Speaking Engagements
vijay on the road
Vijay Gupta is a nationally recognized speaker whose work sits at the intersection of performance, neuroscience, leadership, ethics, and social impact. A former youngest-ever member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, founder of the nonprofit Street Symphony, and author of the forthcoming memoir Restrung (Hachette), Gupta brings uncommon credibility to conversations about excellence, burnout, belonging, and purpose.
His keynotes draw from lived experience across elite performance environments, hospitals, prisons, shelters, universities, and global stages. Rather than offering motivational platitudes, Gupta speaks to how individuals and institutions sustain excellence without losing their humanity.
Gupta has delivered keynotes and residencies for universities, healthcare systems, corporations, cultural institutions, and conferences across the United States and internationally. His work resonates with students, executives, clinicians, artists, educators, and mission-driven organizations navigating high pressure, ethical complexity, and change.
booking
Vijay Gupta is represented exclusively for speaking engagements by The Lavin Agency.
Why Organizations Invite Vijay Gupta
Gupta’s talks are consistently described as grounded, challenging, and deeply human.
- Former youngest member of a top-tier global orchestra
- Founder and Artistic Director of Street Symphony, serving unhoused and incarcerated communities
- Trusted speaker in healthcare, education, and leadership settings
- Combines intellectual rigor with narrative clarity
- Brings credibility across artistic, academic, and corporate world
Core Keynote Topics
Practice Meets Purpose
What elite performance can teach about meaning, resilience, and long-term growth.
Drawing on neuroscience, music training, and leadership research, this keynote reframes practice as an ethical and psychological discipline. Gupta explores how organizations cultivate excellence that is sustainable rather than extractive, and how individuals learn to make the right kinds of mistakes.
IDEAL FOR
Universities, leadership retreats, innovation summits, creative industries
Music as Medicine, Music as Sanity
What the brain, the body, and communities reveal about healing and connection.
Based on Gupta’s widely viewed TED Talk and his work with Street Symphony in healthcare and correctional settings, this keynote examines music as a tool for regulation, dignity, and human connection. The focus is not performance, but what listening itself reveals about empathy, trauma, and care.
IDEAL FOR
Healthcare systems, medical schools, wellness initiatives, public health conferences
Burnout, Belonging, and the Cost of Excellence
Why high achievers break—and how institutions can respond differently.
Having stepped away from a world-class orchestra at the height of his career, Gupta speaks candidly about burnout in elite environments. This keynote addresses the cultural myths surrounding grit and success, and offers a more humane framework for ambition.
IDEAL FOR
Corporate leadership teams, faculty communities, professional associations
Art, Ethics, and Civic Responsibility
What artists, institutions, and leaders owe the public.
Drawing from philosophy, history, and lived experience, Gupta explores the role of cultural institutions in moments of crisis. This keynote is especially relevant to organizations asking how values translate into action, and how storytelling shapes public trust.
IDEAL FOR
Arts organizations, nonprofits, cultural institutions, philanthropy forums
Failure as a Teacher
Why learning stalls when mistakes are avoided.
Informed by neuroscience and performance psychology, this talk reframes failure as a necessary form of feedback rather than a deficit. Gupta connects learning theory with lived practice in music, medicine, and leadership.
IDEAL FOR
Students, educators, entrepreneurship programs, innovation labs
Formats Offered
Programs can be tailored for students, faculty, executives, clinicians, creatives, or community audiences.
- Keynote addresses (45–75 minutes)
- Moderated conversations and fireside chats
- Multi-day university or institutional residencies
- Performative lectures integrating live violin
- Workshops for students, clinicians, or leadership teams
booking
Vijay Gupta is represented exclusively for speaking engagements by The Lavin Agency.
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