Ten-year-old Ayaan Deshpande to perform in Bengaluru on June 29

Ten-year-old Ayaan Deshpande will perform in Bengaluru with the SOI Chamber Orchestra this weekend

Ayaan Deshpande is 10 years old and a concert pianist. The youngster has been training at the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Music Academy, NCPA-Mumbai, since May 2021 under the guidance of Aida Bisengalieva. 

Six months later, he gave his debut performance with the SOI Chamber Orchestra under the direction of maestro Marat Bisengaliev at the Tata Theatre, NCPA. In April 2023, he gave his gave his first piano solo and in May 2023, his first international concert at Kurmangazy Orkestri Kazakh Concert Hall in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he performed with violinist Marat Bisengaliev and an orchestra of Kazakh folk instruments.

At Kazakhstan, he also performed at the School for Autistic Children and the Republican Kazakh Music School. The young prodigy who has performed in the presence of Zubin Mehta and Jazz legends including Herbie Hancock and Dianne Reeves at the NCPA, Mumbai, will be performing in Bengaluru on June 29. 

Ayaan credits his grandfather, Neelesh, for instilling a passion for the keyboards and piano in him. “My grandfather played the harmonium as a hobby,” says Ayaan over the phone from his home in Mumbai. “I learnt a little from him. Soon, my father bought a keyboard and the lockdown happened. There was nothing much to do so I started playing the keyboard.”

Talking chirpily, Ayaan says he started by watching YouTube tutorials. “I used an app called Synthesis. Later, I got a digital piano and I was hooked and I now play the piano with the SOI Chamber Orchestra.”

Ayaan finds learn on YouTube challenging. “I had to listen, stop, go back and listen again. I had to watch and pause the video so many times. With a teacher, offline, it is way easier to learn.” Ayaan practises for about three to four hours a day. “I love swimming and playing football and tennis with my friends.”

The concert in Bengaluru will be a solo performance, accompanied by the SOI orchestra, Ayaan says. “Taking centrestage does make me nervous, but I forget it once I start playing. Before I start playing, I tell myself, ‘this is happening, stay calm and play’.”