NICOLE SUARES
At 5 pm on a Tuesday, the weekly cello class, run by the Child’s Play Foundation in St Inez, is about to begin. Two seventh-grade students from Mustifund High School, Panjim, enter, pick up their cellos and wait for instructions from their teacher and founder, Dr Luis Dias.
He patiently takes them through the practice of the C major scale. This is just one of the many classical instrument classes that the music school provides.
This is a music class with a difference. Unlike other schools in Goa, this music education trust imparts Western classical music to children, and underprivileged students in particular.
Since its inception in 2009, some 500 children have received the joys and benefits of playing classical pieces.
Today, news about Dr Luis’ noteworthy contribution to music education has spread across national and international borders. Some 20 concerts and multiple collaborations with prominent instructors and institutions in India and abroad have enhanced the learning process.
Unlike other schools in Goa, this music education trust imparts Western classical music to underprivileged students.
The recently-concluded workshop with the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) drew enthusiastic participation from young string musicians and teachers.
Talking about the collaboration, Dr Luis says, “This is the second time the SOI has had a music camp in Goa in collaboration with us. The first was in 2022. I hope there will be many more, and gradually, I hope it extends to other instruments (woodwinds and brass), too.”
Through such programs, Dr Dias hopes to address the growing lacuna in finding Goan woodwind and brass musicians.
He explains, “Generations of our youth are slipping through our fingers, who are neither being taught nor have the opportunity to hear such music as it should sound."
"There are concerts galore in Goa, but too little focus on music education, with band-aid ‘solutions’ of just flying in musicians from out of town, instead of addressing the root issue of music education,” he says.
NOTEWORTHY CONTRIBUTION
It’s been 15 years since his vision for the foundation saw fruition. In 2007, Dr Luis and his wife Chryselle lived in the UK, and Dr Luis was still a practicing gynaecologist and obstetrician.
A casual remark to his wife, “Wouldn’t it be nice to place musical instruments in the hands of disadvantaged kids?” planted a subconscious idea for his foundation.
Little did he know that fate would place him in the audience at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms concerts, where he watched with rapt attention – the Johannesburg (Buskaid Soweto String Project Orchestra).
He watched a second concert, by El Sistema Simon Bolivar Orchestra from Venezuela, on TV.
Serendipitously, both included underprivileged children in their recitals. Voilà! The idea for the foundation was born.
The students also get an opportunity to play in ensembles, a junior orchestra for beginners, and the Camerata Goa for more advanced students.
The socially-conscious doctor decided to combine both his passions – music and social empowerment. “I could envisage a happy marriage between the two,” he recalls.
As the pieces fell together, the couple left the comforts of a well-paying job in the UK to set up their dream project in Goa. Dr Luis, who comes from an illustrious medical family in Panjim, exchanged his stethoscope for music notes and has let the music play on ever since.
Breaking the notion that ‘it is difficult to teach the underprivileged’, Dr Luis finds them to be quick learners, in fact, quicker than more privileged kids. Challenges arise due to their low social standing and no ‘tiger’ moms to fuss over their kids’ practice or bring them in fancy cars to lessons.
Students can pick up violin, viola, cello, double bass, recorder, transverse flute, piano and choir.
Though there is no formal grade system. Yet, recently, they sent one of their violin students for the Trinity College exam, and she scored 96 percent.
Students learn simple and complex pieces like Fiocco Allegro, Vivaldi Concerto 2 for violin in A minor, Gershwin lullaby and more. The students also get an opportunity to play in ensembles, a junior orchestra for beginners and the Camerata Goa for more advanced students, their teachers and musicians from the wider community.
Their ongoing project with Panjim-based Hamara School, a shelter for underprivileged children in Goa, has around 20 children learning violin, cello, flute and choir.
The Santa Cruz Village Project offers violin, viola, piano and choir instruction to any child from the village.
Recently, they opened their Classical Music Library to all from Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm, at the foundation office. Students can access fiction, non-fiction, music magazines, sheet music, colouring pages, etc.
WHY CLASSICAL MUSIC?
In an age where pop and electronic take precedence over classical music, Dr Luis talks of the tremendous benefits for students learning the genre. He says prolonged exposure to classical music lessons helps the students in school/college do well in their exams.
He elucidates how music and academics connect.
“Scientific studies demonstrate improved academic performance and scores in children introduced to music education – the earlier, the better. One learns much more than music when learning music: it imparts a knowledge of, and exposure to, mathematics, history, science, physical exercise and foreign languages,” he explains.
“Perhaps more importantly, music education bestows creative thinking and transferable skills that are useful in later life and make him/her a kinder, gentler, more responsible and confident citizen and human being,” he adds.
He cites a study conducted at the University of Kansas, USA, in 2014. “The results seem to confirm a long-held anecdotal observation that ‘increased music participation has important direct and indirect effects on positive outcomes in student achievement and engagement’,” he says.
Their ongoing project with Panjim-based Hamara School, a shelter for underprivileged children in Goa, has around 20 children learning violin, cello, flute and choir.
“After a study period of four years involving over 6,000 children, the researchers were convinced that ‘education advocates should also be advocates for music education’,” he shares.
And, the benefits of a music education are not limited to just the classroom. One of the largest scientific studies, looking at the effect of music on the brain seems to indicate that music provides ‘tremendous benefits to children’s emotional and behavioural maturation.’
The study was conducted at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, published in 2014 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, with a study group of 232 children between the ages of six to 18, and assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural testing.
Goa has been home to Western classical music for centuries, and the foundation ensures the future generations continue to keep the tradition alive.