About Us

Magic happens when an Indian entrepreneur and music producer, a Swiss-German designer, a Kathak exponent, an Indian private banker, and a British-Indian businessman come together as a passionate team. The South Asian Arts Academy – or simply SAA (the first musical note) – is a non-profit committed to bringing Asian fine art to a global audience through Education, Events, and Exchange.
EDUCATION

EDUCATION

Intensive workshops for schools, universities and the general public exploring Hindustani and Carnatic music as well as diverse painting techniques such as Madhubani, Gond and Patchitra.
EVENTS

EVENTS

Concerts and festivals showcasing traditional South Asian music and dance featuring leading South Asian and international artists.
EXCHANGE

EXCHANGE

Cross-cultural collaborations with renowned international artists bringing together the traditional and the modern cutting across borders and barriers.
Our Mission
To bring the richness of South Asia’s timeless artistic traditions to a wider global audience within a modern sociological and technological context while maintaining the purity and sanctity of the art form and raising awareness of its relevance among diverse ethnic groups.
Our History

Since 2015, our team has produced three cross-cultural mega-concerts that brought together prominent South Asian and international artists. These included Hong Kong’s guitar legend Eugene Pao, erhu virtuosa Jessie Hou, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, music director Anthony Fernandes, and vocalists Baiju Mangeshkar, Smita Jain, Falu Shah, Ronkini Gupta, percussionist Anuradha Pal, and child prodigy Rahul Vellal, apart from local singing talents.

We also conduct music appreciation workshops introducing the richness of South Asian art music to students of music at Hong Kong’s leading universities. Two of our Board members actively nurture and cultivate students learning South Asian vocal and instrumental music.

In 2020 and 2021, we produced KALYANI, an arts festival held at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center that celebrated women in South Asian visual and performing arts. In 2021, our RASA and SAMVAAD concerts showcased local artists presenting traditional South Asian music and dance. This year, we presented two chamber music concerts featuring a sarod recital and a programme of light classical and folk melodies from the ancient city of Benares.

We have also produced two music videos featuring members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic collaborating with South Asian artists. One of these features a composition of the legendary Hridaynath Mangeshkar sung by his son Baiju Mangeshkar, has been released by Saregama India, the oldest record label on the sub-continent.

Our Team
Jayang

JAYANG JHAVERI

Chair

Jayang decided early in life that music meant more to him than anything else: it defined his very existence.

Neesha 2

NEESHA JHAVERI

Director

Grace, elegance and charm sum up Neesha, who brings her experience as a dance teacher and performer to our Board.

Sabine Steffen 1

SABINE STEFFEN

Director – Creative

Sabine has the soul of a true creative and the meticulous approach of an accomplished design professional.

Aditya Jayaraman

ADITYA JAYARAMAN

Director

A well respected private banker and closet percussionist, Aditya knows a lot more than he lets on.