2007
Member Newsletter:
Dear Friends,
I would like to share with you some news from the Ali Akbar
College of Music’s past events and about our special,
up-coming year. In January, Ali Akbar Khan (Khansahib),
Swapan Chaudhuri, Alam Khan, and Manik Khan played to a
packed hall at the Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata.
The over 5,000 strong audience, overflowed into the isles
to be able to listen to their beloved Khansahib. The performance
was slated for two hours, but Khansahib played for three
as the audience sat in pin drop silence. For some, this
was their first chance to hear this revered artist in their
own home town.
For Alam, the trip marked his debut as a solo
artist in India. As soon as he landed, reporters and photographers
were there to mark his arrival onto the demanding, classical
music scene of Kolkata. I filmed all of the concerts in
India and plan to begin regular film nights at the college
once a projector has been procured. The college archives
are full of films of Khansahib’s concerts, so if anyone
has an extra projector lying around that can handle DVD’s,
please consider sending it our way. It will be put to good
use.
Our outreach has been strong this year. We
completed 38 concerts in public schools ranging from kindergarten
to high school serving over 6,000 children! After witnessing
these presentations, some have started classes at the college.
This was our second year of our ‘In the Schools’
program, and we were able to branch out into San Francisco
schools as well. We are grateful to the Marin Community
Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation for making this
such a success. The children as well as their teachers love
having us enrich their music program and their curriculum.
We have received funding for our third year from the MCF
to put us back into Marin schools, and have re-applied to
the SF Foundation. If you are located out of these two counties
and are interested in having us come to your school, please
contact us directly. The cost is $500 per-performance/demo.
In July, we held our 3rd Annual Music Festival
in the sunny city of Fairfax. It was a smashing success.
We counted 1,200 people through the front door. It was held
in the Fairfax Pavillion and, as it has in the past, showcased
the wonderful body of artists our college has to offer.
In addition, we were able to bring back the Odissi Vilas
dance troupe. The audience packed themselves into every
nook and cranny of the Pavillion to witness Odissi dance,
up close and personal. This just goes to show that even
though the college is heading into its 40th year, the audience
continues to replenish itself with new people who have never
been exposed to, or had a chance to hear Indian classical
music or dance. When you witness people sitting through
7 straight hours of music, you realize that the future of
this great tradition is here to stay as long as we can continue
to teach and present it.
We have just presented our Fall Fundraising
Concert. We were very fortunate to present the melodious
vocalist, Lakshmi Shankar accompanied by our own Swapan
Chaudhuri. Opening the show was Alam Khan accompanied by
Swapanji. But the real joy for all of us was in honoring
Swapanji for his immeasurable contribution, 25 years of
teaching at the college! We presented a documentary highlighting
many of his solo performances as well as his teaching. Khansahib
came on-stage to garland him with a mala of flowers and
to present him with a plaque. I will include what was written
by Khansahib on the plaque as it was a very touching and
heartfelt sentiment:
“Dear, dearest Swapan. With the blessings
of your mother and father, and my father and myself, I would
like to say a few words to you. You are the only person
in my life that has continued with me for so many years,
not only as a musician and artist, but as a rare kind of
son. You have the same motive, like my father and I, to
know and teach this wonderful art, not hide it from others.
You share your knowledge with each and every student who
is capable of learning. It is very unusual to find someone
who works so hard and has dedicated their life to this art,
not for themselves, but for everyone. God bless you! Ali
Akbar Khan.”
Now we move on to our goals for next year.
Our sweet Khansahib is turning 85, and the college is turning
40 years old. We are looking forward to presenting a number
of new projects and concerts. We will be holding a March
and July Celebration Series featuring our artists every
weekend for these two months. The concerts will be held
at our college venue. If you haven’t been here before,
our venue provides an intimate atmosphere, perfect for classical
music, and it feels like home. Look for a schedule of events
in February on our website, www.aacm.org, and hopefully
a direct mailing for those of you who are not using the
internet.
My personal goal is to present a booklet commemorating
our 40 years of teaching and performing. There is a very
exciting possibility of a documentary about the college
if I can get some additional funding. My other goal is to
open the Ali Akbar College Library by February, 2007. I
have been working with a team of students over the past
10 years to archive every aspect of Ali Akbar Khan’s
life, including concerts, teaching, articles and reviews,
and photographs. I plan to open with the accessible material
on hand, and to continue adding to the materials as they
become accessible. Hopefully, seeing this unique collection
and being able to access classes and concerts will inspire
individual donations as well as volunteer workers.
As you can see, we are busy working on the
continuation of a healthy, happy, college environment. Your
continued support of the college is invaluable to this process.
If you are new to us, your generous contribution to the
college will not go unnoticed. We are a small institution,
so each and every member is appreciated. Your generosity
is put to good use. As a student of the college, I am continually
amazed by our good fortune to have been trained by these
great and tireless artists. Ali Akbar Khan and Swapan Chaudhuri
have provided an atmosphere of learning that encourages
us to exceed our boundaries, and hopefully in turn we can
give back to the community some of the magical, healing
music that we have been so blessed to have around us in
our daily lives.
Thank you for considering us in your giving
plans.
Sincerely,
Mary Khan
Director
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