Gaurav Venkateswar

In a world where globalization has brought together a plethora of cultures and spawned an abundance of creative musical ideas, it is of rare merit to create music that is fresh and unique. Gaurav Venkateswar is able to do just that. Born on January 27 th 1982 , and raised in Chicago , Gaurav never strayed far from his heritage and had a wholehearted interest in Indian music at an early age. Growing up with mixed Indian heritage (mother being from Uttar Pradesh and father being Tamil), he was constantly exposed to both north Indian and south Indian cultural traditions. Thanks to a strong musical environment at home, he started learning music by ear, playing on the keyboard and later started piano lessons at age 8. He began learning Hindustani classical vocal music a year later under the tutelage of Dr. Tapan Bhattacharyya and continued training for several years. For the past few years he has been studying with Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty and he continues to explore the infinite richness of Indian classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic. Gaurav's main passion, however, lies in composition. He began writing Hindi lyrics and orchestrating songs at age 13 and since then has discovered the potential for an intense musical experience by integrating music and sounds from various musical genres. It is his soul, which authors his compositions as he constructs an expressive and unique sound with a multitude of time-honored instruments from various countries while preserving the bona fide aspects of their tradition.

Gaurav has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His academic background enabled him to create novel words in a world of musical syntax. During his studies at UIUC, he reveled in music classes as he challenged both musicians and audiences alike. Classes such as Western composition, jazz, and electro-acoustic have contributed animation to his sentimental yet commanding style. He has performed Hindustani vocal, Carnatic on the keyboard, and light music. He participated in cultural activities, performing for charitable organizations, and scored the music for the short entertainment film screened each year at UIUC’s India Night. In addition he has been part of an Indian-American a Capella group.

Outside of his present career in IT consulting, Gaurav is currently a one-man-show, composing, recording, singing, and writing lyrics for his songs. He has composed music for two Bharatanatyam dance pieces for the Natya Dance Theatre in Chicago.The pieces, entitled the Genesis and Inside-Outside, involve a fusion of different music elements, both traditional and modern and received critical acclaim at its premier at the Music of Contemporary Art in Chicago. In addition he has participated in the Great Wall International Music Composition Competition composing music in a mix of western and Chinese style. Gaurav has performed with world music artists such as Karsh Kale and the MIDIval Punditz, and has also collaborated with the Aakash Mittal Quartet, a jazz band that plays independent jazz inspired by Indian musical traditions. He has released two singles available for sale on iTunes and Amazon.com.  One of these singles, "Kab Se", received Honorable Mention in the 10th Annual (2005-2006) UNISONG International Songwriting Contest. He hopes to grow even more in the coming years, constantly reinventing himself, and to collaborate with other peer musicians. The charm of his music? Every note is inspired from tradition, seized by an innovative musical capacity, and inundated with sentiment.