Music-maker plays to his own beat
Contemporary violinist scores at top US college
MUSIC, says violinist Sumeet Sarkar, has always followed him around. Now the 19-year-old is happy to return the favour as he prepares to move to the US next year to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Sarkar is one of two African students to have secured a place at the contemporary music school, where he will be under the tutelage of musicians such as Esperanza Spalding, John Meyer, Nora Jones and film-score composer John Williams.
“I began playing music when I was about five years old. I played in church orchestras and it moved on from there.”
The Pietermaritzburg-born National Youth Orchestra member grew up in East London, went to school in Johannesburg and currently lives in Bloemfontein, where he practises, performs and teaches youngsters in a community music project.
He has taken his music to most parts of South Africa and performed alongside several professional musicians from around the world. His move from his family home in East London to Johannesburg on his own at the age of 15 was prompted by a decision to make music his life.
“I realised [I had] musical ambitions so I moved to Johannesburg where I studied at the National School of the Arts, said Sarkar. “I have no family in Joburg so it was a big thing in the family — they always thought I’d go into medicine or science. So it took a lot for them to trust me.”
He also plays the guitar, piano, drums and Chinese instruments, and fills every moment he can with his work.
“It’s not a job, it’s a career. It’s my life now. I am constantly working at it so that, when I perform, it’s like I am serving the audience a meal that I’ve been preparing all the time. I try to aim for about eight hours a day. I try to practise as much as I sleep.”
His parents, doctors Subrapa and Meera, “both have a musical side”, as do his younger siblings, Suarav, 16, and Priyanka, 17. His brother and sister play the piano and violin respectively.
He counts his music teachers, Samson Diamond and Noel Stockton, as major influences.
Sarkar is worried about whether he will be able to raise the R600 000 he needs to attend Berklee.
He has been working to raise the money since he triumphed at his March audition in the US.
“I played a Charlie Parker [piece] on the violin, which they found amazing because I managed to make it sound like a saxophone.”
Sarkar’s dream is to open the first jazz violin school in Africa. He loves the genre for the freedom it gives him to “improvise, to interpret”.
“I want to bring the classical side together with the contemporary side and reach that sweet spot.”
He says the feat, though tricky, has been achieved by musicians such as Hugh Masekela. “So it’s not impossible. I just want people to get along. The classical side and the contemporary side of music don’t get along.”
Sarkar has raised R150 000 so far. E-mail ssarkar@berklee.edu or phone 072-149-8094 if you would like to contribute to his fees.