Meet Om Srivastava

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Om Srivastava. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Om, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Being a musician and performer, I’m honestly not sure that anyone is born with confidence. Much like later in life, so much of development is the open “secret” of getting one’s reps in. As a child I took piano lessons for a few years and when I reflect on my earliest memories of performance anxiety, those recitals come vividly to mind. I remember my piano teacher instructing us to take deep breaths to slow our inevitably accelerated heart rates, not just during the performance, but already occurring as she spoke, and likewise, I recall myself sitting and awaiting my turn, staring at the dreadful program as time mutated into this strange, simultaneously dilated and contracted force, during which the one constant remained being a deep breath in, and deep breath out, and repeat.

But getting those initial frights out proved fruitful. While the earliest solo outings can be nerve-wracking, it is true that for many young musicians destined to commit their lives to the arts, things often came easier to us, and we felt free and confident to let loose or showcase. When it’s easy, low-stakes, and almost entirely fun, it’s more like play. That’s much of my memory of 5th grade and middle school band. I think this acted a bit self-fulfilling in terms of my self-esteem as well.

I’m the youngest of two, and my sister was a bonafide academic stud from her earliest days (at least as far as I my perception, and I still believe it), so I felt pressure to fulfill expectations and I quickly lost belief in myself to realize them. Finding something I loved in music proved the turning point in my esteem and self-perception. It’s funny in a way still because in my story, it felt like it also involved finding the right instrument with the saxophone. But music and saxophone are really symbolic. For me, it was those things, but ultimately it wasn’t “music and saxophone” so much as it was my finding my arena as well as my conduit to create within it. Developing and honing that became the focal point, and interestingly would force me to confront performance anxiety and confidence again.

My next evolution would be when I found the right mentor. For me, going into high school I matched with a private instructor. He was a man who was something of a legend in my small town named Larry Kirkman. Larry possessed everything necessary in the ideal mentor for me. He saw potential in students they couldn’t fathom, he had a vast wealth of knowledge, and he had command, not just one-on-one, but he could command a room. You wanted to perform for him week to week, and while it wasn’t as if complimentary feedback was bountiful, he had a way through little actions and behavior to make you feel like your world was rewarded when you performed well. 

He was also hilarious—an important thing for me I realize. Balancing seriousness, integrity, empathy, and respect, as well as the ability to not take things too seriously and find humor in the little things is a fine balancing act, but one that I find has made life more fulfilling and shaped much of my own teaching methodology. It’s also far easier to perform challenges or allow yourself to walk to the edge when you realize it isn’t actually the end of the world. It’s good to remind oneself of that time and again as new challenges present themselves.

I felt lucky to discover this early on. Perfection was never going to be the objective, nor should it. We can so easily beat ourselves down over the slightest mistake or misstep, but we lose sight of how universal these experiences and feelings are. Obviously, just recognizing a feeling may be universal doesn’t then automatically make it feel less intense. But pausing and resetting that healthy mindset can help put things in perspective. When I accepted that it was truly only ever the work leading up to performance where my concerns needed to lie, my comfort on stage seemed to sky-rocket. If I felt good about that, then I needn’t a regret in the final outcome. Hell, even the warts of a performance became charming with that mindset. One obsesses over flaws but it’s something of a revelation and liberation when you commit those flaws to then being part of the music and the performance and don’t look back. From there on out, performance only ever felt like another run in the practice room, with the stage as my personal domain.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Presently I live in New York City as a full-time freelance performer, lecturer and private instructor. Education is something dear to me. I spent 8 years as a music professor and lecturer at the Cincinnati Conservatory and Xavier University before moving to NYC to work in music manufacturing of saxophone and clarinet accessories for a year. Being exposed to a more business and corporate side of music was new and insightful, and I’m glad to have experienced a completely different career realm. But at the end of the day, I’m a highly social person; I thrive off of interpersonal and interactive dynamics. In part I feel if I’m continuing the tradition of passing knowledge on or mentoring, in a way it’s giving back, or paying homage to my mentors, and particularly my high school teacher Larry. And there’s something priceless about helping young people on their journey and witnessing their growth. I don’t wish to pretend that the bulk of credit goes to the teacher, on the contrary, the vast majority of the work is on the pupil. I’m but a guiding hand, and one that practices what my teachers did with me: I see the potential in students they may be unaware of and seek to draw it out and maximize it…all with some good humor sprinkled about.

My performance settings vary some. Things aren’t necessarily required to be “high-art” at all times. For example I’ve enjoyed of late performing at weddings and private events and collaborating with DJs. There’s a joy you can create as a performer in theses atmospheres I find entirely unique. I compose music as well and much of what I perform in concert is original material. I have an interesting background being the child of Indian immigrants and growing up in something of a bi-musical home; my upbringing was rich with sounds from India as well as the West. It would take some time to manifest into a musical identity, but around my graduate studies I began studying tabla and classical North Indian rhythm and then wanting to write, arrange and adapt these seemingly disparate concepts and techniques to the saxophone.

What’s since transpired is my discovering my own niche, where I’ve created in the intersection of contemporary music and Indian music. Most frequently I have written and performed alongside tabla, played by a masterful player in Cincinnati named Jim Feist. It’s a privilege to create the art you want to see in the world, and even greater when you feel like you may have some exclusive claim to it. That kind of claim absolutely boosts one’s confidence. I’m far from the only “fusion” player to incorporate Indian sounds or rhythms, but I think we’ve discovered something untapped on our record “7th Life.” Our music isn’t wholly jazz-oriented, or western classical, or Indian classical, or avant-garde, but it’s something that taps into each of those, maybe not at all at once, but certainly we strove to create a listening journey that could prove unique for listeners, as they traverse groove, trance, and sophisticated Indian rhythmic-structures. I couldn’t have composed or performed the works without my own experiential study and performance of those various styles over my life. I suppose ultimately I’m always just trying to practice what I do with my students, and maximize some amalgamation of my own skills and knowledge.

I think that multi-intersectional approach of my music aligns with what gets me stimulated and drives my other interests, be it privately or professionally. My favorite band happens to be The Beatles; hardly an original take, but as an academic, in addition to teaching music and saxophone I was a Beatles professor and lecturer for years. I was always a life-long fan, and I think when I dove into them as a subject of study, something transformed beyond being enticed by the music and the personalities (which could have been, and often is enough for most people). I became obsessed with the endless intersections throughout culture, history, technology, visual art, fashion, etc–just an abundance of tantalizing color and character contained in this prism of a band from a hotly dynamic decade; all woven together with highly dramatic narrative flow.

Using music and a band, with an abundance of media at one’s disposal as a means for educating students on a comically rich and diverse array of topics is perhaps the most fun I have teaching. It’s made me a better story-teller, and I absolutely approach each lecture as a self-contained story that just happens to be imparting essential knowledge. I’m still a freelance lecturer on the music and history of The Beatles. It’s funny in a way to step back and think I’ve made saxophone, teaching, and talking about my favorite band my life, but making what you love your career is immensely gratifying. It may not always be the things that can double as potential hobbies, but it’s important to love what you do professionally, and knowing myself, I have no doubt my own self-esteem is tied unto it.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Empathy is number one. I believe empathy also contains the traits and practices of being respectful and patient. As much as I may be privileged to teach others, my students have taught me so much if not just as much. Every person is unique, and they have their ups and downs, and you may not know what version of an individual you’ll be receiving on a particular day. We all contain multitudes, and can’t always be the best version of ourselves, for any number of reasons. It’s important to stay mindful of that. I had to remind myself that one’s college years encompass a youthful, changing, and highly impressionable time in life, obvious though that may seem. That’s not always an easy time for people. I was teaching during COVID lockdown as well and observed changes to students’ mental health and overall disposition. Being empathetic made me a good teacher, but I believed it necessary to not always be in “teacher-student” mode. I made it a point to talk to them just as people, going through life; to be a sympathetic ear, to check-in and remind them I’m available, invested, and I care on a personal level. It means something for them, and likewise, it means something for you when you’re on the other side and in need.

I think my willingness, and eagerness really to form meaningful relationships can’t be understated. I realize it’s not easy for everyone to interact with and socialize with others. Everyone says that success in careers often comes down to who you know, so this is hardly protected knowledge, but when I think of every opportunity I’ve acquired, even though I may earned, deserved, more than qualified, etc, and whatever–I knew someone, or someone knew me and someone had a favorable impression of me. Not all cases were direct, but most were. And face-to-face interaction always trumps indirect or text correspondence. We’re social creatures. People will remember a face and are more willing to be taken in and won over by someone standing in front of them than behind a screen.

The last trait is something I’ve touched on a few times already, but keeping a good senses of humor goes further than one may think. It’s an olive branch when conveying difficult material, its the relief during tension, it can be the lasting impression on a valuable meeting. And it’s the beautiful medium to keep your head high through trials when doubts creep in or things don’t go well. We could all laugh a little more. The terrifying, stressful things in our professional and interpersonal lives often aren’t as awful as we imagine, and reminding ourselves things maybe aren’t as serious as we perceive can yield renewed dividends, production and drive. And you’ll make better memories in your social and professional life for it.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Absolutely! I find collaborative efforts more satisfying and enriching than solo work. I’m eager to meet and work with musicians with an overlapping interest in the intersections of Indian music I explore and create within, but I’m not limited to only fusion music. I enjoy working with contemporary composers and ensembles, improvisers, various “world” music performers, and of course DJs looking for a sax player. I’ve also worked with many electronic composers, and performed along interactive or static backing tracks which help create elevated, immersive atmospheres for audiences. I love working to mold theses dynamic and artful spaces.

I’m also keen to meet other independent scholars or writers on all things related to the 1960’s music and art scene, Beatle-specific or Beatle-adjacent. I enjoy working on projects in tandem, and even just nerding out and networking with other artists and scholars is welcome.

While I’m based in NYC, I’ve done extensive collaboration remotely so distance in terms of planning or creating isn’t really an obstacle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.omsrivastava.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/srivasov/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@omsrivastavamusic