work of the artist and citizen is one: to make a daily practice of the connected, creative, and courageous world we long to live in. Hailed by The New Yorker as “a visionary violinist...one of the most radical thinkers in the unradical world of American classical music,” Gupta is an esteemed musician and thought leader serving to create spaces of belonging, healing, and wholeness through music.
Gupta’s labor of love lies in the creation and direction of Street Symphony, a musical community that shifts the context of conversations about homelessness, addiction, and incarceration from retribution to transformation. Street Symphony engages the Skid Row community of Los Angeles through musical encounters and intimate conversations, operating on the core principle that every person has a story to be told, and heard. As a speaker, Gupta shares his vision for transformative community engagement in the form of musical keynote lectures, workshops, and strategic conversations for companies, conferences, universities, and non-profit organizations. He recently delivered the 33rd annual Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy—a lecture previously given by Yo-Yo Ma and Maya Angelou—where he was introduced by the Honorable Speaker Nancy Pelosi. To date, his TED Talk, “Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity,” has garnered millions of views.
A recording artist, an ardent chamber musician, and collaborator, Gupta made his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age 11, and has performed as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician on an international scale since the age of 8. He has also performed as a guest concertmaster with the Los Angeles Opera and the UK’s acclaimed Philharmonia Orchestra. Gupta served as a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for 12 years, which he joined as the youngest violinist in the orchestra’s history.
For his work in bringing beauty, respite, and purpose to those all too often ignored by society, while encouraging us to reflect on many ways we can all make a difference in our world today, Gupta is the recipient of a MacArthur grant. In 2019, he was named one of TIME’s “100 Next,” the magazine’s inagural list putting a spotlight on rising stars shaping the future. In October 2020, Gupta will headline with Kronos String Quartet in UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance “Tune In” festival honoring Pete Seeger. A strategic and artistic advisor for organizations across the United States, Gupta currently serves on the Board of Directors of Americans for the Arts.