I grew up caught between expectations and passion. While the world around me pushed toward engineering or medicine, I found myself only when I picked up an instrument. With my father's support, I studied Life Sciences at the University of Delhi, but music remained my true calling. Gigging with my band opened a path forward. Unable to afford conservatory education, I trained in Jazz and Theory at a Delhi school founded by Berklee alumni, funding my journey through performances.
Leaving formal education behind, I dove into the industry—collaborating with Grammy-winning producers, Indian Classical maestros, and global mentors. Real-world experience became my classroom. Eventually, the demands of constant travel led me to education, where I now lead the Performing and Visual Arts Department at an IB school.
It was there I saw the truth: education and the creative industries often exist in isolation. I founded the Contemporary Performing Arts Society(CPASociety) to change that. Through it, I aim to build a curriculum powered by practicing artists—bringing real-world creativity into classrooms and building a living bridge between learning and life.
The Contemporary Performing Arts Society (CPAS) reimagines arts education through the Contemporary Program for Arts (CPA), an innovative learning framework inspired by how we acquire our mother tongue.
CPA stands for:
C – Copy | Comprehend | Create
"Learning begins with imitation."
Just as children mimic sounds before speaking, artists first observe and absorb. Copying and comprehending build technical foundations, leading to confident, authentic creation.
P – Perform | Produce
"Art is a language meant to be shared."
Arts thrive through expression. By performing and producing, students transform personal experiences into contributions to the wider community.
A – Assess | Analyse
"Change is the heartbeat of growth."
Through critical reflection on their own work and others', students sharpen their craft and embrace continuous evolution.
The curriculum progresses through four two-year stages — Foundation, Exploration, Development, and Mastery — starting from Grade 1.
The CPA framework builds technical excellence, personal artistic identity, and lifelong creative thinking, preparing students for artistic careers and dynamic engagement with the world. Designed to be adaptable, it fosters a living connection between local arts communities and learners, ensuring that education and real-world practice enrich each other.
The Contemporary Performing Arts Society was launched on April 14, 2025. We are currently growing through grassroots engagement within our local community, using a deliberate strategy of building credibility through experiential offerings.
As a musician and educator, I have been leading music masterclasses, workshops, and summer camps that serve both students and adults, creating direct experiences of the CPA approach. This method allows participants to experience firsthand how the CPA philosophy transforms learning.
In parallel, we are reaching out to schools that prioritize play-based, experiential, and project-based learning pedagogies to pilot the CPA framework. These early partnerships are designed not only to validate the model but also to generate case studies and proof of impact that will support broader adoption in the future.
Our focus is on sustainable growth through authentic community-building, ensuring that the CPA framework stays true to its mission of bridging education and real-world artistic practice.
To expand the reach and relevance of the CPA framework, I have introduced two key modifications:
1. Extending to Corporate Wellness Programs:
Recognizing that arts education must support not only future generations but also the current working generation, we now offer artist-led corporate wellness programs. These sessions help busy professionals reconnect with creativity, emotional resilience, and collaboration — critical "life languages" often overlooked in corporate environments.
2. Introducing Student Internships:
For students reaching the advanced stages of the CPA continuum, we have created structured internship opportunities. These placements allow learners to apply their skills in real-world arts settings, gaining practical experience, professional networks, and a deeper understanding of living an artistic life beyond the classroom.
Both initiatives are designed to keep arts learning dynamic, relevant, and connected to the evolving needs of society, ensuring that the CPA philosophy truly serves as a lifelong, living language for creativity and expression.
If you want to try the Contemporary Program for Arts (CPA), the first step is simple: reach out to us at cpa.edude@gmail.com or find out more at https://www.contemporaryperformingartssociety.com/
We could connect online to discuss further how educators, students, or organisations can experience the CPA framework in action — learning by doing, performing, and reflecting.
Our goal is to make the experience easy, meaningful, and tailored to your context. Whether you're an individual, a school, or a corporate team, you can start by engaging in a short creative journey with us and discover how learning the arts as a language can transform your environment.
