Until the birth of the Symphony Orchestra of India ( SOI ), India probably never had a symphonic orchestra that was the country ’ s official western musical identity . Many broken or amateur chamber orchestras maybe like the Bombay Symphony Orchestra that gathered local hotel musicians or the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra , but none that were a complete professional body . The SOI based at the National Centre for the Performing Arts ( NCPA ), Mumbai , when founded in 2006 by Khushroo Suntook and internationally-renowned violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev , was received with much skepticism . Very little did anybody anticipate the generous trajectory that the orchestra underwent in just over a decade . Suntook ’ s infectious passion for western classical music , his cultural roots and upbringing , the wealth of knowledge and experience he had accumulated after heading Bisleri and Lakme for Tata , and the juxtaposition of opportunities perhaps gave way to the first official symphony orchestra , a prolific milestone in the country ’ s cultural history . The stellar team of visionaries with Suntook like Bisengaliev , Associate Music Director Zane Dalal , Resident Conductor Evgeny Bushkov , the management at NCPA , and an ever-loving Mumbai audience , have collectively contributed to SOI ’ s enviable success .
“ I ’ ve been listening to music since the time I was a toddler at home on gramophone records , with friendship , with a lot of musicians who were part of the community and we always struggled about getting a good orchestra . We used to get wonderful artists like Yehudi Menuhin , Tito Schipa , Giovanni Martinelli , and there were no orchestra to accompany them . We always wondered , “ Shouldn ’ t we have an orchestra .” I was brought here after thirty years in Tata to head the NCPA . The first thing I noticed was , there were empty halls ! This was a reverse problem ! Most symphonies had no place to play and here we were with large halls and nobody to play ! ( laughs ) And then of course , I heard Marat , invited him over , and we slowly started putting together content . We are still developing . I want to get at least 30-40 Indians in the orchestra so I have a certain permanence , my aim is to make it a completely Indian orchestra , at least a majority ,” Suntook said with a kind smile .
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