Sitting across the dinner table from my husband one June evening in 2014, I asked him what he thought about moving to India, as there was a job opening that I perfectly qualified for at a conservatory there. We both agreed that it was worth filling out the application. We were enjoying living abroad in Switzerland, and were happy to continue the expat life. A few weeks later, I had a Skype interview and was offered a position teaching Western-classical voice at KM Music Conservatory (KMMC) in Chennai (Madras). KMMC was founded in 2008 by composer AR Rahman (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) with the goal of creating an institution where Indian students could gain a formalized music education in both Indian and Western traditions, and pursue it as a viable career option. Students study at KMMC for three years before completing the final year of their BA degree at Middlesex University in London.
Of course there are challenges teaching Western-classical music in India. (A majority of my students haven’t studied the kind of music I teach before coming to the conservatory, and instead are auditioned on the basis of basic musicianship skills and an interview.) They’ve never seen an opera or sung an art song. They don’t know how to read Western notation. Of course there are exceptions, and most of my students have studied Indian-classical music. In spite of all this, it is truly remarkable how quickly students can move from not understanding basic notation to Roman numeral analysis by the end of the first semester.
I realize that my students don’t start their time at the conservatory with the intention of becoming opera singers, or even music teachers, as they might in the US. They come to become Hindustani or playback film singers, music producers, or simply to attend the famous AR Rahman school. It is my intention, not to necessarily win them over to loving opera, but to teach them healthy singing so that they can have long careers in whatever genre of singing they choose to pursue.
There are some surprising benefits to teaching in India. All of my students are polyglots; some of them speak as many as four, or even five, languages. (English proficiency is required for entry into the conservatory.) Singing in multiple languages is not a foreign concept. The student-guru relationship is real and based on respect. Sometimes this leads to students not questioning the teacher, but it’s not too terribly difficult to get students comfortable with asking questions. Students are very good a rote-learning and memorization, as India has a strong oral tradition in schools, making memorization a less-demanding task. Additionally, music and other creative options are only just emerging as marginally acceptable choices for higher education. Because of this, a majority of the students I teach have higher education experiences with Bachelor degrees in fields such as communications, engineering, and physics.
Before moving to Chennai, I hadn’t tasted many Indian dishes. I’d never lived in a city with a population over 200,000. I didn’t know of the rich-musical heritage of Indian-classical raag and taal. However, we took a leap into the great unknown. Now, one of my favorite foods is cashew rava dosa. I live in a city of 10 million, and I enjoy Hindustani-classical concerts. Most importantly, I love empowering my students to become accomplished musicians and singers.
Cynthia L. Smith, lyric mezzo-soprano and native of Tennessee, was awarded a Fulbright US Student Award for the 2013-14 academic year to Basel, Switzerland. She recently completed her doctorate in Vocal Performance at Ball State University. An active recitalist, Cynthia has performed in the United States, Austria, India, and Switzerland. She currently teaches Western-classical voice and history courses along with leading the Foundation Programme at KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, India.
