Abhay Rustum Sopori (born 7 June 1979) is an Indian Santoor player, music composer and conductor. He is the son of Santoor player Pandit Bhajan Sopori, known for his versatility, innovations and experimentation. Sopori has received awards in recognition of his contribution in the field of music, and is one of the youngest recipients of awards such as 'Bharat Shiromani Award' & 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar'. Abhay was invited to speak at the international conference TEDx.
Life and career
Early life and family
Abhay Rustum Sopori was born on 7 June 1979 in the city of Srinagar situated in the Kashmir valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India into a Kashmiri Pandit family. His parents were musician Bhajan Sopori and Aparna Sopori, a professor of English literature. He learned Santoor under the traditional Guru-Shishya Parampara of his mystic Shaivite-Sufi tradition from his grandfather Shamboo Nath Sopori, hailed as the "Father of Classical Music" in Jammu and Kashmir and his father Bhajan Sopori.
Abhay represents the Sufiana Gharana of Kashmir, coming from a family of traditional Santoor players, spanning over nine generations spread over more than 300 years.
Sopori has a bachelor's and master's degree in Music from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, India and holds bachelors in Commerce from Delhi University and Computers from Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Career
Sopori was trained in Indian classical music from his childhood, as well as Western and Sufiana music. Apart from santoor, he also learned vocals, Indian classical sitar, Sufiana sitar and piano. He recorded his first song at the age of 3 for a musical feature for All India Radio composed by his father and was also part of his father's grand choral presentation featuring over 8000 voices in Srinagar Kashmir in 1985.
He presented his first Choral presentation featuring over 100 singers in October 2005 in Kashmir organised by Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts (SaMaPa). Abhay's J&K Folk Music Ensembles (Soz-o-Saaz) have also been presented at various other festivals and conferences, which include the 'Jammu & Kashmir Festival' presented at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in New Delhi in 2009 and Ganesh Kala KridaRangmanch in Pune in 2010, which left the audiences captivated and mesmerized. Abhay's Classical fusions have also received rave reviews.
In 2000, Abhay started his musical work in Kashmir performing for the youth across the Valley promoting Indian classical music and culture and is credited with changing the entire cultural scenario of Jammu & Kashmir bringing the youth together through music. His concerts in border areas of J&K have been attended by over 20,000 people.
Since his debut as a Classical Santoor player in mid 1990s, Abhay has performed in prestigious festivals across India and around the world in countries like the United States, Russia, Brazil, Mauritius, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, France, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia, Ukraine, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Morocco, Iran, Israel, Bahrain, Dubai, etc.
Sopori introduced the concept of 'Sufi Music Ensemble' titled 'Sufi Kinship®’ in 2011 featuring 35 musicians and Santoor led an Indian Classical Music Ensemble in 2014 featuring 25 musicians and performed at various concerts across India.
He scored the music for the fusion composition titled Haftrang (seven colors in Kashmiri) in 2013 performed by the Bavarian State Orchestra of Germany, together with his Kashmiri folk music ensemble Soz-o-Saaz, giving international recognition to Kashmiri music. The concert was telecast live in more than 100 countries. The orchestra consisted of around 100 musicians.
Sopori has also done international collaborations including presentations with the Austrian Vienna Boys Choir, Moroccan Lutist Haj Younis, Iranian santoor player Darius Saghafi, American dulcimer player Malcom Dalgish, French clarinetist Laurent Clouet & others.
He has held various cultural positions like:
General Secretary, SaMaPa (Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts) (SaMaPa), one of the most prominent and prestigious music academies and organizations of India (2005 onwards) Member of Central Committee, J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, Govt. of J&K (2016 onwards) Member of General Council, J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, Govt. of J&K (2016 onwards) Member, Editorial Board, JK Music Initiative, Music Journal by Department of Higher Education, Govt. of J&K (2018 onwards) Visiting Faculty, University of Massachusetts, Amherst USA (2004)