“We believe music straddles borders that divide. Music unites!”
The South Asian Symphony Foundation
The Foundation is a Trust registered in July 2018 in Bangalore, India
The Founding Trustees are Nirupama Menon Rao and Sudhakar Rao.
Orchestras are beautiful creations, they transcend race, religion, language and borders. They are microcosms of the world –where different musicians and instruments join in harmony together, where walls begin to crumble, and differences recede. In an orchestra, all musicians are equal – music cannot be made without everyone doing their job. Habits of cooperation are inculcated and coordination and self-discipline are hallmarks. Friendships are formed and these friendships are taken home. Over time, the orchestra can be an avenue to greater cooperation and be a peace-builder. As its members play, they have to listen to each other, to balance their sound within the larger sound and make a performance happen. The players develop empathy for those around them in the orchestra.
Why South Asia, you may ask. South Asia has often been defined as just India and Pakistan, but the history of the region is much more nuanced and incredibly vibrant. South Asia extends from Afghanistan, through Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, through India, Sri Lanka and to the Maldives. Nationalism has trumped regionalism in this space. We would like our Orchestra to point the way to recognition of the fact that South Asia is in many ways an integer, bound more together by our commonalities than our differences. To quote the famous words of Ambassador Vijayalakshmi Pandit, before the United Nations, “Let us sweat in peace, not bleed in war”.

Nirupama Rao
Founder-Trustee

Sudhakar Rao
Founder-Trustee

Neeta Helms
Artistic Advisor to the Orchestra