Introduction
Teacher, classical pianist and composer, Tuhin Rao maintains an active studio in Pune where he offers lessons in piano performance, music theory, composition, music software, and music production technology.
He holds an LTCL (Licentiate of Trinity College, London) diploma in Piano Recital, an LMusTCL (Licentiate in Music Theory) diploma, and a Master of Science degree in Physics.
His students have excelled with distinction in Trinity College piano examinations up to the advanced certificate level and in music theory examinations at the diploma level.
Tuhin has a great interest in piano technology. Applying his knowledge of physics, he regularly tunes and voices his own piano in the quest to achieve the perfect sound.
As a Yamaha Piano Consultant, Tuhin advises customers on selecting the perfect piano for their needs and taking care of their instrument.
History
Student at the Academy of Music (2004–2016)
Tuhin began piano lessons in 2004 at the age of 16, as an adult beginner at Roxana Anklesaria’s Academy of Music. Six years later, in 2010, he completed his Licentiate Recital Diploma (LTCL) from Trinity College, London.
Beginning piano lessons as an adult have greatly influenced Tuhin’s teaching philosophy: he strongly believes there exists no age barrier to learning and mastering a new skill.
Teaching Assistant at the Academy of Music (2006–2016)
For 10 years (2006–2016), Tuhin worked as a Teaching Assistant at the Academy of Music, acquiring a wide range of pedagogical skills and working with students of all ages and levels.
Meanwhile, he continued studying with Roxana Anklesaria, expanding his knowledge of piano performance, classical harmony, music history, piano repertoire and piano pedagogy.
In 2008, he briefly studied music theory with Kedarnath Awati, gaining an insight into Bach chorale harmonisation. In 2016, Tuhin left the Academy of Music to explore new horizons in music and establish his own studio.
Further studies in music theory, composition and production (2016–present)
After leaving the Academy in 2016, Tuhin earned a Licentiate in Music Theory (LMusTCL) diploma from Trinity College, London.
He also completed numerous online courses from the Berklee School of Music, including Music Production Technology, The Art of Music Production, Songwriting, Jazz Improvisation, Creating Synthesizer Sounds for Electronic Music, Music Business Foundations and a Capstone Project of the Modern Musician. Besides this, Tuhin also took an online course titled Music as Biology: What we like to hear and why from Duke University.
These courses allowed Tuhin to gain in-depth knowledge of contemporary music production. As part of the project-oriented courses, he composed and recorded songs incorporating a blend of electronic sound samples, vocals and acoustic piano.
Masterclasses
Tuhin has appeared in masterclasses with Raj Bhimani, Charis Cheung, Mathieu Gaudet, Karl Lutchmayer, Fali Pavri, Pallavi Mahindra, Pervez Mody and Paul Stewart. He has taken master lessons with Alan Chow, Kevin Olson, Einar Steen Nøkleberg, Christopher Norton, Peter Mack, Jeremy Siskind and Mary Tickner.
These masterclasses and lessons have allowed Tuhin to refine numerous musical and technical nuances in his performances and compositions. Crucially, they have also refined Tuhin’s approach towards teaching, helping students learn in a more efficient manner.
At one of Tuhin’s most influential lessons, Einer Steen Nøkleberg gave him a piece of advice that boosted his progress tremendously. Nøkleberg said, “Never practice mistakes; stop before you are going to play a wrong note, place your finger on the correct note, then play. Do this a few times, and you will learn it in two days, no matter how difficult the passage is!”
While in New York, Tuhin attended a Lecture Recital by David Dubal, one of the most distinguished classical musicologists of our time, at the Juilliard School of Music (New York). During this Lecture Recital, one of Dr Dubal’s and Emanuel Ax’s students performed a magnificent interpretation of Chopin’s 4th Ballade, inspiring Tuhin to learn the complete Ballades of Chopin.
Competitions and Festivals
Tuhin won the Third Prize in the Advanced division at MusiQuest 2007, a national music festival, and received Adjudicators’ Special Mentions at MusiQuest 2009 and MusiQuest 2011.
Christopher Norton selected Tuhin to perform his composition Theme in A flat Major at the Norton Festival Gala Concert in January 2015. This was his first public performance of his own music.
Through his compositions, Tuhin explores the fusion of classical and contemporary music.
Conferences
A member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA, USA), Tuhin has attended MTNA conferences in New York (2012), Las Vegas (2015) and Baltimore (2017).
Tuhin is an avid listener at live performances and is a firm believer in the importance of listening to music development. While on international visits, he makes it a point to go to famous concert halls and witness world-class musicians perform the greatest classical and contemporary music.
Recent Performances
In 2016, Tuhin performed at the Mazda Hall for the Pune Guitar Society in collaboration with the Poona Music Society.
He also performed at and directed a multi-artist Spanish and Latin American classical piano and guitar concert, which premiered in Pune in February 2017.
Along with the Pune Guitar Society, he accompanied Jayant Sankritayayana on a Leo Brouwer Concert in October 2017
He regularly gives home-studio concerts at the studio. The Recent ones being one in November and December 2017.
Academics
Besides his music, Tuhin holds a Master of Science degree in Physics, majoring in Acoustics, from Nowrosjee Wadia College. His interest in the study of acoustics won him the First Prize at the Indian Physics Association Competition for a research project on string timbres.
Other Interests
Tuhin’s hobbies include doing physics experiments at his mini-lab at home, building complex Lego constructions, painting, and cooking.