Steven Samuel Devassy
World Record Holder. Zildjian's Youngest Brand Ambassador.
Some musicians spend their twenties figuring out who they are. Steven Samuel Devassy spent his childhood being impossible to ignore. Born in Ottapalam, Palakkad district, Kerala, into a family where music is structural, his father Sam Devassy is a violinist, and his uncle is Stephen Devassy, the acclaimed pianist and keytar maestro. Steven's relationship with rhythm began before anyone had planned it. He preferred the percussion instruments lying around their Chennai home to anything else, and by the age of two and a half, he had given his first performance at school. His uncle bought him his first drum kit. The rest followed with a velocity that left the adults around him struggling to keep up.
His formal music career began at the age of five under the mentorship of Padmasri Sivamani, one of India's most celebrated and recognisable percussionists, a musician whose name carries enormous weight across the subcontinent. Sivamani took a massive liking to the wonder kid and began presenting him at many of his own concerts, including the International Children's Film Festival in Hyderabad and the 10th anniversary celebrations of Cognizant in Chennai. At the age of seven, Steven performed at the TEDxTirupati program in Chennai. These were not children's events or novelty appearances. They were professional stages, and he held them.
By the age of eleven, Steven had become the youngest person in the world to complete the Grade 8 drums examination from the Trinity College of London, achieving this with a distinction. That certification, the highest grade in the Trinity syllabus, is what serious adult musicians work toward over many years. Steven cleared it before secondary school. Zildjian, the world's most storied cymbal manufacturer, subsequently appointed him as their Brand Ambassador, making him the youngest person in the world to receive that honour. Network 18 and BYJU's declared him the Young Genius of India for his musical skills, and he was featured across their channels and international broadcasts.
At twelve, Steven co-founded Superkids - A three-piece prodigy band alongside Lydian Nadhaswaram on piano and Amrita Varshini on flute. That same period saw him extend his practice into mridangam, training under reputed classical masters and developing the command of complex Carnatic rhythmic patterns that allowed him to perform alongside artists of a very different tradition. His mridangam training enabled him to perform with senior legendary artists including Padmasri Sivamani, Mandolin U Rajesh, and Veena Rajhesh Vaidya. He also shared the Mumbai Drum Day stage with Ustad Taufiq Qureshi and Gino Banks, two of the most accomplished percussionists working in Indian music today.
Steven is a vocalist as well as a drummer, and his cover of the Christian song 10,000 Reasons crossed over ten million views in 2017, a reach that introduced him to an audience well beyond the percussion world. He has since released original material including singles Fight the Fear, I Love June, and Mother, and releases through to 2025 confirm a creative output that has continued to grow with him.
His role as Gappu Brand Endorser places him in a brand family that includes some of the most distinguished names in Indian percussion: Pt. Bickram Ghosh, NS Manjunath, Charu Hariharan, Greg Ellis. Steven can deliver a solo performance for 45 to 60 minutes combining multilingual songs, drums, and percussion, a capability that speaks to the full sweep of what he has built: classical depth, popular appeal, and the kind of stage confidence that can only come from having performed professionally for the better part of two decades.
At a Glance
- World record holder: youngest person to complete Trinity College of London Grade 8 drums (with distinction), aged 11
- Youngest Zildjian Brand Ambassador in the world IndiaMART
- Declared Young Genius of India by Network 18 and BYJU's IndiaMART
- Mentored from age 5 by Padmasri Sivamani; trained in mridangam under classical masters
- Performed alongside Ustad Taufiq Qureshi, Gino Banks, Mandolin U Rajesh, and Veena Rajhesh Vaidya
- Co-founder of prodigy ensemble Superkids (with Lydian Nadhaswaram and Amrita Varshini)
- Vocalist with 10M+ views; original releases including Fight the Fear and I Love June
- Gappu Percussions Brand Ambassador; based in Bengaluru
