Indian National Youth Orchestra

The Indian National Youth Orchestra, which was founded by composer and conductor Vijay Uphadhyaya, runs workshops and promotes orchestral music for young and emerging musicians in India. In September 2015, an AVL Cultural Foundation and Madras Music Association collaboration resulted in a selection of talented young musicians travelled to india for two weeks of training with Upadhyaya.

The aim of the project was to support young people to learn musical instruments and master their art, and the workshops presented the participants with an opportunity to gain experience as part of an orchestra.

Supported by experienced orchestral musicians and instructors, the two week intensive classical music workshop ended with a gala performance. Audiences were treated to new arrangements for orchestra and choir of pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Debussy, Schubert and Rheinberger. The evening culminated in a performance of Upadhyaya’s own composition, Anandam, which blends European music with traditional Indian songs from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. 70 musicians, a group of Indian percussionists and 130 singers came together to perform the piece, with the support of Grammy award-winning composer and music producer Ricky Kej. Bringing together musical talent – emerging and established – in this way resulted in a wonderful collaboration to help the young Austrian and Indian performers start their international music careers.