In the lead up to the Australian World Orchestra's (AWO) tour of India in October at the invitation, and under the baton, of internationally renowned Indian born conductor Maestro Zubin Mehta, AWO is delighted to announce the Indian arm of its 2015 Outreach Education Programme, bringing together Australia's finest classical musicians to foster young talent in Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi.
Inspired by the London Symphony Orchestra's incredibly successful 'Take a Bow' programme, nineteen talented music students from Maestro Mehta's Mehli Mehta Music Foundation (MMMF) will perform with the AWO conducted by Maestro Mehta. Mentored over two days by AWO players the young music students will join the full AWO on stage during the Mumbai concert to perform Haydn's Toy Symphony.
This Mumbai performance is a highlight of the AWO's Education Programme that also includes the Outreach Programme, which provides mentorship opportunities and workshops for Indian children from underprivileged areas to learn from and be inspired by Australia's finest orchestral musicians.
The Outreach Programme invites students to share the joys of classical music, with intimate sessions conducted by AWO musicians including violinist and Outreach Programme creator Belinda McFarlane, violinist Monica Curro, percussionist Troy Greatz, and clarinettist Natascha Briger. These outreach workshops will be facilitated by the MMMF for 90 children.
Mehli Mehta Music Foundation spokesperson Mehroo Jeejeebhoy said, "The Mehli Mehta Music Foundation is dedicated to the promotion and awareness of western classical music in Mumbai. The educational programmes for children include outreach projects that bring music into the lives of 900 children from low income communities. The results have been extraordinary - the academic, social and emotional benefits of learning music have been dramatic."
Four musicians from the Australian World Orchestra will introduce themselves, their instruments, play some music and make music with the children. The musicians will weave a familiar Indian story into the workshop to engage the participants with the music they will be hearing and creating. This will be a very unique project for children whose exposure to music is very limited.
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In Chennai, a group of destitute children from the Uluru Children's Home based 100kms south of Chennai and founded by The East West Foundation of India (TEWFI) will travel to the city to participate in an Outreach Workshop and attend the AWO's evening performance under Maestro Mehta at the Chennai Music Academy.
In New Delhi, the AWO Outreach musicians will travel to a slum city to work with 30 children aged 7-17 with the ASHA Society (ASHA), which works primarily with slum city dwellers.
Additionally, 25 underprivileged teenagers will travel from Northern India to attend the AWO New Delhi concert as a graduation present. Six years ago, AWO cellist Peter Morrison taught these children through an organisation called Pestalozzi World, which annually provides fast-tracked education for a group of 11-12 year old children of diverse ethnic backgrounds from very poor communities to prepare them for entrance exams into established schools.
Morrison mounted a crowd funding campaign to bring these teens to Delhi to meet them again, conduct workshops focussed on their ambitions and dreams, and have them attend a concert in New Delhi. For all, it will be their first opportunity to hear a live orchestra perform.
Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the AWO, Alexander Briger, said, "For Maestro Zubin Mehta to invite us to tour his Indian homeland, where he has toured with the world's greatest orchestras, is a great honour, and the Members of the AWO are keen to give back to the Indian community through the Outreach Education Programme and foster ever closer musical ties between our two countries."
Also performing in this major concert series is 25-year-old violist Katie Yap, who was the 2013 AWO Academy Student. Yap toured with AWO under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta in 2013, and now performs as a fully fledged AWO member.