NZ-based freelance composer Sai Natarajan strives to write the kind of music that gives his audience goosebumps.
Though his musical journey started with piano lessons at age 6, the idea of telling stories through music didn't initially appeal to him. However, during his early high school years, he discovered that this was where his passions lay. He has been active on the composing scene since 2016, with a wide variety of projects under his belt – video games, documentaries, short films, podcasts, commercials, and children's audiobooks, to name a few. He has also released music under his artist name "VIUS."
Over the last few years, Sai has had his music performed by professional symphony orchestras on several occasions. In 2024, his pieces "Stargazer" and "We Long For An Adventure" were both premiered by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the latter being performed in four cities as part of the orchestra's "Jubilation" concert series. That same year, he also had a third piece ("A Beacon in the Cosmic Blizzard" from the Celestial Waters album) hand-picked to be recorded by the orchestra. This piece went on to win him the Oceania category in the European Recording Orchestra's global 2025 Call For Scores competition.
In 2025, he will be working on Adaptory and Shyftrs – two upcoming video games from NZ-based indie game studios. His latest piece "In This Corner of the World" (originally commissioned for the Manawatū Sinfonia in 2024) will be recorded by the NZSO in August.
In his spare time, Sai jams with his musician friends, goes for walks, takes average photographs, and plays far too much Rocket League for his own good. He also weirdly enjoys referring to himself in the third person.