Messages from the Director
Abhijit Sengupta's Bio
Abhijit Sengupta was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Indian parents and was brought up in a household full of song and dance. His mother was trained in Indian classical dance and, accompanied by his father at the tabla, choreographed and produced a number of Indian ballets.
Mr. Sengupta is the newly appointed artistic director and CEO of Fontana Chamber Arts in Kalamazoo, MI. He has previously served as principal viola of the Florida Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera and Bergen Philharmonic in Norway. In 2005 he chose to pursue an unconventional career path by establishing himself as a musician equally at home on stage and in administration, accepting an appointment as artistic administrator at Da Camera of Houston. He has served as adjudicator of grant applications for arts funding for the cities of Houston and Dallas, panelist for the Chamber Music America national conference and as a result of his participation in executive education seminars conducted by National Arts Strategies, he was invited to join their Future Leaders online forum.
Mr. Sengupta continues to be an active violist and can be heard with the Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera and Ballet, early music and new music ensembles, as well as on the Fontana series. He appears annually at the Grand Teton Music Festival and has performed at the Spoleto Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Sunflower Festival, Next Generation Festival and the Sangat Festival in India.
In 1996, he joined the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, where he worked closely with music director Michael Tilson Thomas and served as principal viola during the tenth anniversary tour to New York and Europe. He was a winner of the New World Symphony Concerto Competition and in 1997 was invited to the Isle of Man to compete in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, where he was awarded the Sir John Barbirolli Prize. It was during his years in Miami Beach when he first tried his hand as concert presenter, serving as director of Musicians Forum – an eclectic series of chamber music and jazz.
Mr. Sengupta attended Yale University, graduating in 1994 with a degree in economics. He was a prominent member of the musical communities of both Yale College and the Yale School of Music, where he was a viola student of Jesse Levine. Throughout his undergraduate years, he performed frequently as recitalist and chamber musician and appeared as soloist with the Yale Symphony as winner of the William Waite Concerto Competition. At commencement, he was awarded the prestigious New Prize for artistic excellence. Following graduation, Mr. Sengupta was accepted into the viola class of Donald McInnes as a full scholarship student at the University of Southern California School of Music, graduating in 1996 with a master’s degree in viola performance.
