Stay tuned, Berklee College of Music is on a Mumbai hunt

The Boston-based Berklee College of Music is in India to tap promising talent and to ensure that it gets a fitting formal training. For Indians looking to expand their musical horizons this is a unique opportunity to bag over 20 million dollars worth of scholarships being offered by the renowned institute.

“Berklee wants to give Indian students a ‘taster’ of music education that it offers in America,” says Satya Hinduja, who established the Tabula Rasa Music, the company that will host the Berklee College of Music. An alumnus of Berklee, Hinduja, on completing her bachelors of music in film scoring in the US, returned to India with a vision to share her devotion to music. “The style of music discussed at Berklee is contemporary but the methods can be applied to the students of Indian classical music as well. Jazz and Indian classical are very similar with respect to amalgamating notes freely,” she says.

“I like the fact that mountain has come to Mohammed,” says Rhys D’Souza, who had applied for an audition at Berklee a month ago. A performer since the age of two, D’Souza plays the saxophone, clarinet, piano and has done voice-overs for DreamWorks and Disney. “I believe that you benefit both musically and otherwise from the varied cultures you come across,” says the 21-year-old who has studied music at the Trinity College, London. 

Berklee, represented by four of its professors, will conduct workshops to introduce attendees to contemporary music and will explain how they can benefit from the scholarships on offer. The workshops will cover topics like the use of modality, composition and arrangement of music. It will also include a briefing on what is expected at the auditions, how to apply and what life in Berklee is all about.

Keen to make a mark at the auditions is 21-year-old Bradley Tellis, guitarist of the band, The Colour Compound. “I would like to gain more knowledge about music. I decided to apply since they were coming here,” he says. Along with preparing for the auditions, Tellis is brushing up on music theory and reading of music.   

The two-day workshop will also see some talented musicians in attendance. Caralisa Monteiro, the mellifluous voice of Phir Dekhiye from Rock On is also looking forward to the voice and composition workshops. The self-taught musician, songwriter has lent her voice to ad jingles. “We lack a proper music platform to learn western classical music. There are a lot of budding musicians in the country who need to be given an opportunity to study further,” says Monteiro, who, if given a chance, would love to gain formal training.

The workshops, to be held at the Jamnabai Narsee School today and tomorrow, are open to all. Contact Nitya on 9820870992.