Workshop Indian Classical Music at the Philharmonie

15th May 2012

As part of the History component of their IGCSE Music course students from Berlin British School have to study two 'set works', one of which is a fairly well known piece of Western European Classical Music, the other a World Music focus.

For the last few years the latter has been Indian Classical Music. While we use many recorded examples as well as videos to illustrate this foreign form of music I was delighted when I received an invitation to a workshop on Indian Music from the Philharmonie. On Sunday, 14 May, Mrs Schutz and I took some of our IGCSE Music students to the workshop given by three musicians trained in Indian Music. Not only were the students given a visual and aural demonstration of Indian instruments and the art of singing, but also the opportunity to join in parts of the music making. The workshop covered all aspects relevant to the IGCSE exam - which was particularly useful for one of the students present, as he is about to take the written exam.

Claudia Neuse