TEDxAldeburgh - Nitin Sawhney - What is the point of music?

In this talk Nitin asks the question 'what is the point of music?' For an answer he draws on his own personal experiences of music, Indian musical thought, dance, theatre, cultural identity, the concepts of a 'universal sound' and the individuals unique 'voice'.

Nitin Sawhney's output as a musician is astonishing. He has scored for and performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, and collaborated with and written for the likes of Paul McCartney, Sting, The London Symphony Orchestra, A. R. Rahman, Brian Eno, Sinead O'Conner, Anoushka Shankar, Jeff Beck, Shakira, Will Young, Taio Cruz, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Ellie Goulding, Cirque Du Soleil, Akram Khan, Mira Nair, Nelson Mandela and John Hurt. Performing extensively around the world, he has achieved an international reputation across every possible creative medium. Often appearing as Artist in Residence, Curator or Musical Director at international festivals, Sawhney works tirelessly for musical education, acting as patron of the British Government's Access-to-music programme and the East London Film Festival and acting as a judge for The Ivor Novello Awards, BAFTA, BIFA and the PRS foundation. He is a recipient of 4 honorary doctorates from British universities, is a fellow of LIPA and the Southbank University, an Associate of Sadler's Wells, sits on the board for London's Somerset House and Whitechapel Gallery and in 2007 turned down an OBE for ethical reasons.

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