Violin 26 (Vijay Playing & Interview)
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[Vijay Gupta]
My name is Vijay Gupta, I play the violin,
and I started playing the violin
just before my fourth birthday.
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My very first teacher lived
on an apple farm,
and her name was Mrs. Crist.
And she used to have
this giant basket
of really small McIntosh apples,
and she used to hand them out like candy
after lessons.
And it's just a sweet memory
to think about now.
A very personal one.
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Music, for me, isn't about passion.
Music, for me, is like oxygen.
It's like a language
that can never lie.
It's a conversation that can happen
between people without one word.
Music, for me, is beauty.
It's ecstasy.
It is worship
and the highest blessing
I can imagine
in my life.
Music, for me, is all about joy.
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I was very lucky growing up
to study
with some of the greatest teachers out there—
teachers at the Juilliard School
in Manhattan,
at the Manhattan School of Music—
and we exist in a time now
where we are painfully aware
of the lack
of music programs
in public schools—
the active cutting
of these programs—
and also, at the same time,
the lack of access
to the kind
of world class music education
that only exists in specific places
on the planet.
And I think that a project like this,
and why I chose
to become a part
of a project like this,
is to change that narrative
about how people have,
and which people have access
to music.
I feel that music plays
a fundamental role
in bringing people together
in our society.
What better way to teach someone
about empathy
than to give an instrument—
an instrument that can never lie—
put an instrument in their hands
and teach them about discipline
and integrity.
It is such a joy
to be part of this project,
and I so look forward
to the very bright future ahead of us.
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