Singing in front of your fellow classmates may not be for the faint of heart, but one group of first-year students doesn't have any reservations.
The students are all enrolled in a First-Year Interest Group or FIG -- a small class taught in the fall semester and available only for first-year students. FIGs are offered in a cluster of three classes that are linked by a common theme. The students take all three courses together.
This course -- Musical Cultures of South Asia (LCA300/3) -- introduces students to South Asian culture through the lens of music and dance, including a 6-hour singing workshop on Saturday, November 20.
Lalita du Perron, the class instructor and the Associate Director of the Center for South Asia, invited Warren Senders, a renowned teacher and performer of the Hindustani music genre khayal, to visit the class.
Senders flew in from Boston to teach some basic singing techniques. Both teachers were suitably impressed when at 9am on Saturday all students were present and ready to go!
In addition to explaining some of the basics of Hindustani music, many aspects of which had also been covered in the course, Senders invited the students to become actively involved in creating a piece of music. The resulting work is now known as Madison Bhairav, Bhairav being one of the main ragas of Hindustani music. Students spent hours learning how to perform Madison Bhairav, including keeping the beat and using appropriate hand and facial gestures.
- First-Year students in "Musical Culture of South Asia" learn the Hindustani style of music. The students spent hours learning how to perform the Madison Bhairav.
See a video clip of the class performing.
Senders also explained the importance of audience interaction and the students loved learning how to shout out words of appreciation when listening to a performance.
The workshop concluded with a further explanation of musical theory over a meal at Chautara restaurant on State Street.
The students were delighted at this unique opportunity to interact with a music that until recently was completely unknown to them.
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