Matthew Layton and Sam Rickard present Studio 1 - Vision Australia Radio’s weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view.

This week:

We cross to London to talk to a proper musician. He plays the sitar, he plays the tabla and he plays several other instruments whose names we can’t even pronounce. 

His name is Baluji Shrivastav OBE

Yes, he’s worked with the likes of Boy George, Annie Lennox and Kylie Minogue but we’re more interested in his work with the Inner Visions Orchestra (a Stevie Wonder reference we assume) which he founded in 2008.

There are currently 18 musicians in the group and all of them are blind.

It’s all about inclusivity - in terms of cultural background, musical discipline, age, disability and even musical ability,  As you’ll hear during the interview at one point he was trying to encourage Matthew to join!

Baluji doesn’t just help the members of the orchestra to perform and enjoy performing music, he also encourages them to improvise (Western musicians are apparently more comfortable sticking to the notes apparently!) and empowers them to teach classes themselves.

Bulaji also tells us of his first encounters with music as a child in India and the story of how, as a young man, he found himself alone in Nice with just two dollars in his pocket.

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GUESTS AND RESOURCES

Baluji Shivastav OBE - https://www.balujimusicfoundation.org/

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[PHOTO CAPTION: Studio 1 guest Baluji Shrivastav OBE, resplendent in a collarless shirt a very regal-looking orange jacket]

Vision Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.

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