About Dhruv
EDUCATION
BM, Berklee College of Music (’25)
Instruments
Piano, Keyboards, Brass
Dhruv Banerji is an accomplished piano and trumpet instructor, comfortable teaching most genres of music, ranging from jazz to classical to contemporary. He writes: I remember the first time I was accepted into a music school, and my dad told me, “do you understand that this is your life now?” I chuckled and replied, “Baba, don’t worry I know”. That was the truth, I knew music was my life the first time I played a note on the trumpet. Learning an instrument was what first made me realize my personal connection with music and more importantly, story telling. I was very lucky to have grown up in South Brunswick, New Jersey as it had one of the best music education programs in the state. I remember having to adjust to the highly competitive environment, but I eventually fell in love with it. I had to do every band possible, and also be the best in all of them. It was around this time I also fell in love with the piano, and of course I had to be the best at that as well. That mindset led me to perform in the New Jersey All-State Wind Ensemble, and receive a gold award in the Golden Key Festival which also awarded me a performance at Carnegie hall. While I am proud of all of my achievements I find myself more proud of the new music I was able to create. I truly began devoting myself to composing after falling in love with the art of Jazz. Jazz has influenced me in many ways, including my college decision. After joining Berklee College Music, I was able to train all my musical skills as a professional trumpet player and composer. Along with being involved with many student projects, I also have been in various high rated ensembles studying under Marquis Hill, Tia Fuller, Dave Santoro and many more. Currently, I joined the Berklee Global Jazz Institute this fall studying with many legendary musicians including Danilo Perez, John Pattitucci, Joe Lovano, and many more! Music is truly my life, and I intend to constantly excel as a performer, storyteller and artist.
As mentioned above, I was very fortunate to have been surrounded by many great teachers my whole life. They inspired me to teach as well, in hopes of helping others fall in love with playing music. I first started teaching in highschool at my piano mentor’s studio where I would assist and lead solo and group lessons. These years of teaching experience solidified my approach to teaching music. I want to emphasize the joy and fun that music brings so that my students not only learn the music but fall in love with it. This is also important because students will learn better when they genuinely enjoy what they are doing. To summarize, I would first like to learn more about my students and what they hope to achieve and then help them reach their goals in the best way possible.
“For me, it is not the most important point of this endorsement that Dhruv often scores the highest honors in adjudications. Or that he learns quickly and has comfortably jumped into concert repertoire. It is this – Dhruv’s ability to internalize the beauty and expressive qualities of the melodies, harmonies, textures, colors, and rhythms of the music he learns.“ – Karen Dalley