It all started when Vijay Gupta met the African American and Julliard-trained musician, Nathaniel Ayers, (Jamie Fox played Mr. Ayers in the movie titled "The Soloist"), who was diagnosed with schizophrenia decades ago and ended up homeless and living on the streets of Los Angeles, but played his music day and night to escape his troubles.
When Gupta first visited Ayers at a local skid row mental health agency, it occurred to him that "this place needs music as much as a concert hall needs it. He approached the director of the agency and everything fell into place. Vijay and his quartet performed and the patients loved it and since then the group has been performing all over Los Angeles in the most unlikely of places.
Inspired by Nathaniel's story and his love of music, Vijay and a friend formed a nonprofit called "Street Symphony" and started recruiting local musicians. He said, "the more I saw, the more I felt that I didn't have a choice but to play this classical music for the people".
Vijay continues; "At the beginning, I thought we were changing the paradigm of access for those who can't afford to go to a concert, so we go to them. And then the question became, do we have access to these people?" We, as a people, have made a choice to not look at homeless people, but it is a privilege to play for these people because their reactions are very human."
The group's latest engagement was quite and eye-opening experience as the quartet of Vijay Gupta and Jason Uyeyama on violin with Joy Song on cello and Zach Dillinger on viola, entered the rather dingy room to play for a crowd of 85.
The first movement was "Hayden's Sunrise" and the reaction was instantaneous. A woman in the first row smiled and closed her eyes. In the second row, two attendees wept. In another row a woman sat at the edge of her seat with her hands on her chin with a look of astonishment and joy on her face. When this piece ended there were howls of approval. Some in the audience stood, cheered, and applauded, and the musicians appeared to be as much in awe as their fans. Vijay's comment was, "thank you for reminding us why we make music".
The next movement was "Mozart's Duo in B flat". While the music played one could observe a note written on a blackboard that summed up the moment and echoed the spirit of Thanksgiving. The note read, "When there is compassion, giving is not a burden, but a joy."
Vijay Gupta, who is obviously into his craft brought even more cheers from the crowd and brought them to their feet when he introduced composer and singer Reena Esmall who kept everyone on their feet clapping and singing madly.
A few responses from those in this very intimate setting..............
"This was my first symphony and I hope that it won't be my last"
"Music digs deep into my soul. Melody calls me, it's soothing, and it lets me know I am safe emotionally and spiritually and I can go where I want to go."
Jessica Diaz states, "you can feel different emotions in the music. It inspires you and makes you feel like you are in another world."
My fellow observers, the 85 people that Vijay and his quartet were playing to where the women in the Los Angeles County jail and to say the least, for the inmates and the musicians, it was a transformative encounter that they all appreciated and will never forget because it reminded them of what the human spirit and music can do.
Mad Man
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