First Violin is a solo performance piece investigating cultural inheritance and musical evolution. In discovering the oldest known ancestor of the violin and its connection to the Hindu epic poem The Ramayana, Sean Devare uses spoken word poetry, live music, and narration to chronicle his search for, and recreation of the fabled first violin, invented by the demon(ized) King Rāvana. Against a backdrop of personal and political turmoil in New York City, he reinvents the violin the only way he knows how.
As a first generation Indian American of mixed descent, Devare explores and interrogates his cultural identities and the gray areas between Western and Eastern classical traditions. In undertaking a journey of both musical and personal revelations, Devare lends his voice to the first generation Asian-American experience. Within these autobiographical encounters, he illuminates the consequences of limited narratives both past and present.
As a first generation Indian American of mixed descent, Devare explores and interrogates his cultural identities and the gray areas between Western and Eastern classical traditions. In undertaking a journey of both musical and personal revelations, Devare lends his voice to the first generation Asian-American experience. Within these autobiographical encounters, he illuminates the consequences of limited narratives both past and present.
Photos by Paul Morejón Studio
