Vijaya Iyer

Vijaya Iyer: Biography in Details

Who is Vijaya Iyer?

Vijaya Iyer is well-recognized as an American composer, pianist, bandleader, producer, and writer. The New York Times described him as a social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, multicultural gateway, and historical thinker.

Currently, he served as the senior faculty in the Department of Music at Harvard University as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts.

How many siblings does Vijaya Iyer have?

Vijaya Iyer was born on October 26, 1971, in Albany, New York, United States. But he was raised in Fairport, New York. He holds American citizenship and is of Indian-American descent.

His surname is Raghunathan but he changed it to Iyer after college, at Yale. He is the son of Raghu Raghunathan and Sita Raghunathan. He has an older sister named Pratima who is a scientist in Georgia.

Vijaya is permanently from India but his parent’s immigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s. At that time, his father came to the University of Florida to obtain a doctorate in Pharmacology.

Education & Early Life

Moving towards his academics, Vijaya Iyer attended Yale University and received his undergraduate degree in Mathematica and physics. Afterward, he joined the University of California, Berkeley to pursue a doctorate in physics.

From the age of three, Iyer’s parents took him to violin class where he received 15 years of Western classical training on the violin.

After graduation, Vijaya Iyer continued to pursue his musical interests, playing in ensembles led by drummers E. W. Wainwright and Donald Bailey. Similarly, he has also worked with Steve Coleman and George E. Lewis in the year 994.

Vijaya Iyer: Professional Life, Career

• While collaborating with Steve Coleman and George E. Lewis, the band released numerous albums like Break Stuff, Accelerando, Historicity, and more.
• In 2003, he released his collaborative studio album, In What Language on PI Recordings alongside American hip-hop musician Mike Ladd. The song is about airports, fear, and surveillance before and after 9/11 commissioned by the Asia Society.
• Likely, his major collaboration album with Ladd is Still Life with Commentator (2007), and Holding to Down: The Veteran’s Dreams Project (2013).
• In 1996, Iyer collaborate with Rudresh Mahanthappa, a New York-based jazz alto saxophonist and composer, together the duo released eight albums resulting in five albums under Iyer’s name and three under  Mahanthappa’s name.
• Similarly, he has been active as a composer of classical ensembles and soloists such as his composition ‘Mutations I-X’ which was selected and premiered by the string quartet Ethel in 2005. His other composition ‘Interventions’ was commissioned and premiered in 2007 by the American Composers Orchestra.
• Moreover, Iyer was the Composer-in-Residence at Wigmore Hall in London, England for their 2019-2020 season.
• In 2018, Vijaya Iyer received a lifetime joint appointment as the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard’s Department of African and African American studies.

Awards & Achievement

• The jazz album Break Stuff was listed as one of the best albums of 2015 in Time. Also, the album received five stars (highest rating) in the best March 2015 issue of Down Beat magazine.
• In 2003, he received the Alpert Awards in the Arts. He was also selected as one of the ’50 most influential global Indians by GQ India.
• Vijaya Iyer received the 2010 India Abroad Publisher’s Award for Special Excellence.
• Furthermore, Iyer’s awarded numerous awards like Doris Duke Performing Artist Award (2012), Greenfield Prize (2012), ECHO Award (2013), and so on.

Is Vijaya Iyer involved in any rumors and controversies?

To date, Vijaya Iyer hasn’t been part of any sort of rumors and disputes that create headlines in the media.

Also, he stays miles away from such controversial acts that could hamper his career and personal life.

Vijaya Iyer: Net Worth, Salary

As of 2023, Vijaya Iyer has an estimated net worth in the range of $1 million to $3 million as to other authorized online sources.

However, his yearly income, salary, and other assets are still under review.

Body Measurement: Height, Weight

As of 2021, the musician is 49 years old. Vijaya Iyer has black hair with brown pair of eyes.

His height, weight, and other body measurement are under the curtains at the moment.

Social Media

The musician is active on Instagram where he has more than 16.9k followers.

Likely, Vijaya Iyer has more than 31.3k followers on his Twitter account. Iyer has a Facebook page with nearly 26k followers.

Moreover, he has a self-titled YouTube channel where he has uploaded only 11 videos now.

Despite 11 videos, Vijaya Iyer has more than 2k subscribers on his YouTube channel. But, he is not active on his YouTube channel as of now.

Trivia

• Vijaya Iyer shares his e-mail id [email protected] for any business inquiries.
• Vijaya Iyer has verified social media sites including his Twitter account and Facebook account.
• His Zodiac sign is Scorpio.

You may also read Anthony Marinelli, Taryll Jackson, Dave Malloy.

Vijaya Iyer's Birthday Dates