Without
apology I write what is my longest blog, and I think my most
important to date... so get a cup of coffee and get reading!
Legacy
of History
This
last two weeks, have seen me really getting back into the music
groove, listening to students as they prepare for their annual
practical examinations, playing before either examiners from the UK
[the Royal Schools of Music (academy and College) or Trinity
Guildhall, or my old London College of Music;] and I have been
visiting music institutions around Kolkata, conducting, teaching and
generally trying to do my bit!
In
India more than in any of the "old empire" western music is
still treated as a pariah, a manifestation of everything bad about
"the Raj" and by many, an activity that is completely
un-Indian. A population of over a 1.1 billion and yet there is no
professional symphony orchestra, no government backed music college
and no degrees available in the universities of India in Western
music. Despite this, there are youngsters who have a passion for
western music and despite the odds are attempting to be professional
musicians. But maybe in every generation maybe 10 people make it as
western musicians, in the west.
Sadly
very few of these people ever come back to India to enthuse and
encourage others. Kolkata considers itself, and has the reputation of
being, India's intellectual capital and has produced many of India's
greatest writers, thinkers and musicians.
The
Calcutta School of Music - 97 years as a beacon.
The
Calcutta School of Music has been a central player in maintaining the
Western Music tradition and I have the privilege to play a part in
that, both now, and have been invited to be more involved as it heads
towards its centenary in 2015.
The
CSM is to quote its brochure "one of the premier institutions,
in India" .... established in 1915 by a friend of Saint Seans,
Dr. Phillipe Sandre.... the school provides a liberal music education
and provides a concert venue, musical appreciation and a host of
other events throughout the year. Especially through its Monsoon and
Winter concert seasons. It is also the home of the Calcutta Chamber
Orchestra.
Culturally,
it is an interesting fact that where Western Classical Music thrives,
the engines of that survival, have come through the efforts of
members of the Parsi community in India. Through the indefatigable
efforts of the President Ms. Dickoo Nowroji and Vice-president Mr.
Sam Medora, I have been allowed free reign in what activities I get
involved in and have been encouraged to think about what I can offer
in terms of delivering activities to support the lead up to the
centenary.
The
Oxford Mission - A Sad Legacy
Another
key player, was and still could be, the Oxford Mission in Behala,
South Kolkata. Following a request from the Bishop of Calcutta back
in the very late 19th century, the "Cowley Fathers" an
Anglican religious order set up and ran a home for "orphan boys"
- in this context orphan might also mean boys from desperately poor
homes where parents could not afford to raise their children.
Under
the late, lamented Fr. Matheison, the Mission boys were all trained
in western music, they were taught to play string instruments, those
without musical ability were trained in the "trades" but
the idea was that when boy left at 16/17/18 they could find their way
in the world.
Today,
many world class orchestras have players in them who owe their start
to the Oxford Mission, shamefully, many of these ex-mission boys,
today walk by on the other side of the street and are "embarrassed"
to admit to their past, and consequently fail to support today's
mission boys.
 |
| Not used because it costs money to turn on the light! |
When I
made visits to Calcutta in 1997,1998, and 1999 their were only a few
very old English monks left and the community was being held together
by a dwindling number of Indian Anglican monastics, then the
community in the UK closed, but a fund was set up to ensure
continuing support for the Oxford Mission here, and two convent
missions (nuns) in what is now Bangladesh. I visited the boys and
took part in some music workshops with them. Some of the boys, with
patronage had also formed the Calcutta Foundation Orchestra (CFO) in
order to make a living as musicians. I conducted them in several
concerts. In 2005 the CFO found a new home at the Calcutta School of
Music, and was renamed the Calcutta Chamber Orchestra.
Last
Sunday I was invited to visit the Oxford mission once again, there
are 153 boys of whom around 90 are learning music, but, it is a sad
place, in the sense that without the zeal and vision of the Cowley
Fathers , and despite funding, the boys now seem to be looking after
themselves, the youngest boys (5-7) live in their own hostel and seem
to have 1 or 2 female staff looking after them directly, but the
older boys aged 8 - 17 seem to have only one completely overworked
warden looking after them.
In
order to be a mission boy, you have to be between 5 and 6 years old on entry,
be either an orphan or semi-orphan (1 parent) or have a family
monthly income of less than Rs.1000/- (£11.50) - that is for a
family of say, four, about 10 pence per person per day!
There
are no staff acting in "parental" roles, for many hours
every day the boys are more of less completely unsupervised, and they
make the best of them. There is a cook. There is also an
administrator, a retired Indian Army Colonel, who is efficient, but
is also a remote and austere figure, the boys springing to attention
as he enters a room. He lives as far removed from the boys as it is
possible to be in the not inconsequential grounds of the mission (the
grounds are like a local park, having cricket and football pitches,
grass and sadly now infected and dying ancient oaks. Laughter is now
in very short supply.
 |
| Couldn't resist "helping out" |
My
friend Sanjib (a mission trained boy) is "Head of Music"
and visits for one day and also for an hour each morning for
band/orchestra practice, but gone is the regime of support and
assistance, musical and emotional, and sadly - and to me it is
incomprehensible - a decision was made to only house the boys to
standard 10 - 15/16 years - rather then to standard 12 - 17/18
years. (The boys go out to government schools but all their books and
resources are provided to them by the Mission - but only supporting the boys to standard 10 really doesn't even get them to the ladder, let alone getting a foot on it. For many of the
musical boys their goal was to join the services as a bandsman, and
the Indian service bands are bursting with old Mission boys!
 |
| They all aspire to be musicians....... |
I just
read the Oxford Mission webpage and feel that now, what it professes
is hollow, and the musical opportunities for the boys hark back to
the days when music was taken seriously. Non of the full time staff
even know what western music is, and more importantly what the boys
need in order to be musicians. A request for rehearsal time was
recently turned down as the cost of turning on a light was deemed to
be too expensive! Effective administration?
Also
by "letting the boys go earlier they are unable to continue
their education and for the musical boys, are not sufficiently
proficient to get into the services, or, to apply to join the CCO, or
even to maybe play in one of the hotel quartets, or wedding
orchestras. They are back on the streets, and after some -albeit
minimal security of being part of the Mission - they are back alone
and having to struggle without adequate qualifications." Suessful application to the services has dropped by 80%
I am
so sad about this, and plan to engage with the UK Oxford Mission
committee, who provide the funds. The UK committee send their
secretary each year to "inspect" and some of the boys tell
me how they make sure she sees a sanitised version of life, the
threat being if she saw it for real the money might (would) be cut
off and the mission closed. in my view, if she saw it for real she might ask some pertinent questions! The boys are encouraged to give her a
nice time and not rock the boat. If she made an unplanned visit she might see something
very different. Efficient administration is interpreted as doing as
little as possible, spending as little as possible, cutting staff, cutting trade apprenticeships, BUT ensuring the boys "know
their place". The UK committee is "demonised" and
used as an excuse for doing nothing. The Oxford Mission is the boy's
home, not an army camp.
Now, I
am not saying that anybody is cheating the system, or abusing the
situation or the boys, the mission runs the same way as any of the
thousands of other orphanages in India, but, the Oxford Fathers had a
vision to offer "more" to get the boys on the first rung of
the ladder, to give them emotional, physical and practical support
and, for them, break the cycle of poverty. I am sure this is not what
the donors to the Oxford Mission today think they are giving to.
Trading on the past glory of the Fr. Mathieson days, has to be backed
up with doing what he and his fellow monks actually did! I feel they would be ashamed or horrified or both!
 |
| The Mission is now under the Bishop of Calcutta |
I was
treated to a concert organised by the boys themselves, and, of
course, jumped up on the stage to conduct their little orchestra. I
then tried to give them a motivational talk, and revealed that at
birth, I too was an orphan, had lived in straightened circumstances
(though in much simpler words) and that music was my ticket to a
future. Just as it could, for some of them, be theirs.
Sadly
all my words had to be translated, yet I am sure that back in 1997-9
the boys had been taught English, so important if you want to get on. They are poor boys why they need English?
 |
| Archbishop of Canterbury visit |
Sanjib
and I had supper with the boys, in their mess-hall, our places had
been set, apart from the boys, under the only fan, and with their
best plastic plates and bowls and of course with a spoon and a fork.
A hundred pairs of eyes watched my every move, after I rolled up my
sleeves, went and washed my hands, and returning, moved my place to
sit closer, I caused a minor stir by giving up my cutlery and eating
my meal with my right-hand, a group of younger boys were agog! When
I chose to eat a raw green chilli, there was a Mexican wave of rib
poking as all attention was on this mad Englishman! I admit the
chilli eating (though quite usual for me here) was a bit of a stunt,
as I wanted to find a simple way to bond with the boys, without
language, it worked, and all the boys, after the meal, came to say a
shy hello, and shake my hand. I had made a hundred new friends, I was
now an honorary "Bengali".
But I
very much doubt if a single boy this year will make it as a musician.
The
Calcutta Chamber Orchestra
Back
in 1997 the Calcutta Foundation Orchestra consisted of boys who had
recently left the Mission, alongside some of their teachers and some
other old mission boys. They were keen, and were paid a minuscule
stipend for each rehearsal and a slightly better payment for every
concert. They money was just enough to keep body and soul together,
but no more. Some of the boys, now men, are still in the orchestra,
so I felt amongst old(er) friends.
 |
| Many Mission boys "used" to join the CCO |
Today the orchestra re-named the CCO and with a new home and patronage from the CSM, and a donor in the USA, the "boys in the band" receive a larger but still inadequate stipend depending on ability of between Rs.120 (£1.50)and Rs. 250 (£3) per rehearsal and about £5 for a concert. The average monthly pay is about Rs.2000 (£25) per month, even in India this is not a living wage! From that money, all expenses have to be paid. Boys used to still join from the Mission, but in future this looks increasingly unlikely as, because they now leave the Mission earlier and are not be up to standard. The orchestra also lacks a strategy and direction. They all, including the conductor Sanjib, do the best they can, but without training and development the standards are slipping, and funds are tight.
I
love this group, they drive me crazy, but, occasionally they produce
glimpses of their potential, but they need to be developed. Sadly,
some older guys think they know it all, they see themselves as
professional musicians (they get paid after all!) but some of them
don't see the other side of the coin, and don't deliver on their
responsibility to practice, be punctual and to show a professional
attitude.
I
am lucky, as a visitor, I can say things, and do things, almost
impossible for Sanjib to do (not being a prophet in your own land and
him previously being "one of them"), but, radical work
needs to be done. I have been offered the opportunity to make that
difference for the next two/three years!
 |
| Sanjib, and pupils |
Roger
Music School and The Kolkata Youth Orchestra.
The
last piece of the jigsaw is the remarkable school set up and run by a
talented (yes Sanjib) who I have known since he was 20 and playing for me back
in 1997. Today, married with a daughter, he also has established a
wonderful music school in the southern suburbs of Kolkata, the Roger
music school.
Roger
being the Christian name of an English friend of the Oxford mission,
who was encouraged to become Sanjib's patron, this he did willingly,
supporting Sanjib, playing for him to visit the UK for violin lessons
and courses, helping him finance a string quartet with other mission
boys, and enabling that quartet to do a tour of the UK. Also Roger
helped Sanjib, open his music school and despite all the difficulties
that school is now thriving. I had the pleasure to spend a weekend at
the school and helped in the preparation of pupils for the dreaded
examinations. (Such is the professionalism of Sanjib, that the
examiner made a point of contacting him and telling him just how good
his candidates were in comparison to what he had been hearing.)
 |
| Manab with a pupil. |
On
Sunday morning all the capable students of the Roger School plus a
few others get together under the guise of the Kolkata Youth
Orchestra and I took the rehearsal. The leader of the orchestra a boy
of 14, was just about to take his performers diploma on piano with
the royal schools, and hoped to do the same on violin next year. He
played the extremely moving violin solo in the Meditation from
Massenet's Thais, I was almost in tears. The beauty of this boys
playing was stunning, and the boy himself modest and charming. I was
extremely impressed by what I heard. In all the KYO consists of
about 40 players of which about 10 have real passion and potential
but all 40 are enthusiastic, I had a great time.
Whilst
there I also met up with another old Calcutta Foundation/Oxford
Mission Cellist Manab, he was a boy then of 17, now a man of 32, and
also a beneficiary of the amazing goodness of people, including the
sister of the late Fr. Mathessien, who sponsored him through is 4
year B.Mus course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in
Glasgow. He is a fine musician.
 |
| Manab .... B.Mus from Royal Scottish Academy |
Both
Sanjib and Manab, are good and honourable men, Sanjib giving up the
chance to live and work in Europe in order to develop music in India,
and Manab, coming back often, to work with the Oxford Mission boys,
and assist at the Roger Music School. The
three of us are planning to start a piano trio when we are all next
in Kolkata and to tour India giving concerts to raise funds for poor
music students to continue with lessons. This may happen sooner than
I had planned!
So
............
Even
though I am only a somewhat rusty player (but plan to practice more),
still I think I am competent as a conductor, and am definitely
enthusiastic to encourage all this young talent. I have been asked by
all these groups to do more and to help them achieve their various
goals and objectives. But, a sad trait here in India is one of
extreme jealousy, linked to an underlying almost neurotic sense of
insecurity. Sadly this leads to very little co-operation and a great
deal of back stabbing and doing down and a total lack of co-operation
and a complete lose/lose scenario for the music students (especially
those interested in performing).
So
.............
I
have been greatly moved by what I have seen and heard, some of it
desperately sad, some of it amazingly hopeful, but all of it
haphazard.
The
CSM wants to celebrate its centenary in 1915 by including the revival
of the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra as a centenary goal! They also
want the CCO to improve and they are also keen to encourage me - by
giving me free reign - to do whatever I deem necessary to improve
things for the better students and their teachers.
Sanjib
and his Roger Music School and the KYO, need help to take them up to
the next level. This includes conducting lessons for Sanjib.
The
Oxford Mission, well, here it is tricky, but somehow the loss of
potential talent because of ending their schooling and accommodation
2 years earlier than before is simply a tragedy. The boys deserve
better, and I want to help them. I also want to share my limited
knowledge but my unbounded enthusiasm, so that more chamber music is
played, performance standards increase and their is more quality
teaching for the better students everywhere.
So
......... the plan
I
have devised (in outline) an ambitious plan, involving me in making
two 6 month visits back here from mid October - March in 2013/14 and
2014/15. During that time I will work with all the above groups (and
others yet undiscovered) but be under the patronage of non of them.
Only
by being independent and autonomous do I stand any chance of avoiding
the politics and being able to (just maybe) get some collaborative
work going, from the students up rather than from the teachers down.
Working
with the committee of the CSM, Sanjib, Manab and others ......
I
will work with the CSM, to deliver classes in performance and chamber
music, do some basic conductor training and run appreciation classes.
I
will develop the CCO and get it ready for more professional playing.
I
will encourage the work of Sanjib and others in developing their
independent music schools.
And,
I will devote time to the Oxford Mission boys, who deserve a real
chance.
In
order to do this I am going to need your help. Buying music,
providing small scholarships (so the mission boys can continue to
have lessons after they have left), inviting external teachers,
travelling, food and accommodation is going to come to more than my
pension alone can sustain.
Next
year, the project is going to cost about £7,500 to do the
minimum to maintain standards and start all of the above, more if
things are to improve rapidly.
The
good news is that between the Calcutta and Roger Music Schools and my
pension I have pledges for 50%, leaving me £3,750 to raise in
1 year. 100 people giving £40 and I am home and dry. More and I can
train and pay some teachers here to carry on for the 6 months of the
year I will be away (doing stuff in Latin America). Actually if I
was here for more than 6 months, I would start to become part of the
fittings and fixtures and impact would be lost.
A
final ....... So ............ "Thinking caps" on
I
am blessed with a talented group of friends (you) and a wide network
of former colleagues, please think how you can help me raise this
£3750, whilst away doing voluntary work in Peru! wnere, strangely
enough, I will be teaching music to poor kids in the Music
Conservatoire in Trujillo, Northern Peru. I am not (just)
asking you for your money, can you help me write letters to potential
funders the amount for 2013/14 is small (for 2014/15 it could
easily be nearer to £20K in order to fund the Symphony Orchestra)
but I want to start small and get results I can use as evidence for
future requests.
I
want to do this as personal sponsorship of my efforts for this year,
sponsors, donors would get recognition on programmes, access to the
project blog and maybe an annual reunion in the UK so I can report
back.
And,
yes this is a departure from my original plan, but I still intend to
have 6 months per year in Latin America volunteering, but probably
more in a music context. I so want to explore the "el systema"
programme in Venuzuela and the missionarie's legacy of baroque music
in Bolivia!
But
....... here in India is a great need and it feels so good to be
doing some good!
Update: 1/10/12
Sunday
I gave a "work in progress" concert for the CSM management
committee and friends, the orchestra rose to the occasion played very
well, and the committee were impressed. A committee meeting followed
and my report on the future was adopted ....... assuming I raise the
money the 6 month plan is on for the next two years!
At
the same meeting I learned that Sir Vernon Ellis, Chair, The British
Council, has offered the orchestra a fundraising slot through a
concert in the Council's impressive premises in Spring Gardens,
London. The committee plan to send a chamber group of 5 (coached by
me) in May/June 2014! We will need to find sponsors for airline
tickets ..... but that is the future. But will make a fitting
international start to the centenary of the CSM in 2015. And just
maybe that single concert in London might turn into a fund-raising
"tour".
Anyways
I digress, please help me, help the young musicians of Kolkata. Send
me your ideas and suggestions to: elgar2000@hotmail.com
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