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Friday Morning Plenary Speaker
Vijay Gupta is a violinist and renowned advocate for the regenerative presence of artistic voices in social issues. Gupta joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2007 at the age of 19, after having completed an undergraduate degree in biology and a Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. He made his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age 11, and has performed as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician on an international scale since the age of eight. He has also performed as a guest concertmaster with the Los Angeles Opera and the UK’s acclaimed Philharmonia Orchestra. He frequently appears on the Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella (new music) and Chamber Music series and is actively involved in several Philharmonic-based community engagement and education initiatives.
Gupta is a passionate advocate for the dedicated presence of citizen-artists in social and civic discourse. He founded and directs Street Symphony, a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging distinguished musicians in performance and dialogue with marginalized communities of people experiencing poverty, homelessness and incarceration. A gifted spokesperson for the power of arts to change lives and reconnect us to our shared humanity, Gupta is a TED speaker and Senior Fellow. In 2015, at the age of 27, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of La Verne.
