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Virtuoso violinist Vijay Gupta discovered perfect pitch at three and was on Oprah at eight. Now he plays Beethoven on Skid Row -- and Hallelujah in Mo's studio on 'The Drawing Room.'

The LA-based violinist discusses his new memoir – and what it means to rethink success, service and the purpose of classical music.

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In this deeply personal essay for DiasporaNEXT, Vijay Gupta reflects on the expectations of immigrant parents, the complicated inheritance of belonging, and the courage it takes to choose a life of one’s own. Tracing his journey from a childhood shaped by his father’s sacrifices and ambitions to his life as a musician and advocate for communities too often overlooked, Gupta considers what it means to honor where we come from while forging our own path. Ultimately, he discovers that choosing the violin, service, and a life beyond his father’s expectations was not a betrayal, but a way of carrying his father’s courage forward.

Violist Andrew Braddock is the editor of the American Suzuki Journal¸ and was previously the editor of the Journal of the American Viola Society. He teaches viola at Western Kentucky University and serves as the co-director of the WKU String Academy. In the summers, he directs the Hilltop String Festival and teaches at the Indiana University Summer String Academy. He is the principal violist of the Paducah Symphony Orchestra and regularly performs with the Nashville Symphony.

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Violinist Vijay Gupta had it all: conservatory standout, member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 19, and rising star playing the music he loved. But something was missing, and the work that radically transformed him began when he launched Street Symphony, performing in the shelters, clinics, and gathering spaces of Skid Row and jails. He witnessed up close the ways music can be a lifeline for communities of every kind, everywhere.

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In this episode, violinist, author, and all-around thoughtful human Vijay Gupta joins the show for a wide-ranging chat about performance, humanity, and why musicians might need to spend less time conquering music and more time accompanying one another through it.

From Juilliard and the LA Phil to Skid Row and Street Symphony, Vijay shares how his experiences outside the concert hall reshaped his approach to music-making and inspired his forthcoming book Restrung: A Memoir of Music and Transformation.

Lock up your trash cans, take a long walk, and enjoy.

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“Thank God someone is doing something for those indigents.”

Across an elegant Bel-Air dining table, a real estate developer raised his wine glass. Not daring to say a word, I tapped mine against his. I knew his firm had just bought up land in downtown Los Angeles, tightening the noose around vital social services, the last lifeline for his so-called “indigents.” Read More

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