There is a beautiful place in your mind

While Smile Pinkie is making waves in theatres across the United States and in other parts of the film loving world, over here the man who made it sing, is planning something rather unique.
What is so unique about a workshop, one may well ask. But it is that- simply because there is going to be a kind of an interaction, not seen before here, Chennai specifically. The Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, a professional college of music being launched by Marg Limited with the brilliant Prasanna at its helm, is getting musicians of all genres together at the 77 acre Marg Tapovan for a week in a process of learning, discovering and performing from August 17-22.
This also means that there are going to be international musicians of the likes of guitarist David Gilmore (Wayne Shorter, Joss Stone, Trilok Gurtu), bassist Mike Pope (Chick Corea and the EleKtric Band, Al Di Meola, Mecheael Brecker) and Rodney Holmes (8 -time Grammy Award winning drummer, who plays with Santana, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter), who will conduct classes, demonstrations and also provide the participants to have a one on one with world class guitarists, drummers etc.
It is to be a residential programme with those who get selected to live amidst nature and do what they love best- make music. Anyone who is here during this time, can make as much music as they want or be as loud as they want and no one will think it strange if someone chooses to play the drums under a lone tree at midnight,’’ says Prasanna, who is in Chennai to tie up things for this workshop.
‘’This is also the place where a college is being built,’’ he says and ‘’will be ready to roll in July 2010 with world class faculty and facilities. Its going to be part of a new city being built by Marg and the college will provide that kind of an exposure people get when they go to a western country to study music.’’
‘’We have been working on a series of initiatives for the college and the workshop is one of them,’’ he says. ‘’And this is unique, because musicians rarely get a chance to experience working or playing music with international artists. It’s the cream of top musicians who will be part of the faculty,’’he adds ‘’ and it can be life altering.’’
The full fledged college will offer a one year diploma in music and’’ we have already started the activities for it. I might take this workshop to other cities in the country and outside we might do a bunch of seminars and apart from building something in the business sense, we are also making the idea of studying music professionally, a reality. The workshop is basically to give a taste of what can come out of such interactions with musicians from all over the world. ‘’
The registrations for the workshop are on full swing with requests being phenomenal. ‘’We are not only getting applications from musicians within the country but also from all over the world,’’ says Prasanna.
Such workshops he feels, make even the best professional player a student for a while. The application can be downloaded from http:// www.guitarprasanna .com/prasanna/applicationpacket.pdf. It also needs to be accompanied by a demo tape or cd of work done. ‘We want to accommodate as many people as we can and there is no age limit except for participants being above 13 – basically those who are comfortable being on their own. We are looking at a good proportion – musicians who scan the spectrum. I wouldn’t want a profusion of heavy metal musicians or have 25 guitarists and just three drummers. The curriculum must be beneficial to all.’’ The cost of the workshop works out to rs 28,000w which includes everything.
Says Mr GRK Reddy, Chairman and MD, Marg Group, ‘’this is something so good for our new city coming up there. And who better than Prasanna to do this? And besides many people are getting into music in a big way and this can fulfil that need.’’
The workshop ends with a huge concert with everyone having a chance to play and provide Chennaites a taste of what different strands of music can do. August 22 also happens to be Chennai Formation Day and ‘’we want to give back to the city that has given us all so much. It’s a free concert and the venue will be decided soon. These are top level musicians and its a fantastic thing for music lovers in Chennai,’’ adds Prasanna. It should be a treat indeed with some of the participants of the workshops already being the best and well known musicians of the country.