Personal
Birthplace:
California
Musical Influences:
Luciano Pavarotti, Jascha Heifetz, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Greatest feeling:
The feeling of truly communicating with an audience in the moment. It’s a thrill and a high unlike anything in the world.
What have you been listening to lately:
Maria Callas, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Gould, Astor Piazzolla…
Personal motto:
Anything is possible.
Three words that best describe you:
Passionate, Optimistic, Curious
Greatest perk of your profession:
Getting to do what I love.
If you weren’t a musician:
Acting has always fascinated me and the similarities to making music are very interesting.
What advice would you give other young artists starting out:
Always do it for the love of it. Follow your instincts and don’t let people tell you what you can’t do.
Favorite Movies:
Cinema Paradiso, Spirited Away, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Vertigo, Lord of the Rings, Harvey…
Favorite types of books:
Biographies
What do you love about the saxophone:
It can be played with such emotional intensity yet subtletly and sing like a voice. It’s capable of an incredible beauty. It also has a mainstream appeal that makes it perfect for reaching new and broader audiences.
8 Things You Didn’t Know About Ashu
The first recital he ever performed took place at Carnegie Hall.
- Inspired to start playing the saxophone after hearing a busker on a dark street corner while growing up in San Francisco.
- Growing up without a music player or any albums at home, his first CD was of Luciano Pavarotti, which made him want to become a soloist.
- While growing up, was constantly told that a solo career on the saxophone wasn’t possible and was repeatedly urged to give it up.
- Has had the good fortune of winning every competition he has entered (over 20).
- Won First Place at a swimming championships in the butterfly stroke.
- Has gotten to travel around the world: Japan, South Africa, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, India, Venezuela, Canada, England, Portugal, Switzerland, Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii, Finland, Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Poland, Austria…
- Has arranged over 60 works for saxophone and piano in the past few years, from Rachmaninoff and Korngold to Morricone and Piazzolla.