Arts Revelstoke would like to formally introduce and welcome the new Artistic and Executive Director, Daniel Bhattacharya.
Daniel joined Arts Revelstoke in September and has been busy familiarizing himself with the community, making connections and diving headfirst into the depths of his new role. Now, we’d like to turn the spotlight on him.
His passion and experience in the arts are vast. He has been involved in the arts his entire life as a musician, educator, administrator and filmmaker.
Daniel: My mother was a pianist, and my Grandfather was a violinist. They both had a great influence on me. My dad had nothing to do with music but was a chemical engineer by trade. I started playing the violin when I was three. I carried on playing and went to music school at the Purcell School of Music when I was 11.
As a professional violinist, my career has enabled me to perform on the stages of the world’s grandest concert halls.
Throughout my career, I’ve held principal positions in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, along with being co-leader of the original Phantom of the Opera production in London, UK.
My solo performance career has taken me to places like Spain, Canada, the USA, France and India and given me the opportunities to make broadcasts for BBC radio, Canada and Russian radio and TV and direct various ensembles from the violin.
Daniel: Well, it was that I’d always liked films, and doing a lot of the soundtracks of those, I saw a lot of the mechanical process. I’ve always been involved in the audio side of production. The visual side really interested me in how it related to the audience. I took a master’s in Cinematography when I was 40. So let’s just say I was slightly older than everyone.
I met loads of great friends and then made a couple of short films, which were shown in the National Film Theatre and won a couple of awards. I then started this project, a documentary project, that was featured on Amazon. The documentary, “Le Chemin des Juifs” is about a Canadian Holocaust survivor.
Daniel: I think that having worked in the arts industry for so long, it is important that I impart my experience. There are a lot of people who are passionate about the arts, but the infusion of industry experience can be beneficial to any administration. The more people that can lead and be a part of art boards with experienced perspectives, the better.
Daniel: We’re looking at really making everything sustainable. We really want to support the education side of the arts. We’re committed to that, and we’re trying to book artists that can come in and do workshops in the schools. This was happening before me as well, but we’re trying to build on that. To be able to sustain arts and culture, I believe it is essential to make sure educational aspects of the arts are looked after. A sustainable arts culture relies on building and engaging the younger audience.
Daniel: I think there are a lot of things going on in the arts scene, which is fantastic. There are a lot of people who are really passionate about it. I would love to broaden the demographic and age group our events encompass.
We live in a fabulous mountain town, but we don’t want the arts and culture scene here to just be about mountains. It needs to be about people, socio-economics, diversity, and so much more. I think addressing those topics through the arts is an amazing way to engage, learn and grow.
It has got to be fun. As an organization, we want to produce things that are relevant and that make people happy. There are a lot of kids here. We need art not just for one group of people — not just fun for 25 to 35 — but fun for someone who’s 6 to someone who’s 80. That’s what we’re looking to address.
Daniel, his wife Holly and their three children Hannah (six), Seth (nine) and Max (eleven) left the UK during COVID. They moved to Calgary and then to Revelstoke in the late summer of 2022. Recently they’ve started skiing. “When in Rome,” says Daniel. We hope the community will join us in this new chapter for Arts Revelstoke by welcoming Daniel warmly.
