Arooj Aftab is a young musician from Pakistan. A self-taught guitarist, she is currently studying professional music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA eager to develop her passion and talent into heightened levels of technique and excellence.

Life and career

Arooj Aftab was born in Saudi Arabia and spent few years of her childhood there. Her family then moved to Lahore, Pakistan where she completed her O level from Convent of Jesus and Mary and A level from Lahore Grammar School (DHA). She chose finance and accountancy as her career and was well on her way to becoming a professional accountant but deep down inside she had a strong passion for music. At the same time she was teaching herself to play the guitar and soon was writing her own songs, composing and mixing them on her computer at home.

She had known about Berklee College of Music since she was 14 years old through searching the internet for music schools out of curiosity for music education and professional degree in music. Before applying for college, she took a one year break and applied for a scholarship at Berklee online extension school (http://www.berkleemusic.com). That’s how she won Berklee College of Music's first Steve Vai online scholarship, one of five online scholarships awarded in 2004. She kept taking online classes for one year. Now 20 years old, she is living in Boston and pursuing an undergraduate degree in Professional Music based on Core Music Theory, Music Education and Music Production/Engineering.

Her primary goal, as she says, is to bring formal music education to Pakistan and along the way, she is planning to bring about some positive social changes for women in Pakistan and believes that music and musical motivation is an excellent medium to begin this change.

Her music

“To me, music has never been about recording albums and making videos. It holds the incredible power to motivate people and influence their thoughts”

She has sung quite a number of both original songs and covers. Some of which are in rotation on local radio channels. The song that won her the Berklee Scholarship titled “walking” was written by her when she was in grade 9. It’s a mellow acoustic/alternative song. Her other popular works include a cover for Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah”, her originals “Celebration Of Life”, “Bolo Na” and many more.

References

"With her guitar, she crosses boundaries - Pakistani teen picked by Berklee", by Joan Anderman, Globe Staff, Boston News (January 16, 2005).

External links

Arooj's official website

Arooj's music

Arooj's interview for The Saturday Post