Rushi Vakil Biography
Having grown up in a musical family, for Rushi (son of Pandit Divyang Vakil, world-renowned Indian music maestro), music runs in his blood. With formal training in Indian classical percussion for over 25 years and teaching himself keyboard for over 10 years, he has a great understanding of both Indian and World music. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays the tabla, keyboards, harmonica, Cajon, dumbek, udu, and accordion with significant proficiency. For over a decade, he has been professionally composing and producing original music for various domestic and international projects. He has also been creating original and collaborative music with many renowned musicians around the world. His songs showcase a great blend of various music genres with a vast variety of instruments and sounds. His scores include both classical and contemporary feel, and always find a way to bring them closer. From Rap to Jazz, Pop to Folk and EDM to Classical, he creates scores and tracks that appeal to a huge number of music lovers. His work includes composing and directing music for many dramas, short films, animations, commercials, movies, and games. This includes his latest Indian regional movie, “SHUBHARAMBH,” as well as India’s biggest animation movie, “Kid Krrish,” and the short film “Bhinti Maage,” which won the very prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. As a music producer/composer, he recently composed and produced music for the cultural event “WOVEN -THE INDIAN AMERICAN STORY” which was presented in the beginning of one of the most talked-about recent global event, Howdy Modi, where the American President and the Indian Prime Minister came together on the same stage in Texas, USA in front of a crowd of 55000 plus. As a performer, he travels with his groups “Talavya” and “Taan” to North American, European and East Asian countries on a regular basis and performs at some of the most prestigious venues. As a teacher, Rushi has been teaching master classes at various universities and academic institutions such as NYU, Mercer University, Ohio University, Denver School of music, Queens University, Mount Allison University to name a few. He heads Rhythms Riders Music Institute in India where he has been teaching hundreds of students of the new generation over the years.
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If music be the food of love, play on.
Composer
Rushi’s compositions reflect his years of training as a percussionist and his immense love for melody. He believes in creating music that touches listeners’ hearts in the most mellifluous way. His compositions represent genres like Bollywood, fusion, contemporary, classical, folk, blues, orchestral, world music, and more. One can hear the richness of sounds, the harmony of artistically blended instruments, the grandeur of orchestral dynamics and foot-tapping grooves in his composition. As a composer, he loves to experiment with new sounds and genres, and the musician inside him thrives for the perfect balance between simplicity and innovation.
Performer
Rushi displays as much versatility as a composer as he does as a performer. Being a multi-instrumentalist, he is able to candidly showcase different shades of his musicality on the stage. As a classical Tabla player, he has performed at various mainstream music festivals around the globe with the contemporary Tabla ensemble, Talavya, as a group leader. With his own world music band, Taan, he can be seen playing the role of a keyboardist, a harmonica player, a multi-percussionist, and a conductor. He has also performed with several bands, orchestras and even served as a conductor. Always focused on establishing a connection with his audiences, Rushi is able to make them feel what he feels and give them an abundantly memorable experience.
Teacher
Rushi has been teaching music for over 15 years. As the third generation of the family of teachers, coaching abilities run in his blood. He started with giving Tabla lessons at Rhythm Riders Music Institute, Ahmedabad, one of the biggest music academies of Gujarat state. For years, he taught over 100 students every year various instruments like Tabla, Keyboards, and Percussion. As a teacher, he tries to bring out and nourish the individuality of each student. He has been teaching Indian classical music theories to the students of various countries in private classes as well as university residencies. He has given talks, lectures, and demonstrations at universities such as NYU, Mercer University, Ohio University, Denver School of music, Queens University, Mount Allison University to name a few. He guides many professional musicians, percussionists, and singers. Many of his students currently work as professional musicians or teachers. His teaching style bridges the traditional integrity to modern techniques, classical ideas and extreme dedication to contemporary open-mindedness.