The interview which appears below, was originally published on The Hindu in June 2008. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
A career in music is still looked upon in doubt and disdain. Economic viability is a major concern. While the Chennai music industry can boast of success stories, there is a nagging fear of whether music alone can be a source of sustenance.
Musician A.R. Rahman has now taken an initiative to groom musicians in a professional fashion at his new college of music and technology, the KM Music Conservatory. He aims to provide students with “a strong artistic, intellectual and technical foundation to pursue music as a serious career option, to train students to meet the evolving demands and expectations of the music industry, by creating a learning environment with courses that are contemporarily designed, and to foster a cultural exchange between students from different parts of the world.”
This year, KMMC is beginning a foundation programme, which is a preamble to the graduation programme that the conservatory will offer from May 2009.
Course Content at KM Music Conservatory – Chennai
The foundation programme includes six papers — Music Theory, World Music Appreciation, Beginning Sight Singing, Music Technology, English Language Proficiency Program and Indian Music — that lay the groundwork for the three-year degree programme.
There will be practical classes in the student’s chosen instrument. Apart from the foundation programme, there is a weekend preparatory programme. Students should have completed Class XII. Under special circumstances, if the student meets the age requirements, he or she can join after Class X and write the Class XII examinations as a private candidate.
“The KM Music Conservatory is looking for students who are passionate about music and want to excel in it. A certain level of proficiency and a desire to practise at least eight hours a day on the instrument of their choice is something we are looking at. All said and done, it is Mr. Rahman’s dream of making ‘The Symphony Orchestra’ that has to be realised,” says Selvakumar, managing director, KMMC. The college is currently holding auditioning and counselling sessions, at which parents and students can also get their doubts clarified.
A highly qualified and diverse faculty has been drawn from all over the world, supported by in-house and visiting faculty from the industry and academic institutions. International faculty include Joshua Pollock from the London-based Royal College of Music for training students to play the violin, U.S. based Matthew T. Smith for voice training, Amsterdam-based Robert Koolstre to teach students to play the harpsichord and organ, and Canada-based Shastaellen Bogen for viola training.
The Indian faculty include Munna Shaukath Ali, Ghulam Murtaza, L. Subramaniam and Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib. Dr. Subramaniam and Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib are also on the advisory board.
Opportunities in Music
There are a number of jobs that KMMC graduates can take up, including becoming sound engineers, instrumentalists, music arrangers, music conductors, music editors or logic pro tool operators with music directors, record labels, FM stations, television channels and studios. Of course, they can also become full-fledged music directors and playback singers.
