Danish orchestra conductor's incredible journey from Maharashtra orphanage to world stage
As she stands at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai on Friday to perform with musicians from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg and the Royal Danish Academy of Music , the 43-year-old will be performing for the sixth time in India, the country of her birth.
Badstue, one of the few female orchestra conductors in the world today, traces her roots to a village in Pandharpur tehsil in Solapur district, around 350 km from Mumbai.
She was only five months old when she was adopted by her Danish parents and raised in Thisted, a small town in Denmark.
"I have loved India since the very first moment I came here. I feel like at home even though India is not my home at all. It is easy to communicate with people. I have met people who have only been kind to me," she told PTI.
Although born in India, she insisted she is Danish.
"I am Danish, though I don't look so Danish," said Badsteu.
Back in Denmark, she has two siblings. Badstue is visiting with her husband and daughter while her parents are looking after her younger daughter back home.
Her journey with music began at the tender age of eight, and she played trumpet at the scout organisation.
"I loved playing and continued. Then, I got to conduct a band. Eventually, I developed an interest in conducting. I always knew that I loved conducting," she said.
Conducting came to her naturally, but it was still a long process, she said.
And like a true artiste, Badstue says, "I feel I have only scratched the surface."
Having performed with orchestras in the US and across Europe, Badstue worked with maestro Zubin Mehta last year, the NCPA said.
On Friday evening, under Badstue's baton, the SOI Chamber Orchestra, with musicians from the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/Aalborg and Royal Danish Academy of Music , will present Carl Nielsen's radiant Helios Overture.
"Badstue has steadily established herself as one of the leading Scandinavian conductors of her generation. Lauded for her expressive clarity, physical dynamism, and communicative power on the podium, she brings a unique artistic voice shaped by her multicultural upbringing, classical training, and a deep commitment to cross-cultural collaboration," the NCPA said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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