SHS Junior Hungers to Help Underprivileged Young Musicians

At Simsbury High School (SHS), curriculum is entwined with character building. And when students like SHS junior Ajeeth Vellore get the opportunity to give back to the community, their commitment can be awe inspiring. At his debut musical performance recently, Vellore raised $1,962 for a cause he truly believes in—putting musical instruments in the hands of children who otherwise could not afford to play one via the nonprofit organization Hungry for Music.

Vellore, who has aspirations of becoming an engineer, has learned to play and become proficient with many instruments, notably, the piano and harmonium. He has experience playing the alto sax, baritone sax, the bassoon, and the viola. Vellore is also a member of the accomplished “Simsbury Singers” group at SHS as well as the “Unaccompanied Minors,” an assembly of talented male a capella vocalists.

For the past 12 years, Vellore has also been a student of a non-Western traditional musical genre, Indian classical vocal music, specifically, south Indian or “Carnatic” music. His first performance was called an “Arangetram.” The term comes from the ancient south Indian language of Tamil, and it can be interpreted in English as “climbing to the performing stage.”

Explained Vellore, “Getting through an Arangetram proves one’s standing in the musical scene. It actually signifies the start of a long musical career that should be filled with prosperity and boundless opportunities. Arangetrams are usually done when music or dance students of south Indian classical styles have reached performance age (which is usually 15-18), or have completed about 12 years of intense training. These performances are usually offered in dedication to teachers, who have given students the knowledge to get to the point at which they are.”

Angela Griffin, Simsbury’s Director of Music & Performing Arts, attended Vellore’s performance, and was gratified that an SHS student had the opportunity to be involved in such a musically diverse experience. She noted, “I am familiar with the complexities of Indian music from my days as a graduate assistant at The Hartt School. The music is extremely complex, and it provides a completely different musical skill set from the traditional classical music genre.”

At such performances, it is customary for the singer to be showered with congratulatory gifts in honor of reaching the milestone. Usually these gifts come in the form of money. Instead of accepting monetary gifts, Vellore wanted to do something different. He researched charities and was excited to find one that supported a cause he believed in, giving the gift of music to underprivileged children. The nonprofit organization Hungry for Music has delivered more than 13,000 instruments to children in 49 states and 30 countries over the last 25 years.

Griffin expressed pride not only in Vellore’s musical accomplishments, but the fact that he decided to help those less fortunate in such an impactful way. She said, “I was so impressed by the fact that Ajeeth chose to have any gifts or funds donated to Hungry for Music. I spent a great deal of time talking with Ajeeth’s parents and family members, and they are extremely proud of the education and the experience he is having in our school district.”