Debashish Chaudhuri (born 14 October 1975) is an Indian symphonic conductor of Western classical music. Since 2000 he has been based in the Czech Republic. He serves on the governing body of The Antonín Dvořák Music Festival and is part of PETROF ART Family. In 2016 he led the concert tour of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic as the first Czech orchestra in India after 57 years. In 2021 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharat Samman Award by the President of India for his contributions to music, the highest award for non-resident Indians. He was also awarded the prestigious Distinguished Contribution to Diplomacy Medal by the Czech Republic in 2021. Background Chaudhuri was born into a Bengali family in Calcutta to Samir and Sadhona Chaudhuri. As a result of his father's frequent postings, Chaudhuri studied in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta as well as in the United States and Singapore. Conducting career In 1995 he was appointed as music teacher at St. James' School. He conducted their four choirs. He founded the St. James' School Orchestra and the Calcutta School of Music Chamber Orchestra. In 2000 he moved to Prague, and was the first Indian to have studied at the Prague Conservatory. It is there his close contact with the family of Antonín Dvořák started. Under maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti he studied symphonic conducting at Chigiana Academy of Music in Siena, Italy. This allowed Chaudhuri to follow the footsteps of Zubin Mehta. Following the lineage, Gianluigi Gelmetti himself studied closely under Sergiu Celibidache, Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarovsky. Chaudhuri has worked with various orchestras, including Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, Brno Philharmonic, PKF-Prague Philharmonia, Pilsen Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava, Prague Philharmonia, Hradec Kralove Philharmonic, Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, The South Czech Philharmonic, Karlovy Vary Philharmonic Orchestra, Stratus Chamber Orchestra (USA), The Imperial College Sinfonietta, Žilina State Chamber Orchestra (Slovakia), The BBC National Orchestra of Wales etc. He is invited to conduct their seasonal concerts with a repertoire ranging from Elgar, Nielsen, Roussel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Schubert, Dvořák, Wanhal, V. Blodek, Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakov etc. to John Mayer, Jean-Michel Jarre and Blatny. He rediscovered the original orchestral score of Czech composer J.B Foerster's song cycle based on Rabindranath Tagore's "Gitanjali". The subsequent recording received great acclaim by the BBC in London. His CDs with the BBC showcasing rare works by John and Johnathan Mayer also received a lot of attention. He serves on the