Pianist Sahil Vasudeva, who claims to be neither an Indian classical musician nor a commercial artiste says he got the shock of his life when he received a call a week ago from Rashtrapati Bhavan, asking him to perform at the state banquet for the US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, on Tuesday.
“I am thrilled. I am extremely lucky to have been chosen for the big occasion. I hope my performance will help strengthen the cultural dialogue between India and the US,” Vasudeva said .
The 33-year-old Delhi-born musician who was once a banker in the US, will perform for 20 minutes. After receiving the call, he performed for President Ram Nath Kovind who wanted to “get a feel of what kind of music I play and subtly instructed me on what may suit a big occasion,” he said.
Bridging the culture between two great democracies will be the main theme of his performance. “I will play a few Western classical compositions but in my signature style, which is rooted in India. I’ll also play an improvised version of a composition by Phillip Glass, where I have changed the rhythm and the tempo of the original. I plan to play compositions by impressionistic Western classical musicians who have dabbled in Indian scales.”