Sound Storms

Rajesh Mehta is an award-winning Indian-American trumpet innovator, composer/artist, and educational technology consultant who has innovated several hybrid trumpets including the “DRUMPET” in Amsterdam and the microtonal “NAGA PHOENIX TRUMPET” in Singapore. Mehta graduated from M.I.T. in Humanities and Engineering (with studies at U.C. Berkeley) in 1986. As a Senior Creative Arts Fellow of the American Institute of Indian Studies, he founded the innovative music production platform "ORKA-M" in Chennai in 2005-06, which was greatly influenced by his research on and musical collaboration with South Indian temple musicians. During this research phase, Mehta defined a universal musical principle which he calls "THE ENERGY OF MUSICALITY".

He visualizes this musical energy in the form of drawings and paintings. Mehta’s visual works also serve as musical scores and have been performed in concerts internationally in partnership with the eminent Sri Lankan Cellist Rohan de Saram (Founding member of the award-winning Arditti String Quartet), the Face the Music Ensemble (New York City), and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. Mehta's visual works have been the foundation for his "total artwork" productions "SOUNDING BUILDINGS" which integrate architectural acoustics, moving musicians, projected still and moving images, and film. He has worked closely with his wife the vocalist/voice trainer Barbara Friederichsen-Mehta on the following productions: Glucksman Art Gallery, University of Cork, Ireland in 2005; New Music/Theatre Festival Ruemlingen, Switzerland 2006; Norwegian Theatre Akademie Guest Professorship Workshop/Production with Scenography students 2009 and 2018(with a solo performance at the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway); Spring Workshop Hong Kong 2014. In 2002, he collaborated with architect Steven Holl on an MIT Simmons Hall DVD project, lectured, and performed in the design seminar of architect Daniel Libeskind in Karlsruhe.

Mehta’s visual work has been sold internationally to private collectors. Exhibitions of his artworks include: Nature Morte, Delhi, The Swiss Embassy Delhi, and Apparao Galleries, Chennai. He is currently based in Munich. The Balmond Studio (London / Colombo), founded by world-renowned engineer, architect, designer, and artist Cecil Balmond, presented Mehta’s work in a soon to be published video interview for the online magazine T.I.P("Thinking in Practice"):
It is available for pre-viewing here:

https://youtu.be/zPYfAkiV9qI