“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams’
- Arthur O’Shaughnessy
The leading ladies behind Furtados School of Music have taken the words of O’Shaughnessy quite literally and stand tall and true towards their passion of bringing music to every individual and are the backbone of Furtados School of Music.
Behind every great vision there are great minds lurking. Tanuja Gomes and Dharini Upadhayay are the leading ladies behind the vision of Furtados School of music. Both ladies have led their past lives as bankers gaining a collective experience of 28 years in Banking and Finance.
Tanuja has earned her MBA from the prestigious NMIMS, with 16 years of total experience working with blue-chip companies such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Barclays. Her vision for FSM earned her the Goldman Sachs’ Woman Entrepreneurship Award, run by ISB, Hyderabad. Tanuja is an eloquent person who is also a great leader. She goes looking for challenges in every aspect of life, whether its scaling mountains or achieving new heights in her career or following up with her passion for music with Furtados School of Music.
A music lover, Dharini has successfully combined her strengths to become an entrepreneur with a difference. An arts and MBA graduate from Pune University, Dharini comes with 12 years of experience in the banking industry. She has worked as the Head of Investment & Premier Banking at Barclays Bank and has also worked with ICICI Bank and DBS. There was a time when Dharini aspired to start music schools all over the country that will symbolize quality and consistency and rich curriculum where children will inherit a life of joy by learning music. Now her aspirations have got wings and are soaring new heights.
A gypsy at heart, Chinoo Bhosle best describes himself (briefly!) as a - musician, performer, singer, song-writer, composer and educationalist. He has multiple music albums attached to his name with the songs (from his indipop band, A Band of Boys) - Meri Neend and Gori - topping the popularity charts and his originally composed, critically acclaimed song (sung along with his grandmom Asha Bhosle) - Coming Home.
“It would be a lie to say I chose music. Music chose me.” Says Chintu who is a management graduate from one of India’s premiere B-schools. For him music was supposed to be a hobby spawned out of passion. But the calling was far deeper than he could ever imagine. To give up a high flying job and to dabble in music was scary but today after - 4 music albums, 2 nationwide hits, 1 Bollywood film, Video Jockeying, Radio Jockeying, multiple mega concerts and televised shows - music has taken him higher! Being a music educator was almost like a spiritual progression and together we all truly hope to ‘heal the world and make it a better place’ through music!
Born in a music teaching family, Abhishek was introduced to music since birth. He picked up his first few instruments at the age of 4 and has never looked back. From assisting his family with music class setup to helping students learn music from a very early age, Abhishek is now an established Music Educator working at Furtados School of Music as the Head of Academic Quality, Training & Recitals.
Abhishek is a Grade 8 guitarist with a foundation in vocals, tabla, keyboard and music theory as well. Having a successful private teaching career spanning over 18 years, Abhishek has also performed with numerous bands, recorded albums and worked on sessions for television and films.
Having a small Gurukul project established in the hills, Abhishek is an avid nature enthusiast, pet enthusiast, he loves to cook, is a fitness enthusiast, and into learning new languages. He also extremely spiritual and is into meditation & a yoga practioner with a Reiki Level 2 accreditation and he is extremely passionate about super bikes and cars.
Abhishek has a solid background in the corporate world, having worked in Retail, Events, Lease Financing, Fleet Management, Customer Support & Sales. He holds a PGDBM in Direct Marketing & Advertising from WLC College.
Born and brought up in Alibaug, Pritesh found his passion for music during his CA course which led him to quit CA and join FSM as a student. At FSM he learnt for a year under the tutelage of Mr. Abhishek Shah. He has completed the Trinity Rock and Pop Grade 8 Exam in 4 years. Pritesh is a state and National level badminton player who learned the sport under the guidance of Leroy D’Sa
Pritesh is a fan of all kinds of music, however his major influences have been instrumentalists like Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani , Vinnie Moore and a lot more. He is mainly into instrumental solo guitar. Currently he is learning Indian Classical flute under the tutelage of Suchismita Chatterjee from the famous flute sisters.
At FSM he currently is working as an Academic for guitar pan India.
At a personal level Pritesh has many interests, he is a spiritual who meditates, a nature lover, adventurer & traveller and he loves beaches.
Gourav was led into the world of music by the alluring magic of rock guitar; however, he found the true meaning of love through western classical music. The enigma of classical piano, its beauty, and complexity has kept him enthralled as a musician. He is a modern music educator who passionately teaches about the history and theory of music. Along with the appetite to learn more and endear to the different musical realm, he never misses an opportunity to jam with musical talents from different musical backgrounds. When not at work, Gourav can be found quenching his everlasting thirst for adventure atop a mountain.
Music has been Ryan’s passion since a very young age. In his own words, Ryan says that, “it (music) has been a resonance of my spirit”. Ryan believes that music has proved to be a great companion of him since a very long time and has made him the person he is today. Being a versatile musician and an educator for more than a decade has helped him exhibit a collaborative teaching style that blends learning and fun together. “FSM has provided me a platform to develop both as a musician and an educator, a place where teaching music is beyond a plain profession. “
It’s hard to keep up with him. It’s harder not to. He’s not your average ad guy, he’s not your average CEO. He’s not your average anything. Meet him once and you’re hooked. Is it the incisive insights, the wit, the drive or the energy? As CEO of Cornerstone Communications, Uday brings with him over two decades of ad industry experience from headliner agencies like Trikaya, O&M and Folklore. Brand experience is his pet peeve. He seeks it everywhere… in an off –the- map restaurant across the world and in the coffee shop down the road. He now seeks it in the corridors of Furtado. Like he says, the brand can’t be a one hit wonder, it has to be a timeless classic.
Diamonds are this man’s best friend. It’s an occupational hazard he’s happy to live with. As Co-founder and Director of one of India’s premier jewellery brand, Vijay Jain knows diamonds better than any woman. It’s not a mantle he wears lightly. His career path that has traversed varied fields – luxury retail, digital e commerce, investment banking, M&A, is checkered with enviable milestones. It is perhaps safe to say, Orra is the largest feather in his well -weathered cap. Google recently selected the brand for a case study. When he’s not in front of an audience speaking at various forums like FICCI, India Retail Forum, Google and Harvard Business School you’ll find him behind a camera lens wooing his other love, photography.
He’s invested in India’s most promising asset. 10 years, 20 schools, 70,000 students. It’s a report card any educationist would be proud of. Siamack Zahedi is the Founder and Managing Director of A2Q Education LLP – an education consultancy that provides support to a diverse set of clients. He’s also associated with formal and informal educational initiatives across rural and urban India. He’s got a Master’s degree in Education (Ed.M.) from Columbia University and is the founding principal of two schools. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s also currently pursuing Doctorate in Education degree (Ed.D) from John Hopkins University. As an investor In FSM, there’s a lot we can learn from him.
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