Vijay Gupta
Artistic Director/CEO
Vivo
Chief Operating Officer
Catherine Wong
Production Assistant
Nanor Abkarian
Grants Associate
Kendall Moran
Program and Relations Manager
Vijay Gupta
Executive and Artistic Director
Vijay Gupta is a violinist and social justice advocate. An esteemed performer, communicator, and citizen-artist, Gupta is a leading advocate for the role of the arts and music to heal, inspire, provoke change, and foster social connection. Gupta is the founder and Artistic Director of Street Symphony, a non-profit organization providing musical engagement, dialogue and teaching artistry for homeless and incarcerated communities in Los Angeles.
Recognized for his “dedication to bringing beauty, respite, and purpose to those all too often ignored by society while demonstrating the capacity of music to validate our shared humanity”, Vijay Gupta is a 2018 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow.
Vijay Gupta is a celebrated speaker, educator and advocate, and works as a consultant and guest lecturer with education, performance and presentation institutions across the US and Canada. He currently serves on the faculty of The Colburn School and Longy School of Music and is the Senior Program and Artistic Advisor of Young Musician’s Foundation, an LA-based musical training, performance and advocacy organization. Gupta also serves on the board of directors of the DC-based national arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts, as well as Los Angeles’s beloved 24th Street Theatre.
An acclaimed violinist and seasoned international performing artist since the age of 8, Gupta made his solo debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta at age 11. In 2007, at 19, Gupta joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and served as a member of the First Violin section through 2018. He has appeared as a guest concertmaster with the Los Angeles Opera and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and is an active recitalist, soloist and chamber musician.
Gupta holds a BS in biology from Marist College (‘05) and an MM in violin performance from the Yale School of Music (‘07). Gupta is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of La Verne and the 2017 Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award from the Longy School of Music. Gupta is a 2017 Citizen Artist Fellow with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a 2011 TED Senior Fellow. Gupta is represented as a speaker by the Lavin Agency and performs on a 2015 violin made by Los Angeles maker Eric Benning.
Vivo
Operations Director
vivo@streetsymphony.org
Vivo joined Street Symphony in January 2019, as a part-time staff member shifting into multiple positions over time as Operations Manager, Business and Grants Manager, and recently was acquired as the new, first, full-time, Operations Director. She oversees all logistical matters related to operations, accounting, grant management, marketing, and compliance.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Graphic Communications at San Francisco State University and earned a Master of Arts in Arts Management in Nonprofits at Claremont Graduate University, Sotheby’s Institute of Art in 2019. For the past 20 years, Vivo has served as a Marketing and Creative Designer for her entrepreneurial business, Vivo Designs Solutions. Her passion thrives in providing creative solutions for small businesses, startups, and nonprofit organizations. Her involvement within the community includes work experience with East West Players, LACMA, The Japan Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, Think Together, Helpers Aide, Taste Recovery, and amongst many other small businesses and growing nonprofit organizations. Vivo also played for and owned the California Quake, a women’s full-contact tackle football team in operation from 2001 to 2015. Her vast experience working with a diversity of nonprofit organizations and owning the California Quake has given her broad experience in organization operations, marketing, development, and visual communications.
Catherine Wong
Production Assistant
wong@streetsymphony.org
Nanor Abkarian
Grants Associate
abkarian@streetsymphony.org
Kendall Moran
Program and Relations Manager
moran@streetsymphony.org
Kendall Moran earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing & Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach in 2018. Prior to that, she had been working in the Events & Hospitality industry since 2014, and now has almost a decade of experience specializing in the coordination & production of a wide variety of events.
Kendall has always had an interest and passion for service, being involved in service clubs, honor societies, and mentorship programs throughout her years, but in 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic hit and resulting economic shutdown made the events industry disappeared overnight, Kendall’s passion for community care was reignited. She began volunteering with the mutual aid organization, WaterDrop LA, to distribute clean water & other necessities to those experiencing water insecurity in Skid Row every Sunday. This experience gave her a deep love and appreciation for the unhoused community as well as a desire to get more involved. In June 2021, Kendall began working at The Midnight Mission as the Community Events Coordinator where she was tasked with facilitating the monthly Street Symphony program, Music With A Mission & other arts programs. Kendall was thrilled to join the Street Symphony team in February 2023 as Program & Relations Manager.
In May 2022, Kendall was awarded certificates of recognition by both offices of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and California State Senator Sydney Kamlager for her efforts in serving the community.