The music wizard A.R. Rahman has made his 42nd birthday a memorable one. He has decided to offer a rare scheme to the music world. He has decided to launch a music conservatory that promises to offer a holistic training programme in music and music technology.
Rahman has been dreaming to establish such an institute for quite some time. The genius, who turned 42 on Sunday, was quite excited that this dream was taking shape. 'All of us, musicians, have felt the need for such training. Most of us had to take the round-about way. This initiative will help aspirants move ahead faster,' he told in an interview on the occasion.
The KM Music Conservatory and Audio Media Education will start functioning at a place next to Rahman's studio in Kodambakkam. He has plans to move it to a campus in the outskirts of the city. The programme will start by May, 2008, informs AR Rahman.
The courses include Western Vocal and Instrumental Performance, Indian Classical Vocal, Western and Indian Music Theory, Music Appreciation, Ear Training, Piano, Audio Engineering, an Apple certified course in Logic Pro, and a Digidesign certified course in Pro Tools. These courses will definitely help the younger ones to develop their skills.
'The KM Music Conservatory is an attempt to recreate a world-class orchestra for the enjoyment of India's people. Currently Indian composers must go abroad to find orchestras to record. The vision of KM Music Conservatory is to eliminate this obstacle and provide an exemplary orchestra here in India", said Rahman in a press released issued on his birthday.
The faculty will include professors from India and abroad, and other musicians who will train students in Indian and Western Classical music.
The school will soon audition students who play flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion. Students also have the opportunity to audition for the professional KM Music Symphony Orchestra on completion of the programme.