2010
Member Newsletter:
Dear friends,
First of all, I want to thank you for all of the support you have given to the college this year, and in the past. The vibrant community my father created and nurtured has been a critical element in the school weathering this first year without his physical presence. It is very reassuring and encouraging to me to see familiar faces at the concerts, as well as new ones, and to have a core group of students still eager to learn.
One of the challenges the college faces is finding ways to let parents know about the valuable life skills their children will gain learning this music, as well as creating opportunities for their children to perform. I am hoping to begin a youth orchestra next year that kids can try out for. We will be looking into grants, as well as individual support, to hold a yearly performance of this orchestra. The college is proud of the progress and accomplishments our young students have made, and it is essential that we maintain and grow the future performers of this rich and valuable music.
We stepped up our live, online classes this year to four classes: two levels of tabla taught by Swapanji, and one vocal and one instrumental class taught by me. Next year we will be adding beginning vocal taught by Wallace Harvey. This is slowly becoming a viable way for students to be able to attend the college from a distance. We have online students throughout the country, in Canada, London and Switzerland. The response from the students has been very positive. They are really appreciating the fact that they can study from the comfort of their homes, without the financial stress of finding housing here in Marin.
We held our first day of concerts celebrating my father’s birthday on April 14th. It was a wonderful way for all of us to get together to honor his life and his music. We plan to do this every year. Next year we will branch out and hold the event in Berkeley at Freight and Salvage. The date will be Friday, April 15th from 1 – 11 PM. We will have free performances throughout the day of various ensembles and ticketed evening performances. Please stay tuned to the college website as we update the details of the day.
I cannot say the year has been challenge free, but we have weathered this difficult year. Unfortunately, we have a few unexpected building repairs that have cropped up. The largest and most pressing is the roof on our main building. We need to replace it now. I know the timing is difficult for everyone, but this is a crucial repair that we did not expect and frankly we do not have the funds to replace. Your yearly donation to the college is a gift to the future of this music.
We count on the community pitching in together to make this all work.
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Alam Khan
Click here to
donate and become a member!
Back-issues
of AACM newsletters:
