The first ever turbaned Sikh conductor? Jashandeep Reehal & Holland Park Sinfonia in Rachmaninoff

The Adagio from Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 2 performed by the Holland Park Sinfonia and conductor Jashandeep Reehal.

Jashandeep Reehal, Holland Park Sinfonia 19 June 2026 (Photo: Marc Tunguz)

Jashandeep Reehal is a self-taught musician from Punjab, India who moved to London three to four years ago. He never studied music and taught himself how to play guitar, piano, compose and arrange. Growing up in a small town in India, classical music was never something that existed and as a culture, Sikh people never ever ventured into that world, and he speculates that he is most probably the first ever turbaned Sikh conductor.

After moving to London, Jashandeep went to see an orchestra performing for the first time, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko in February 2024. He decided he wanted to be a conductor. With absolutely no knowledge, skill, or network, he managed to convince an amateur orchestra last year to let him do a concert, performing Nielsen’s Helios Overture, and he went on to conduct two more concerts with them.

Needing to find a way to stay in the UK to study conducting (his visa runs out next year, and he needs to apply for the Global Talent visa), Jashandeep decided to take risks and started his own orchestra—the Holland Park Sinfonia. 

Their first concert was in February 2026, performing Korngold’s suite from Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Warsaw Concerto, Casablanca suite, and more. They returned for their second concert on 19 June 2026 with a programme including Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 and Barber’s Violin Concerto with soloist Charlie Lovell-Jones.

Read more about Jashandeep and the orchestra on their website.