Last weekend I took another foray into my increasingly interesting world of what is known in the UK as 'World Music'. I worked at the Asian Music Circuits' Summer School at Kingston University in south London. This great summer school is now in its 12th year, and this is the first time it has been residential, giving a diverse range of students the chance to interact in a way that only residential schools can. The atmosphere was tremendous, with an international group from as far away as Canada and Austria taking lessons from Masters of various genres of music including classical Chinese and Hindustani singing. There was tremendous energy from the Japanese drumming group (which included a rock drummer looking for new expression) tempered by the gentle melodic sounds of Indian stringed instruments, with the teaching being in very small groups, sometimes even at a one on one level. One non-residential Indian lady told me she had set the alarm at 4.30 a.m. just to get in to school in time for a private 'concert' from her tutor, and another confessed to missing a major family event just to fulfil this chance of a lifetime! Me, I just had a great time interacting with some great masters and photographing musicians from a world apart from the norm.
No comments:
Post a Comment