Spreading the joy of music

It's time to get prepared for the annual musical Christmas gift - from Child's Play (India) Foundation as they get set to present their Christmas concert ‘Joy the World' on December 17. And the excitement is evident on the faces of the little singers and musicians as they rehearse the Christmas songs. The delight when they play their parts in the ensemble and the fuller sound suddenly makes the whole piece sound more vibrant and beautiful.
Believing that musical projects can help in social empowerment and bring in transformation in the society, the foundation, which began operations in 2010 , has been providing musical lessons to underprivileged children and filling their lives with joy. Since then they have delivered many a soul touching performance and hope to replicate the success once again.
"The children and teachers have been working hard for the last couple of weeks. Our senior students are leading the orchestra, taking charge of younger students and also performing as soloists in a ‘Vivaldi concerto'," says Dr Luis Dias, a physician turned musician, who funded and founded the charity organisation after being inspired by two soul-stirring performances by underprivileged youth from Venezuela and South Africa at the Royal Albert Hall London at the BBC Proms festival in 2007.
With nine teachers - Ravi Almeida, Chernoll and Chriselle Mendonca and Lwsi Jones-Angove (UK) on the violin; Dr Luis, Ravi and Lwsi on the viola; Leo Velho on the cello; Susan Badyari on flute and recorder, Anuj Almeida and Divya Monteiro-Pai on the piano - the foundation currently has around 60 children from Panaji, Caranzalem and Santa Cruz. By next year, once the foundation resumes its choral project, more children are expected to join in and learn music.
"Since the inception of our ensemble Camerata Child's Play India in 2013, we have given over 20 concerts all over Goa, from the Monte Music festival, to the Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa, to Santa Cruz church, Fundacao Oriente, Gallery Gitanjali, Kala Academy, Institute Menezes Braganza and schools and village halls," states Dr Dias, who has performed in many orchestras, ensembles and chamber groups, including the Corinthian Chamber Orchestra in London and the Bombay Chamber Orchestra.
Dr Dias who has been in the medical profession for two decades, practicing in UK and India observes, "The study of a musical instrument, and the playing of it, has huge positive extra-musical benefits in our children, from improvement in school grades, to learning first-hand the value of perseverance, that hard work pays off, that regular practice is essential not only to get better at something, but even just to stay in shape."
The music has also helped the children through issues of self-confidence, self-esteem and overcoming personal problems on the domestic and school front. "Music education also makes us better human beings because the metaphor of musical harmony also translating into harmony in and among communities and this is something that not only Goa and the rest of India, but the whole world needs," says Dr Dias.
Few music ensembles in Goa can boast of such a vibrant concert calendar, or being given soloist opportunities to so many young people. The children have progressed to the point where they are graduating from the Junior Camerata ensemble to play alongside their teachers, and even taking up section leader and concertmaster positions where appropriate. Child's Play has enriched the cultural life of Goa by hosting benefit concerts by several noted musicians and ensembles, such as Patricia Rozario and the Fidelio Piano Trio, Madeleine Mitchell, Pedro Rodrigues, the Kodaly string quartet, Bager trio and so many others over the years.
"Ensemble music-making and singing is a huge multiplier as in an ensemble, there can be several desks of first and second violins, violas, cellos, etc while similarly in choirs, huge numbers of young people sing the various parts. This allows the inclusion and participation of children and youth to make music together. There is lot of potential in them but so much more still needs to be done to take it to a truly world-class level. And there has, perhaps, never been a better time than now in our history to make this a reality," feels Dr Dias.
"Our goal is to touch even more children's lives at even more locations in Goa, and to grow beyond to the rest of the country. The aim is to create a solid pedagogical foundation across all orchestral instrument disciplines (upper and lower strings, woodwinds and brass) and choir, with the same emphasis on social empowerment. Already, it is possible to detect children who have grown with us, who have the makings of teachers and performers. Seven years is a short time in the life of an organisation; the future beckons to us in so many exciting ways," elaborates Dr Dias.
All of this is dependent upon funding and philanthropy and the teachers are paid for their time. "The hope is to attract world-class music pedagogues who will not only teach our children, but train a cohort of home grown teachers so that not only our project, but the whole country develops a self-sufficient music pedagogical foundation and tradition," says Dr Dias, adding that this has already happened all across South-East Asia, from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and China. "Now let it be India's moment as well," smiles Dr Dias - hopeful that CSR (corporate social responsibility) will encourage more and more corporate houses and philanthropic organisations to help the foundation achieve this.
(‘Joy to the World', featuring works by Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart and others, will be presented by Child's Play Foundation on December 17, 6 pm at Institute Menezes Braganza, Panaji)