National Centre for the Performing Arts
Mumbai, India
 
 
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, is India's premier cultural institution. Inaugurated in 1969, it was the first multi-venue, multi-genre cultural centre in South Asia. The NCPA is committed to preserving and promoting India's rich and vibrant artistic heritage in the fields of music, dance, theatre, film, literature and photography, as well as presenting new and innovative work by Indian and international artists from a diverse range of genres including drama, contemporary dance, orchestral concerts, opera, jazz and chamber music. Today, the NCPA hosts more than 700 events each year, making it India’s largest and most holistic performing arts centre.
 
The NCPA is the magnificent legacy of Dr. Jamshed Bhabha, a visionary who saw the need for a world-class performing arts centre in India. This vision is being carried forward by NCPA Chairman Khushroo N. Suntook, under whose leadership the activities of the Centre have expanded considerably, and are being further enhanced through a closer association with several national and international cultural organisations and with a collaboration with the Tata Group. Luminaries from various fields have contributed towards lending the NCPA the iconic status it now enjoys, with such artists as Satyajit Ray and Yehudi Menuhin as its earliest mentors. Built on land reclaimed from the sea, the NCPA campus houses five theatres (including the innovative Tata Theatre, designed by the postmodernist American architect Philip Johnson), as well as galleries, libraries, restaurants, and numerous reception spaces. Boasting the best-appointed auditoriums in India in terms of equipment and expertise, the NCPA frequently attracts major events from overseas and is ideally suited to host large productions, including fully-staged operas, ballets, and musicals. 
 
As India’s role on the international stage expands, the NCPA has been investing in the country’s cultural future. The Centre regularly presents performances and workshops by leading artists from around the country. As the national performing arts centre, the NCPA must also have an eye towards the international arts. The NCPA presents several international groups, and has collaborated with arts organizations and theatres around the globe including the Southbank Centre, Carnegie Hall, National Theatre (London), the Edinburgh Festival, and the Metropolitan Opera (New York). The NCPA Mumbai also regularly welcomes some of the leading orchestras from around the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Bavarian State Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and London Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. The NCPA places great emphasis on education and is developing a reputation as a major centre for training and education in all genres, building on an already well-established programme of workshops, seminars, and special events for families and children.
 
In 2006, the NCPA established the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), the country’s first and only professional orchestra. Founded by Khushroo Suntook and violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev, who serves as the Music Director, the SOI regularly performs with some of the world’s leading conductors and soloists.
 
The NCPA Library is the only specialized performing arts library in the city of Mumbai, and as part of its mission to preserve India’s cultural heritage, the NCPA has built up extensive archives of more than 6,000 hours of music and film recorded at the NCPA since its inception. In 2011, the NCPA partnered with Sony Music to release the first set of eleven original recordings of renowned Indian Music artists from the NCPA Archives. The addition of the Stuart-Liff Collection in 2010, gave the NCPA a treasure trove of sought-after books, recordings, and musical scores that is truly unique in the world of Western vocal and operatic music.
 
The NCPA celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2019 with a multi-genre festival of the arts reaching an audience of almost 100,000 people in person at the NCPA and through online streaming. With an ever-expanding list of performances, educational projects, exhibitions, and much more, the NCPA continues to build on its reputation as one of the leading arts centres in Asia.
 
www.ncpamumbai.com