Vijay Venkat is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, performer and composer specialising in the violin, viola, flute, vichitra veena (an ancient Indian fretless slide instrument) in the South Indian Classical (Carnatic) music style.
He has performed at major musical festivals and organisations in India and abroad as a soloist, including the Madras Music Academy, Autumn Festival (Paris), Soest (Netherlands), Manchester International Festival, Summer Solstice Festival of South Asian Arts (Leeds), Leeds International Festival, Migration Matters Festival (Sheffield), Bradford Festival, Preston Mela and several others, frequently collaborating with artists across multiple disciplines.
Vijay has also produced a specially-commissioned composition for the members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and performed with them on vichitra veena, and in 2015 played with the Orchestra for the first ever BBC Music Day.
Vijay is a member of the Indian government’s Indian Council for Cultural Relations, spreading good will around the world as a cultural ambassador. He holds an M.Phil degree in Anthropology from the University of Madras, India and a Masters degree in Music from the Middlesex University, London.
As well as touring solo, he regularly performs with groups including world music ensemble Rafiki-Jazz, reggae, soul and hip-hop group Caution Collective, sufi folk trio Ruhaani Trio and his own Vijay Venkat’s Jazz Fusion.
New North and South
This show is part of New North and South – a three year programme of co-commissions, exhibitions and intellectual exchange to celebrate shared heritage across continents and develop artistic talent, produced by a new network of eleven arts organisations from across the North of England and South Asia.
The New North and South network, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence programme, will bring prominence to the work of leading Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and UK artists and include new artistic commissions, exhibitions and performances in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool and in Colombo, Dhaka, Lahore, Karachi and Kochi.
