For two days this week, budding musicians of the city – aged between 13 and 30 – had the opportunity to learn about technology and innovation in music, to find out how to engage the audience and to even perform their own original music.
At the Berklee Tandon Global Clinic held in the city on Wednesday and Thursday, the students got to learn from faculty of the Berklee College of Music, Boston, and also got insights into the audition process for the college’s programmes.
The clinics are part of the Berklee India Exchange, an initiative aimed at establishing a platform for cultural conversation about Indian music through artist residencies, musical collaborations, and performances.
The idea, says Annette Philip, artistic director, Berklee India Exchange, is to bring music education to India, to tie up with Indian traditions, and, says Clint Valladares, managing director, to galvanise young talent here, arouse creativity and provide tools to support them. Both Ms. Philip and Mr. Valladares are from India.
This is the second year of the clinics. Last year, they were held in Mumbai and Delhi. This year, the clinics were also held in Bengaluru.
Tablas, violins, veenas, guitars, wind instruments and others all found their place at the workshop.
And the music created was of all kinds – Indian classical, jazz, hip hop, Kerala folk, acoustic – a beautiful, diverse showcase of talent, said Ms. Philip.
The 100 students were from various backgrounds and different parts of the country – among them were engineers and corporate professionals who were passionate about music.
The faculty felt as enriched as the participants, said Kai Turnbull, electric production and design faculty, Berklee College of Music, who taught at the workshop. The clinics also focus on theatre and dance.
“Music helps blur boundaries and borders,” said Ms. Phlip. “If you had listened to the students in Chennai performing at the clinic with your eyes closed, they could have been from anywhere in the world,” she said.
The event was
aimed at galvanising
young talent and providing the tools
to support them
