Academy takes classical music to government school children in Bengaluru

Bengalauru: In a first of its kind, Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa) has tied up with government schools in Bengaluru to teach classical music to primary and higher primary students.

To begin with, five higher primary government schools in the city have already started dedicated music classes and over 500 students have enrolled in the past one month.

“We were quite delighted when we got to know about this initiative as this is a significant chance for our children to have an exposure to music through well trained teachers and have something to learn beyond the basic knowledge of books,” said a headmaster of government higher primary school, Nallurhalli, Whitefield.

SaPa with its set of teachers will be training the students of Govt higher primary school, Ramagondanahalli; Govt higher primary school, Siddapura; Govt higher primary school, Nallurhalli, Govt higher primary school, Sanjay Nagar among others.

“It’s important to inculcate an interest as well as knowledge in classical music among children right from a very young age. We are aiming to provide every child an exposure to classical music irrespective of their backgrounds,” said Bindu Subramanium from SaPa. She also added that it is not just adding a curricular activity in their timetable, it is a process to de-stress the mental pressure that the children have these days due to academics.

This new change in routine is a welcoming move not only for the students of these schools, but also for the teachers, who otherwise have to cope with a highly imbalanced student-teacher ratio in these schools.

Hemalatha one of the teachers said, “We are delighted that our students now have access to such training. The methodology that is being used will surely be beneficial for students’ memories’ to not depend on theories of the book.”

She also added that when children are engaged in learning music, it gives them some time to relax. The school has only four teachers appointed by the government, including the headmaster, to manage 1st to 7th standard, with each standard having 35-40 students.

SaPa has come up with special books to carry forth these classes comprising musical notes with pictorial representations and ‘did you know facts’ to make it interesting for the students. 

Thayagaraj, who is taking music classes on behalf of SaPa in the Nallurhalli School said the Twaang app that has all the musical notes and classes of the SaPa programme making it easier for the teachers to teach and students to have a demonstration. “We are very happy that we are able to do this and provide a platform to these kids as an opportunity to learn and explore and are also hopeful that at the end of these programs, we will find some talents and help them succeed in the field of music further,” said Ambi Subramaniam.

This programme at the end of each level will also have an annual assessment. Bindu and Ambi have been exposed to music since the time they were born. As children of world-renowned violinist L Subramaniam and late singer Vijayshree Subramaniam, and the stepchildren of singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, they are only carrying the legacy forward and spreading music as much as they can.