28 year old Sujeet Desai is an accomplished professional musician and self-advocate with Down syndrome from New York, USA. Sujeet plays 6 musical instruments including the Bb and Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Violin, Piano and Drums and has just started to learn his 7th, the trumpet. In addition to his career at home, he travels the World giving solo performances and leading self-advocacy workshops to rave reviews.
Sujeet graduated from High School in 2001 with honours, and from the Berkshire Hills Music Academy, Massachusetts in 2003. Since then he has forged a successful career which has led to 10 national and international awards for his music and self-advocacy. These include an Achievement Award on the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2001, presented by the President of Singapore, the “Honour and Pride” award for an outstanding individual with Down syndrome at the 8th World Down Syndrome Congress in 2004, and a “Leaders Award”, honoured in the Leaders’ Exhibit by the Genetic Alliance at the National Geographic Society Museum in Washington, DC in 2006. Sujeet also holds a 2nd dan black belt in Tae Kwan Do, is a “Sensei” martial arts teacher, and has won a number of awards for sport including a gold and silver medal for swimming at the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Sujeet lives a happy indepent life in his apartment in Rome, New York. He has been the subject of documentaries, TV and international newspaper interviews . In the US he has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show , 20/20 and Views as well as in the Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine.
In 2009, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) asked Sujeet to become a national spokesperson and to be a part of their “My Great Story” Down syndrome awareness project. He featured as “The Traveler”, discussing the opportunities for World travel that his career has given him and the article was published in over 40 magazines throught the US. Sujeet also performed a solo recital and a duet with Kenny G at the opening ceremony of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho in front of 14,000 people and was interviewed by former World and Olympic figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi. He is set to continue performing and travelling in 2010 with a busy schedule planned, starting with an international performance in Doha ,Qatar in March.
Sujeet Desai has worked extremely hard throughout the last decade trying to become the finest musician he can be and to increase awareness of Down syndrome both in the United States and worldwide. His story has inspired others and he feels he has a lot more to achieve in the future:
“I was born with Down syndrome. Therefore I learn things slowly. I have worked very hard for so many years to learn what I love to do to overcome the limitations of my disability. I would like to be a musician but my mission is more than that. People say that I have been a role model to young children around the world with disabilities, especially those born with Down syndrome either through my web page or music performances and workshops that I do with my mother to share my story. I like to make my presentations especially at conference like events more than just an entertainment but educational as well as inspirational. So it can be an upbeat on disability issues and continue to bring hope to individuals with disabilities, their parents, families, educators and services that work with them. My goal is continue to work to make my MISSION POSSIBLE!”
For further information on Sujeet you can visit his website at www.sujeet.com.
