Welcome to Con Fuoco, our series with emerging artists in Australia.
Pavan Kumar Hari is a composer, performer, dancer, and director. He has been performing since the age of three in dance and music productions. He began to study dance and music in Perth at Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya, the Indian School of Performing Arts. He then progressed to study composition and percussion at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where he plays percussion and piano, and is completing the fourth year of his Bachelor of Music.
Pavan’s compositions have featured in main stage dance and theatre productions at WAAPA, and he has been commissioned to create music for upcoming professional productions with the Barking Gecko Company and the Black Swan Theatre Company. Many of his works have been premiered by the award-winning Defying Gravity percussion ensemble.
Pavan has been a member of the Western Australian Youth Orchestra, Western Australian Charity Orchestra, Western Australian Wind Symphony, and Defying Gravity; and recently took part in the Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp.
He has also performed with the Perth Symphony Orchestra as a guest artist on the tabla.
Your all-time favourite piece of music?
This is a very hard question to answer, so how about I give you my top 5 in no particular order?
- Nostalgia by Yanni (Live at the Acropolis version): This is one of the most magical orchestral/piano pieces I know, where the emotion cuts right through, so clearly that you can get lost in it.
- Rise and Fall by Sting and Craig David: The lyrics are something that I relate to as an artist; reminding me never to get arrogant and to do it for the love of the art.
- Round Midnight (Milt Jackson’s vibraphone version): Though it is a very common tune, it is hands-down one of my all-time favourite jazz ballads, and Milt Jackson, who is one of my idols, gets the emotion across not by playing anything too complex but keeping it super simple yet effective! There’s a lot to learn there for me.
- Lotus Feet by John McLaughlin (Remembering Shakti version): Fusion music has always been a soft spot in my heart, and this piece uses elements of Western and Indian music in perfect unison. I often daze off listening to this, losing myself for a temporary moment.
- Homeland by Nitin Sawhney: Finally, fusion music that’s groovy! This combination of Latin and Indian music is one of the few pieces from my childhood that inspired me to start writing fusion music. If you have a listen, you’ll know why!
Biggest fear when performing?
My biggest fear when performing is the fear of not allowing myself to get into the music. Wrong notes, poor stage presence, lack of showmanship, are all side-effects of not getting into the music for me.
The moment I allow myself to feel what I am playing, nothing else in the world matters, because the love of the music is so strong that the audience gets taken away by the emotion that you are outpouring, rather than focusing on the individual notes themselves.
That’s what makes a performance an experience, rather than watching a practice session. So I find that those times on stage where I’m disconnected from the music [are] the scariest times!
How about your most memorable concert experience?
There have been so many amazing performances that I have been privileged enough to have been a part of. However, if I were to pick one, because of how unique it was, I would choose the performance I had with Perth Symphony Orchestra for the 2018 Western Australian of the Year Award Ceremony.
I played the Indian drums, tabla, along with the lead singer of Birds of Tokyo Ian Kenny, the PSO, and other world musicians playing penny whistle (Ireland), erhu (China), ney (Iran), gendang (Malaysia), and didgeridoo (Australia). Being a lover of fusion music, this was an absolute dream come true to play with such a diverse, multicultural ensemble!
Tell us, how do you psych yourself up for practice on a lazy day?
I either watch a motivational video, my favourite being Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘6 Rules to Success Speech’; or I listen to a bunch of amazing musicians performing, which makes me fall in love again with the instrument that I should be practising, making me want to play it!
Ultimately, I find a way to remind myself of how much I love music and that my goal is long-term, not short-term; hence, my efforts should be long-term as well.
Most embarrassing moment on stage?
The most embarrassing moment was at the conclusion of an orchestral show with the Western Australian Charity Orchestra, where the conductor stands certain people up to be applauded. I was on the timpani at the back corner of the stage, and I thought the conductor was gesturing to me to stand. However, he was not gesturing to me at all, but the off-stage trumpet player who I completely forgot was behind me! Needless to say, it was quite embarrassing when I stood up, when I shouldn’t have!
Best piece of musical advice you’ve received?
I wouldn’t limit this to just music, but I’ve always applied it to music, and it is something I will keep applying through-out my whole life. Many people have said different versions of this, so to sum it up: If you ever feel comfortable with your playing/composing, you’re doing something wrong.
You should never feel comfortable, because it means that you are not pushing yourself and throwing yourself into new learning experiences. Therefore, you are not getting better! And no matter how old or experienced you get, there’s always more to learn.
Favourite post-gig ritual?
Hot shower and sleep! I know it’s boring, but you can never beat the relaxed feeling of a hot shower after a late-night gig, followed by a good night’s rest!
What are you most proud of in your musical career so far?
I’m probably most proud of the fact that I am writing a show with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and Black Swan Theatre Company this year. The show is entitled Fully Sikh, and is playing at Studio Underground at the State Theatre from 10-27 October.
I’m composing the music and performing live for this amazing production about the life of an Aussie Sikh woman named Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa (lead artist).
If you come from a family that has culture and traditions from other countries in the world, but you were born and raised in Australia, this is a show that you will resonate with very much, as Sukhjit tells of how she grew up with her family and her faith, all through her trademark lyrical flow!
At the end of the day, what do you love most about making music?
I love the fact that you can express yourself, firstly; whatever you have bottled up in you, you can just release it all out into music! You feel better [and] you create a great track/song/piece/
I also love how you can tell a story or portray an idea or message through music, which, if you do effectively enough, can evoke the audience to emote strongly or even learn something new. I find being able to portray an idea through music is particularly useful when I write music for dance and theatre, as you can compliment the idea and intention that the performer is portraying. When the music and the other art forms are in sync, that’s when the audience gets overwhelmed, forgetting life for a while, and gets completely plunged into the performance experience.
Those moments are when I reflect on how much I love the fact that I write and perform music for a living.
What’s your ultimate goal?
My ultimate goal, simply, is to help people and make them happy through art — whether that’s music, dance, or theatre for me; or a combination of them all. I would love to do this through different ways. However, composing and performing live for theatre and dance companies, performing my original works, teaching, performing with any jazz, world/fusion or classical ensemble/orchestra, collaborations… Honestly, the list is endless, as there are so many ways to express through art. Why limit myself, right?
READ NEXT: Did you read our Con Fuoco interview with Lucy Olivia Schneider?
Our Con Fuoco series is our longest-running and has showcased emerging musicians in Australia since 2015.
In 2018, we decided to team up with the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts so that we can shine the spotlight on those training for their performance careers in Perth.
Let’s celebrate emerging talent together!
Images supplied.
