Vijay Gupta is a violinist, speaker and author, leading a protean career as a performer, curator and thought leader.

As the founding artistic director of Street Symphony, Vijay is a nationally celebrated leader in how music can be a transformative force for humanity, connection and hope.

From prisons, county jails and LA’s Skid Row to concert halls, campuses, and companies across the world, Vijay’s work is the embodiment of the generous, generative power of music to heal the world – and ourselves.

Vijay Gupta has performed as an international recitalist, soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician for over 20 years, playing his solo debut at age 11 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta.

Vijay won his first orchestral audition and joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2007, when he was 19 years old – the youngest violinist to ever join a top-tier American orchestra, where he remained for 12 years.

Increasingly in demand as a soloist, curator, and chamber musician, Vijay has collaborated with the artists from the Kronos Quartet to Yo-Yo Ma and folk music legend Pete Seeger, and appears regularly with the Strings Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

He has also performed as a guest concertmaster with the Los Angeles Opera and the UK’s acclaimed Philharmonia Orchestra, and served as 2023 Artist in Residence at Music Worcester. Vijay is a founding member of the innovative Darshan Trio, and a member of Tesserae Baroque.

“Music isn’t a form of entertainment, it’s a lifeline. All art is a kind of soul-metabolism: a way of transforming pain, grief and trauma into something which nourishes.”

A riveting speaker, Vijay has shared his work and music with dozens of corporations, campuses, conferences and communities across America over the past 10 years, including The Richmond Forum, The Aspen Institute, Hallmark, Accenture, Mayo Clinic, US Psychiatric Congress, American Planning Association, and the League of American Orchestras, just to name a few. His three TED talks have garnered millions of views.

Vijay’s musical keynotes focus on the intersection of the arts and wellness, education, mental health, public policy and urban planning.