Jasdeep Singh Degun (born 9 September 1991) is a British

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

player and composer from

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

. He is signed to the

Real World Records Real World Records is a British record label specializing in world music. It was founded in 1989 by English musician Peter Gabriel and original members of WOMAD. A majority of the works released on Real World Records feature music recorded at ...

label, on which he released his debut album, ''Anomaly''. In May 2022, he became artist-in-residence at

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays a ...

and in 2024 he was made the first Innovate Fellow at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music educatio ...

. Degun is the first sitar player to be awarded a

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a mem ...

Best Instrumentalist Award.

Early life, education and training

Jasdeep Singh Degun's introduction to

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

took place in his primary school where he began his training in vocal music with Shrimati Gunwant Kaur. He also was a part of the school choir and learnt piano. Degun began to study sitar at the age of fifteen under the guidance of Ustad Dharambir Singh

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...

, who was himself a pupil of Ustad

Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player.BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

series ''Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment'' which culminated in a performance in Buckingham Palace before Prince Harry. As a participant of the programme, Degun was supported by mentors

Guy Chambers Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams. Education Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...

Soweto Kinch Soweto Kinch (born 10 January 1978) is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. Biography Born in 1978 in London, England, to a Barbadian father, playwright Don Kinch, and British-Jamaican actress Yvette Harris, Soweto Kinch began playin ...

Ms Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...

, Steve Abbott and

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

. Between 2011-2014, Degun completed a BA in Music at SOAS University London and in 2016, he went to study as an International Scholar for six months at the

ITC Sangeet Research Academy ITC Sangeet Research Academy is a Hindustani classical music academy run by the corporate house, ITC Ltd. It is located in Kolkata, India. Noted musicians associated with the academy include Ulhas Kashalkar, Falguni Mitra, Ajoy Chakrabarty, Us ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Career

Jasdeep Singh Degun works as a composer, concert performer and music director. He regularly performs solo Indian classical concerts accompanied by a

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player; with chamber ensembles including the

Scottish Ensemble Scottish Ensemble is a professional string orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland and led by Artistic Director and violinist Jonathan Morton. Scottish Ensemble also collaborates with soloists. Recently guest artists have included trumpeter Alison ...

; and with orchestra. In 2022, Degun performed at the Royal Commonwealth Service in the presence of His Royal Highness King Charles III at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

, aired live on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

Real World Records

In 2016, Degun was awarded a

Sky Academy Arts Scholarship Sky Academy Arts Scholarship was a scholarship award for artists, launched in 2011 by Sky and run in conjunction with IdeasTap and Hiive (Now Screenskills). The annual scholarship supported selected artists and creative individuals under the age of ...

to work on an album of contemporary and classical music, ''Anomaly''. As part of the scholarship, he was mentored by multi-instrumentalist and producer,

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian an ...

, who also co-wrote and performed on a track on the album''. Anomaly'' features 33 musicians including sitarist Roopa Panesar, South Indian percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah,

esraj The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, wh ...

violinist Kirpal Panesar, and a 16-piece string ensemble. In 2021, Degun signed to

and released his debut album ''Anomaly'' in May 2022. The album was taken to the concert platform with a nine-piece ensemble in July 2022, launching the tour at London's

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

on 14 May 2022. The ''Anomaly'' album again went on tour with a further series of concerts in 2023.

Opera North

In May 2022, Jasdeep Singh Degun was made artist-in-residence at

, marking his ongoing relationship with the company which began in 2017 when he was music director and composer for ''India's Children: Partition,'' a collaborative project between

and South Asian Arts-uk in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the partition of

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

In 2019, Degun was commissioned by

to write ''Arya: Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra'' which premiered with the orchestra of Opera North in

Huddersfield Town Hall Huddersfield Town Hall is a municipal facility in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the offices of the Huddersfield Improvement Commissioners who had ...

in February 2020''. '' In 2022, Degun was composer, performer and co-music director with

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classic ...

specialist

Laurence Cummings Laurence Cummings (born 1968, Birmingham) is a British harpsichordist, organist, and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of Ancient Music. Biography Cummings was educated at Solihull School, Christ Church, Oxford and the Ro ...

in ''Orpheus: Music by

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is conside ...

and Jasdeep Singh Degun'', commissioned by

and South Asian Arts-uk. ''Orpheus'' premiered at

Leeds Grand Theatre The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theater (building), theatre and opera house in Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It seats approximately 1,500 people. Building It was ...

on 14 October 2022 and was rated number one of

Fiona Maddocks Fiona Maddocks is a British music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "one of the UK's leading writers and commentators on classical music", Maddocks has been chief music critic of ''The Observer'' since 2010. Sh ...

's list of the ten best concerts and operas of 2022 in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

Awards and nominations

* 2016: Yuva Sangeet Ratna Musician of the Year, The National Indian Arts Awards, Milap * 2016:

, announced at the

South Bank Sky Arts Awards The South Bank Sky Arts Awards (originally The South Bank Show Awards) are an accolade recognizing British achievements in the arts. The awards have been given annually since 1997. They originated with the long-running British arts programme ' ...

* 2020: Nominee for an 'Eastern Eye Award for Traditional Music', in the Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (ACTAs) * 2022: 'Outstanding Achievement in Opera Award',

The Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national professional body of British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics, which was formed in 1906 but had become ...

Music Awards for ''Orpheus: Music by Claudio Monteverdi and Jasdeep Singh Degun'' * 2023: 'Best Newcomer',

Songlines A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Drea ...

Music Awards * 2023: Nominee for 'Best Album (Asia and Pacific category)',

Songlines Music Awards ''Songlines'' is a British magazine launched in 1999 that covers music from traditional and popular to contemporary and fusion, featuring artists from around the globe. ''Songlines'' is published 10 times a year and contains CD reviews, artist i ...

* 2023: Art and Culture Award, Asian Achievers Awards * 2023: Nominee for an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been aw ...

for 'Best Stage Work', The Ivors Classical Awards * 2023: 'Best Stage Production', Asian Media Awards, for ''Orpheus: Music by Claudio Monteverdi and Jasdeep Singh Degun'' * 2024: 'Instrumentalist Award',

Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards are given annually for live classical music-making in the United Kingdom. The awards were first held in 1989 and are independent of any commercial interest. Since 2003, BBC Radio 3 has been the media ...

* 2024: Nominee for 'Large Scale Composition',

Works and releases

* ''The Bridge'' for

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form i ...

and

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

, commissioned by zerOclassikal (2017) * ''Arya: Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra'', commissioned by

(2019) '''' * ''Anomaly'', album released on

(May 2022) ** ''Veer'', single released on

(December 2021) ** ''Ulterior Motives'', single released on

(March 2022) ** ''Sajanava'', single released on

(April 2022) * ''Orpheus: Music by Claudio Monterverdi and Jasdeep Singh Degun'', opera commissioned by

and South Asian Arts-uk (2022) * ''Aapki Khushi'', single released on

(March 2023) * ''Cycles¹⁵'', commissioned by

(January 2023) * ''Lament'', single released on

(February 2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Degun, Jasdeep 1991 births Living people Alumni of SOAS University of London British Asian musicians English people of South Asian descent Sitar players