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Around the World on 88 Keys
A Journey through Pianist Ishaan Rao’s Musical World
Musician
From Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to Indian classical music and jazz, not to mention his own compositions, it’s no surprise The Hindu describes Ishaan as ‘a bridge to two cultures’. For Ishaan, there are no boundaries in music—Indian, Western, world music, popular. He sees music as a unifying force that brings people together, regardless of their background, with songs and melody as the uniting thread. Like the ancient saying, Ishaan is trying to create a world he can live in! Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, melody and culture as Ishaan Leonard Rao takes his audience around the world through his 88 keys. Discover the unique versatility, virtuosity and creativity of this pianist and composer.
Ishaan will play a diverse piano repertoire, ranging from classical piano repertoire to Indian classical, Jazz, Brazilian and various folk music traditions, and add to this his own compositions and improvisations. The program features music by iconic composers such as Chopin, Debussy, Albéniz and Heitor Villa Lobos as well as jazz legends Chick Corea and Dave Brubeck.
In collaboration with:
Musician
Ishaan Leonard Rao
Young Indian pianist and composer Ishaan Leonard Rao is an emerging, prodigious talent in the world of music. Eighteen-year-old Ishaan was recently chosen as a Sony Music Group Global Scholar, the only Indian recipient to be chosen from over 70 countries. He currently studies piano under Georgian pianist Giorgi Mikadze at the Berklee College of Music where, in his first year, he received the prestigious certificate for ‘outstanding achievement’ from the piano department. The Indian Express featured him as ‘one of the 5 game-changers’ in 2021 in their year ending cultural roundup.
Ishaan started learning the sitar and the cello at the age of 3, and the piano at the age of 6. As the son of world-renowned musicians, Pandit Shubhendra Rao and Dutch cellist Saskia Rao-de Haas, he grew up in an environment steeped in music. He started writing his own compositions at the age of 5 and went on to be the youngest Indian ever to finish his ABRAM Grade 8 exam, as well as the youngest to be awarded the ARSM performance diploma at the age of 12. He has also studied South Indian rhythm with master percussionist Vidwan B.C. Manjunath. Since a very early age, Ishaan has performed with his parents as the Rao Trio, interpreting music from different cultures and exploring the unifying links between them.
