Name Ravi Hutheesing Great-grandparents Motilal Nehru Grandparents Krishna Hutheesing | Parents Ajit Hutheesing Role Singer | |
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RAVI | Live: Solo and Band
Ravi Hutheesing is a keynote speaker, cultural diplomat for the US Department of State, singer-songwriter, former guitarist for the band Hanson, writer, and pilot who works under the brand names "Ravi" and "The Raviator." He is also a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family. By ancestry, he's both Indian and German (through his London-born, half-German/half-Indian ancestry mother Amrita).
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He is the grand nephew of Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first Prime Minister) and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (first woman president of the United Nations' General Assembly), and youngest son of Ajit Hutheesing, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of International Capital Partners Inc.
Career
Ravi works in multiple industries as a keynote speaker. AASA National Conference on Education (2017), COABE Commission on Adult Basic Education (2017), NAR National Association of Realtors (2017), NAMM National Association of Music Merchants (US 2005-2016, Russia 2015, and China 2015), EAA AirVenture (2009-2014), Cessna Aircraft Company (2011), Berklee College of Music (2004-2016), and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (2009-2012) are just a few of his keynote clients.
Ravi was a guitarist for Hanson (Mercury/Polygram) in 1997 when they reached #1 on the Billboard Charts and were nominated for three Grammy awards. They appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, Today, and several other national television shows, and also performed at Madison Square Garden and a White House Christmas party.
He has performed with his own band at the Louisiana Superdome and multiple festivals around the country, and has released two CDs entitled "Beyond the Blur" and "Ravi." Electronic Musician, Music Inc., Music & Sound Retailer, Musician, On Stage, and Flight Training magazines have published his articles. Simon and Schuster published Ravi's tour journal, "Dancin with Hanson" in 1999.
Also an aviator, Ravi discovered that 50% of pilots play a musical instrument. Yet, the aviation industry was not using music to attract millennials and help reverse the shrinking pilot population (millennials prioritize music). "The Raviator" created a niche market within aviation by performing concerts at air shows, becoming the spokesman for products targeting pilots, and developing a signature model folding guitar to fit in small airplanes.
Ravi partners with the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project in Tamil Nadu India, and is working with The George Foundation to spearhead the creation of more schools for the poorest of the poor ("untouchables" caste).
As a cultural diplomat for the US Department of State, Ravi first went to Russia in 2015 and delivered a series of lectures on artist-entrepreneurship and youth leadership. In 2016, he went to Indonesia—the world's largest Muslim population—and created a songwriting camp for millennials from ASEAN nations, showcasing how arts and entrepreneurship can bridge the most severe cultural and religious divides. More programs will be added globally in 2017. The State Department has also contracted Ravi to be a judge for the prestigious 2017/2018 American Music Abroad program, for which ten bands will be selected out of hundreds to represent American culture overseas.