Staff

Vivo
Executive Director

Vijay Gupta
Artistic Director/Founder

Nanor Abkarian
Grants and Development Manager

Catherine Wong
Production Manager

Bear Lewis
Social Media Content Strategist

Vivo

Executive 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.

Vijay Gupta

Artistic Director/Founder

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.

Nanor Abkarian

Grants and Development Manager
abkarian@streetsymphony.org 

Nanor Abkarian earned a B.A. in English from UC Berkeley and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Mills College. She’s worked in education and non-profit administration, and she also helped organize readings and pop-up dinners for a community space in Brooklyn, NY. Nanor teaches and writes in Silverlake, Los Angeles. Her poems are centered around collective memory, exploring themes of crossing borders and thresholds into the interior of country and home.

Catherine Wong

Production Manager
wong@streetsymphony.org 

Catherine Wong has been working in the production side of the music industry for three years after discovering a passion for helping musicians bring live music to audiences at a local guitar store in the San Fernando Valley. The infectious live music scene led her to find a more prominent role as a monitor engineer and stage manager working with both local and national acts for the past two years. She also works on projects outside of live production working on booking young artists at local venues, helping them develop their songwriting skills, and connecting them to producers.

Bear Lewis

Social Media Content Strategist
lewis@streetsymphony.org 

Bear has a passion for leveraging his diverse skill set to contribute to the success of brands in the online space. “Bear-ing witness to your brand’s success” is not just a tagline for Bear; it’s a commitment to utilizing his expertise
in content creation, online advertising, and social media logistics to help businesses effectively reach and engage with their audience online. 

Bear’s approach blends creativity and strategy, fueled by a sincere passion for forging meaningful connections. Bear is excited to bring his passion to Street Symphony.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Currently no openings at this time

Street Symphony will have a part time job opening this Spring 2024 for a unique and experienced Community Liaison/Social Worker. Please visit the site frequently for updates or subscribe to the Street Symphony newsletter. Thank you

 
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