Musical Possibilities

At a press conference last month,a group of music professionals announced plans to open a music school in the city. Called the True School of Music,they said this institution would be fully functional from September,with Ashutosh Phatak,music composer,producer and co-founder of Blue Frog,as founder and CEO; Nitin Chandy,sound engineer and chief technical officer at Blue Frog,as founder and managing director; and resident faculty from the Manhattan School of Music in various roles.

Although the school in Lower Parel isn’t functional yet,its activities begin today with a three-day seminar on career opportunities in the music industry,titled ‘Music Works’. “The idea is to showcase viable career options in music,and to establish that one can have a serious career in music,” says Phatak. The sessions will be divided between Blue Frog and The Barking Deer,Lower Parel,and while the former will include performances and interactive sessions with musicians,the latter will showcase actual course work,with panelists including teachers who will later be faculty at the school.

Other guest speakers and panelists include some of the most popular industry professionals in the country today. Among these are DJs Uri and Reji,Sahej Bakshi of Dualist Inquiry fame,Rudy Wallang of Soulmate,Monica Dogra,Nikhil Chinapa,Sohail Arora,musician and founder of booking agency Krunk,Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy of Scribe,Randolph Correia of Pentagram and Shaa’ir + Func,and Brian Tellis,radio professional and co-founder of event-management company,Fountainhead.

The seminar is open to everyone but requires those interested to register online. The entry is free and on a first-come-first-serve basis only. “We’ve made it free because I wanted it to be accessible to everyone,especially parents,” says Phatak. “There are a number of children interested in music,but often their parents aren’t sure of the possibilities,in terms of careers,” he says.