Education
Education lies at the core of the NCPA’s Mission Statement and forms an important part of the Centre’s ongoing presentations.
Indian Classical Music – Education Initiatives
The NCPA's Indian programming places special emphasis on opportunities for learning more about Indian music.
As a part of its core activities, several instructional programmes such as lecture-demonstrations, workshops, guided listening sessions, seminars and appreciation courses take place each season to provide students and music lovers with in-depth insights in to the intricacies and disciplines of Indian music.
Sangit Chintan: Musical Reflections
Under the title ‘Sangit Chintan: Musical Reflections’, these are instructive and interactive sessions on various topics that have a direct bearing on contemporary performance practices. Panel discussions, lecture-demonstrations, encounters with maestros, seminars, workshops and appreciation courses will be conducted with the help of experts in the field.
Nad Ninad: From Our Archives
The NCPA's extensive archives feature more than 5,000 hours of recorded music and 1,200 hours of film footage of musicians. In order to make these archival recordings accessible to audiences, the NCPA launched a series of guided listening sessions in 2008 called 'Nad Ninad: From Our Archives'. Led by experts in their field, these sessions offer an insight into the finer nuances of musical interpretation and continue to be extremely popular.
MusiKi: Music for Kids
This is a programme aimed at inducting children between the ages of 8 and 12 years into classical music. An exciting series of workshops has been designed for making learning an enjoyable experience.
Through this initiative, we hope to increase awareness and exposure to Indian classical music among children, to create a knowledgeable audience and help practitioners to further their art.
Guru Support Scheme
To support the traditional guru-shishya format of training, the NCPA has launched a scheme in which gurus will receive financial support to train worthy disciples.
Western Classical Music – Teaching Programme
Instrumental Teaching
The NCPA is committed to teaching young, extremely talented musicians who come to forward for individual lessons with members of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI).
To achieve this, the NCPA has established a Quintet in Residence, which represents the various sections of the string orchestra. They form the core teaching staff of the SOI, and with them the NCPA plans to provide for the future of the orchestra with talent that has been nurtured over a number of years, right here in India.
The NCPA also plans to develop an International Teaching Faculty, actively engaged in visiting schools and encouraging people to participate in this exciting new process.
Suzuki Method
The first steps towards this have already been taken by introducing the Suzuki Method of string teaching to schools in Mumbai.
Suzuki Method introduces players as young as four years old to the basics of string technique, providing a solid foundation for their future musical development.
In 2008, the NCPA launched a ground-breaking pilot project at the Avabai Petit High School in Bandra, which has already proved a huge success and attracted participation from more than 80 students aged 4-7. Their progress was showcased in a pre-performance event at the Tata Theatre on February 17th, 2009 as part of the SOI’s Sixth Celebrity Concert Season.
