Robert Gupta is a virtuoso violinist who, at the early age of 20, already has numerous achievements both as a musician and as an activist for mental health problems. His history shows that music therapy can succeed where conventional medicine fails.
He is the youngest member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He entered at just 19 years old, having made his debut at the age of 11 in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Upon his inclusion in the ranks of the famous group, he became the friend and violin instructor of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a schizophrenic musician whose life inspired the book and film “The Soloist.” This company sowed concern in the young man about the therapeutic use of music.
Grupta majored in music at Yale University (USA), but completed his university studies in neuroscience , which allowed him to take part in numerous research projects in neurobiology. He served as a research assistant at CUNY Hunter College in New York, where he worked on neuronal regeneration of the spinal cord, and at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Center for Neurological Diseases, where he studied the biochemical pathology of Parkinson’s disease. These works discovered the efficacy of musical performance as a palliative for depression and anxiety , and the potential of this type of “non-linguistic communication” in improving human relationships.
He currently runs the Street Symphony organization, which promotes free classical music concerts for mentally ill living on the street, incarcerated, or in Veteran communities. In his last statements, the young man affirmed that the reigning bureaucracy and politics in the world of music make the defense of free interpretation directed at an undervalued public incomprehensible for some.
The violinist will speak about his future projects during the IV Congress of Brilliant Minds on November 7, 8 and 9 in Madrid.
Photograph: TED.com
