A. R. Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist, known for redefining contemporary Indian film music, and putting Indian music on the global map, in a way that no other Indian composer/performer has achieved.

On October 24, 2014, Berklee College of Music conferred A. R. Rahman with an honorary doctor of music degree. Berklee faculty and students paid tribute to the living legend, who joined them on select pieces in a concert celebrating his music and life at Boston's Symphony Hall.

Mr. Rahman's visit was a signature event under Berklee India Exchange, a new initiative co-founded by two Indian Berklee alums, Annette Philip (artistic director), and Clint Valladares (artist relations and strategy), as a platform for cultural conversation, through the composition, collaboration, and performance of original Indian music. Proceeds from the concert went towards a scholarship fund in Mr. Rahman's name for students from India to attend Berklee.


Berklee Indian Ensemble and Berklee World Strings
with special guest, A.R. Rahman

"Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera" (A.R. Rahman)
From the film Swades


Annette Philip: Arranger/Producer, Director - Berklee Indian Ensemble
Eugene Friesen: Conductor, Director - Berklee World Strings
Matthew Nicholl: String arrangements, Chair - Contemporary Writing and Production


Vocal Soloists
Shilpa Ananth, Kerala, India
Dhruv Goel, Lucknow, India
Rohith Santosh Jayaraman, San Jose, CA
Harini Srinivasa Raghavan, Chennai, India


Berklee Indian Ensemble Choir
Shilpa Ananth, Kerala, India
Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, New Delhi, India
Dhruv Goel, Lucknow, India
Vasundhara Gupta, Kolkata, India
Rohith Santosh Jayaraman, San Jose, CA
Harshitha Krishnan, Chennai, India
Nalini Krishnan, Seattle, Washington
Joakim Molander, Sørum, Norway
Armeen Musa, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Kanika Patawari, Antwerp, Belgium
Annette Philip, Kerala, India
Purvaa Sampath, Bangalore, India
Ishita Sinha: Patna, India
Harini Srinivasa Raghavan, Chennai, India
Aseem Suri, New Delhi, India
Adriel Tjokrosaputro, Surakarta, Indonesia
Sanchitha Wickremesooriya, Colombo, Sri Lanka


Berklee Indian Ensemble Instrumentalists
Annette Philip: piano, Kerala, India
Cheng Lu: keyboard, Beijing, China
Yazhi Guo: suona, Hong Kong, China
Sashank Navaladi: sarod, New Delhi, India
Fares Btoush: oud, Amman, Jordan
Aleif Hamdan: electric guitar, Jakarta, Indonesia
Shubh Saran: electric guitar, New Delhi, India
Achal Murthy: bass, Strassen, Luxembourg
Kaushlesh Purohit: udu drum, tabla, Jodhpur, India
Ranajoy Das: drumset, New Delhi, India
Negah Santos: percussion, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Patrick Simard: octopad, percussion, Ottowa, Canada
Daniel Gonzalez: electronic drum sound design, Mexico City, Mexico


Berklee World Strings
Eugene Friesen, conductor, Los Angeles, CA
Na Young Baik, Violin I, Seoul, South Korea
Carlos Felipa Silva, Violin I, Caracas, Venezuela
Sumaia Martins, Violin I, Santa Cruz, CA
Yeji Yoon, Violin I, Seoul, South Korea
Stefano Melillo Melendez, Violin I, Caracas, Venezuela
Sarah Hubbard, Violin I, Wedtfield, MA

Elise Boeur, Violin II, Vancouver, Canada
Adrianna Ciccone, Violin II, Timmins, Canada
Sadie E. Currey, Violin II, Columbia, MO
Carolyn Kendrick, Violin II, Stockton, CA
Rosy Timms, Violin II, Adelaide, Australia
Tsung-Yuan Lee, Violin II, Taipei, Taiwan

Max Wolpert, Viola, Crookston, MN
John Smith, Viola, Augusta, GA
Brendan Klippel, Viola, Queensbury, NY
Gerson Eguiguren Martinez, Viola, Quito, Ecuador

Marta Roma, Cello, Cantonigros, Spain
Adrian Zemor, Cello, New York City, NY
Keizo Yoshioka, Cello, Hopedale, MA
Steph Dye, Cello, St. Louis, MO

Nathaniel Sabat, Double bass, New York, NY
Victor Manuel Gonzalez Quezada: Double bass, Rancagua, Chile

Allegra Cramer, Harp, Gold Coast, Australia


Recorded live at Berklee College of Music Studios: Shames Family Scoring Stage (Studio 1) and The Ark (Studio 2)
Alejandro Rodriguez: recording engineer
Simon Katz: assistant recording engineer, mixing engineer
Matthew Larson: assistant engineer
Taylor Marvin: assistant engineer
McKain Webb-Lakey: assistant

Teo Karakolev: videographer, editor
Kevin Greene: videographer
Sam Harchik: videographer
Jonathan Williams: additional footage

Mastered by M Works Studios
Jonathan Wyner: engineer

Berklee India Exchange Co Founders
Clint Valladares and Annette Philip