Born in Lalitpur Nepal, where a profession in music was not a common career choice, Sharad Shakya’s only opportunity to listen and to learn about music was through the family radio and television. However, this did not stop his mesmerization with the musical sound but only increased his enthusiasm to learn more. His musical pursuit began with a guitar and his skills and talents evolved from there with various pathways of studies and experiences.

 

Sharad remembers the day he first saw a guitar – “I was probably 11 or 12 years old, and was in my cousin’s room. That was the first time I saw the instrument in front of my eyes for real and touched it for the first time. I made noise the whole day with the guitar and of course, at the end of the day, I had blisters on my fingers.”

 

In his school days, music was his favourite extra curriculum activity. “Those were the best days. Almost every Friday we used to have a music day at school. We used to sing a lot and have competition between boys and girls. I used to be the only one from boys side that knew the songs and would sing along to, the boys team used to win often. But that was the only musical activity at school. I wish we had more.”

 

As a teenager Sharad became fascinated with the guitar and began learning the basics from a close friend until he started 2 years of private lessons at the local music school, Do Re Mi in Kathmandu Nepal. Following the success of the lessons, Sharad began playing with other local musicians and in local venues, which led onto a promising career start, teaching in local music institutions.

 

Even though Sharad’s musical wheel started to roll, he was not completely satisfied. –“As I started to play more and gain further experience, I realized that I wanted to learn more and to study music, with a specialization in Jazz. However, back then there wasn't a school or teacher that could facilitate this kind of program of study, as it was a completely new and a developing genre at that time coming from the western culture. Nobody knew the vocabulary of jazz music back then. It was through organized workshops by traveling musicians from Europe and the US that I began to learn the language of Jazz.”

 

For a guy from a country like Nepal, to be drawn towards improvised music such as jazz, is fascinating yet also strange thing to come across. Sharad recalls how it was back then. –“Jazz music has always been at the top of my list. Even though I don’t consider myself only as a jazz musician, because I do play other genres of music too, but I learnt a lot about music through jazz. Jazz allowed me to pursue my passion and make a career, it was not a smooth journey but it also allowed me to strengthen my other musical talents. Now, I wish I had started to play the guitar at a younger age, but that has to do with my environment at that time. My family’s attitude towards music was completely a “No No”. It was okay to listen to music but taking it seriously as a profession, especially western music, it was ridiculed and at the time, to me, it seemed completely impossible to pursue. Maybe jazz has some similarities with Nepalese culture because of its African roots. Western rock and pop music were easily accessible back then, but jazz was not. I remember a radio station used to play two jazz tunes on weekends. It was 8:30 and 9:30 jazz. So two tunes and that was it. When I heard jazz on the radio, I knew it was different and I was immediately drawn towards it, I just didn’t know what it was and how it was made.  To then be able to learn it was another impossibility.”

 

As they say, “when there is a will, there is a way”, Sharad’s hard work, dedication and passion toward music eventually brought him to Finland and gave him an opportunity to study music in Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory and he graduated in 2014. Later, he continued studying jazz music in Sibelius Academy Open University faculty and finished in srping of 2016. He recalls the days at conservatory –“It was really inspiring, not just because I was learning new things from inspiring teachers but also from other students. Because everyone seems to be so passionate and everyone wants to make it. So it pushes you and makes you want to work hard.”

 

Despite the bumpy journey, Sharad chased his passion staying focused until he found opportunities to learn from teachers all over the world with different cultural backgrounds. With this natural ability and talent he was fortunate enough to play with many artists and musicians all over Nepal and Finland.

 

Sharad is currently based in Helsinki and Jyväskylä working as a freelancer guitar player for various groups and ensembles. In addition, he is an arranger, composer and provides  private guitar lessons. His previously composed pieces have been featured in documentaries, short films and interviews. He also keeps busy by playing with his group Kathmansinki . In 2020, he decided to study further in the field of music pedagogy and started studies in Jyväskylä university of applied science.

 

In 2015, Sharad composed an arrangement of a nepali song for a big band called Boston Promenade in Helsinki and also performed it with the big band for a fund raising show for Earthquake victims of Nepal. -“It was an exciting and challenging experience as I had never done an arrangement for big band before. It was for a good cause and a very valuable experience, so I would like to do more of these.”

 

As moving towards future, Sharad wants to keep his eyes and ears open to all kinds of music and get inspired and motivated.  He adds -“Learning never ends. We learn till the end of our life. I want to grow as a musician every day. I want to become a better musician and a human being than I was yesterday. Whenever possible, I want to contribute to my Nepalese society in any way I can so that people, especially the young, get as many chances and opportunities as possible. I was one of them, lucky enough to get a chance and I think people, who work hard, deserve a chance.”