Jini Dinshaw, founder of the Bombay Chamber Orchestra – India’s oldest indigenous Western classical orchestra – passed away on 23rd October 2025, at the age of 95. 

    She was a towering figure in the world of music in Mumbai who created, through the BCO, a platform for talented Indian musicians to train and perform orchestral music. She founded the BCO in 1962, after older orchestras like the Bombay Symphony and Bombay Philharmonic had already faded away. 
    
    Thanks to Ms Dinshaw's hard work, in the past 63 years the BCO has become an important cultural institution in Mumbai, staging 3 to 4 concerts every year at prestigious venues like NCPA, Sophia Bhabha Hall and Prithvi Theatre. It has collaborated with hundreds of international guest conductors, solo artistes, as well as several Indian classical artistes.

    Jini Dinshaw's legacy includes generations of music students and partners of the BCO, and will continue to shape the musical environment of Mumbai for years to come.