‘One of the biggest new music talents in Britain’, Soumik Datta is a visionary musician with the ability to cross boundaries, cultures and art forms. A sarod virtuoso, bandleader, and Artistic Director of the Soumik Datta Arts charity, his work pushes the limits of Indian classical music to address the urgent issues of our times. One of the last disciples of the sarod legend, Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, Soumik is now acclaimed for extending the reach of the sarod, collaborating with refugee, mental health and climate action practitioners as well as artists from disparate global traditions. His 2023 highlights include performing his works at WOMAD, Southbank Centre for Refugee Week, Schleswig Holstein Festival (Germany) and BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. As an example of the culturally significant work he performs, in 2022, Soumik was commissioned by BBC Singers to compose a new score for choir and sarod, ‘Awaaz’, to commemorate 75 years of Indian independence.