Viraag Desai, Graphic Designer
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Viraag Desai, designer and artist, earned a Bachelor of Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has shown widely in the USA & India. Group exhibits include ‘Wanderlust,’ at J&K Gallery, Arcadia, California (2010); ‘Trip Tash,‘ at Aakar Prakar Galley; ‘Screenshots of Utopia’ and ‘Mapping Detours’ at Chitrakoot Art Gallery (2013); Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. He took part in the Cima Awards show in Kolkata, ‘Uday’ at Aakar Prakar Art Advisory, New Delhi (2016), the ‘Affordable Art Fair’ in Hampstead and 'Serendipity Arts festival' in Goa in 2018. He has completed several large-scale commissions for commercial spaces, both in India and abroad, expanding his practice from painting to sculpture to technology-based installations. Desai veers towards the technical in his new-media art, when designing for films and concerts. At present, he works between his studios in Mumbai and Kolkata.
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Veda Aggarwal, India Project Coordinator
Veda Aggarwal is a musician and arts manager based in Kolkata. Director of the Calcutta Classical Guitar Society (CCGS), she was first introduced to the society in 2010 when she attended the Calcutta International Classical Guitar Festival as a student, and returned to participate each year.
While the guitar has been a constant, Veda's professional background is diverse and includes working as a feature writer for Pune Mirror, head of branding for KLISMA, (an e-commerce start up), co-founding an independent publishing house (black-and-white fountain) and designing book covers, layouts and websites. In January 2015 she joined CCGS with the objective of enabling guitarists across India to set up their own local-level organisations. This resulted in the formation of the Indian Guitar Federation, an informal association of these guitar associations, of which she is the Director. Veda moved to Kolkata in 2016 and has since been responsible for the the Calcutta International Classical Guitar Festival (the largest festival of its kind in South Asia’s), and the other affiliated music projects. This includes curating and producing large-format public concerts, and setting up and managing a holistic music education programme for children from disadvantaged communities. Veda has been with the Pitch Pipe Foundation & Kolkata Classics since 2017.
While the guitar has been a constant, Veda's professional background is diverse and includes working as a feature writer for Pune Mirror, head of branding for KLISMA, (an e-commerce start up), co-founding an independent publishing house (black-and-white fountain) and designing book covers, layouts and websites. In January 2015 she joined CCGS with the objective of enabling guitarists across India to set up their own local-level organisations. This resulted in the formation of the Indian Guitar Federation, an informal association of these guitar associations, of which she is the Director. Veda moved to Kolkata in 2016 and has since been responsible for the the Calcutta International Classical Guitar Festival (the largest festival of its kind in South Asia’s), and the other affiliated music projects. This includes curating and producing large-format public concerts, and setting up and managing a holistic music education programme for children from disadvantaged communities. Veda has been with the Pitch Pipe Foundation & Kolkata Classics since 2017.
Supti Nag, CPA
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Supti Nag is a CPA with more than 15 years of Accounting experience including Public Accounting experience in global top 10 accounting firms. She has extensive management and leadership experience. Supti is highly proficient in the areas of corporate, State & local as well as individual tax preparation & review, ASC 740 Deferred Taxes FIN 48 UTPs SOX testing etc. for large corporations. Recent experience of setting up in- house tax filing infrastructure from scratch at a Fortune 300 retail corporation. Prior experience of business International trade. Supti has been recognized for dedication, work ethics and the drive for continuous improvement of processes, methods and systems.
Active CPA Certification from states of MI & DE Member of SpartanNash Foundation Grant Review Committee Member of Accounting team of West Michigan Hindu Temple Member of Board for West Michigan Bengali Cultural Association |
 Ifra Murtaza, MC & Translator
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Ifra Murtaza, 18, is a native of Kolkata, India, and a graduate of St. Teresa's Secondary School. She has been associated with Rotary International for three years and was elected as District Representative at Rotary Dist. 3291. In addition, she has been the Secretary, Editor and President at the Interact Club of St. Teresa's. Ifra's numerous awards include the Coveted school title of "Miss Teresian" in 2019 and an award at the Annual Interact Meet.
Over the past four years Ifra has volunteered as stage manager and assistant project coordinator at the Hathor Health Fairs put on by Kolkata Classics. Ifra has been associated with the Pitch Pipe Foundation since their inception in 2017. This May she worked as MC and translator for the Hessler Street Duo's appearance in India. Currently, Ifra is studying Law at Calcutta University. |
 Angela Reno, Russian translator
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Angela Reno is originally from Khmelnitsky, Ukraine. Growing up, she developed a passion for music and foreign languages, studied the violin and graduated from Odessa State University (Ukraine) with a major in linguistics. Currently she is a freelancer, engaged in various translations, research, and projects. In addition she is a content creator in the Russian and Ukrainian language blogosphere. Angela made multilingual and research contributions to the making of Robert Rimm’s book The Composer Pianists: Hamelin and The Eight published in 2002.
Angela has lived in Central Asia and Thailand and has traveled throughout both regions with her husband and daughter. Now they reside in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with their two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, occasional horseback riding, visiting museums, live concerts, and the great outdoors. |
Aishi Bhattacharya, Translator
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Aishi Bhattacharya is currently a high school student in Calcutta, India and has been associated with Rotary International for 4 years. Well known for her rapping and vocal skills, she has represented her school in various talent contests and received the 'All rounder award' from The Telegraph. She is a state level swimmer and also a part of the junior NBA team of India.
Over the past three years Aishi has been volunteering at various events organised by the Kolkata Classics at the Hathor Health Fairs. Aishi has been a part of the Pitch Pipe Foundation since 2017 and has performed on stage along with Jennifer Heemstra at various occasions. This May she performed with the Hessler Street Duo at St. Teresa's Secondary School. Currently she is a part of a pet NGO extending help by rescuing street dogs along with her mother. |
Rohit Shukla, Assistant & Outreach Coordinater
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Rohit Shukla is a western classical guitarist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from Calcutta University. He works with the Calcutta Classical Guitar Society (CCGS), an organization dedicated to developing and promoting classical guitar with the belief that high-quality live music should be available to everyone. Rohit is part of the production team for live concerts and manages the CCGS music education project which focusses on providing music education to young people in disadvantaged circumstances.
Rohit has been working to coordinate the Kolkata Classics Hathor Health Fair in partnership with Pitch Pipe Foundation, as well as the concerts for social outreach in schools and in the village, since 2017. |
Phoebe Borst, Photographer and Assistant
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Phoebe Borst is an International Educator and Teacher Consultant. Borst’s experiences teaching in a suburban American High School for 14 years, along with her penchant and excitement for self-discovery through travel, prompted her to seek additional educational opportunities for her students in summer abroad programs and trips. A life-long learner, Borst’s belief in the power of placed-based education emboldened her to broaden her work in Madrid, Spain, and Kuwait. A native of West Michigan, Borst received her BA in English, Spanish, and Secondary Education from Hillsdale College, MI and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instructional Design from The American College of Education, IN.
A writer, thinker, and dreamer, Borst values the importance of human connection and seeks to build authentic relationships so that others may embrace their own vulnerability and freely discover their own Superpower. |
Tim Mitchell, Audio Engineer
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Babu the sound guy
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Dr Biju Singh, OBGYN
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Dr Geeta Gupta, Doctor
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Adrija Sinha Sarkar, Photographer
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