MOZART IN THE MOUNTAINS

For over 100 years music has been an integral part of this school, with training starting at kindergarten level

By S S Jeevan, in Kodaikanal

How do students from over 40 countries strike a chord at 7,000 feet above sea level? Ask Kumseok Jung, a soft-spoken 18-year-old from Korea, who can just about speak English. But as he begins to play the prelude of a Mozart composition on the piano, his fellow students get the cue. The violins, the cellos and the clarinets fill the background. And soon the trumpets and percussions join in, as the sound of music reverberates the Palani Hills of the Western Ghat Mountains.

For over 100 years, the Kodaikanal International School (KIS) has celebrated music. “We are probably one of the few schools to have institutionalised music,” says Geoffrey Fisher, principal. In addition to a full orchestra, band and choir facilities are offered to students as part of curriculum at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. The KIS band has performed at innumerable concerts over the years in India and abroad, including at the prestigious International Honours Band and Choir Festival held annually in Europe. This year, its acclaimed String Chamber Ensemble and Advanced Choir will perform at two concerts in Mumbai on February 23-24 and another in Pune on February 25.

Training begins from kindergarten where children have a choice of instruments. “At KIS, music classes are held together with the curriculum,” says Christopher Ostrander, concert pianist, who along with seven full-time and four part-time music teachers trains over 500 students. The Music Department houses 45 pianos, 50 individual practice and teaching rooms, as well as recording and music studios among other facilities. In fact, those who take the Royal Schools of Music (London) examination in music and theory have a success rate of 96 per cent. “Some of us also sing in the Chapel Choir,” says Faraz Usmani, a student.

KIS was started in 1901 as a Christian boarding school for children of missionaries in Asia. It is only the second school in Asia to have adopted the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme and in 1981, it was recognised by the Association of Indian Universities, Delhi, allowing direct entry of KIS graduates to the universities. But its uniqueness remains its emphasis on music. “It is not easy to maintain a sense of community for people of different cultures, religions and languages. And music is perhaps the best channel to blend a perfect harmony,” adds Fisher.

(Published in India Today, February 5, 2007)