Good evening, ladies and gentlemen
VIDEO ~ Sandi Higgins (Utpal Devi) shares some of the backstory to making JHAPTAL A DOCUMENTARY IN TEN BEATS while introducing its 1st related concert at The Scholastic Auditorium in SoHo, NYC ~ JUNE 5TH, 2010
"... In the West, as you know, Music is based on writing and reading notes - for the most part - it's based on practicing and learning through written notation. Indian Music... is based on Oral Tradition. It's based on sharing a language with another person and learning through observation, repetition, and experience... Indian Classical Music has traditionally been taught through families. It is something that has been passed-on through the family [lineages]. So if you're not born into a musical family, how do you learn this music? How do you find the context with which to imbibe the depths of this music? That is something that, as an international student, I ask myself - how can I learn this music? How can I find the context to imbibe the depths and nuances of this beautiful tradition that is so far beyond anything I've ever been exposed to before? So - to see someone who has created an institution for that very purpose - for trying to give the opportunity to children who aren't born into musical families - a chance to learn, a chance to feel the joy, the healing, the gift that music is - I find that very inspiring. It's something that I hope in the West we can learn from as well. Obviously, whatever art form you're in, it's hard. It's a struggle. Whether you're an institution or an individual - right now, the Arts need a lot more support, in every element, in every domain; and I believe the support comes through Education. You can't have great art if you don't have artistic education, and that is something that Indian Classical Music represents. It is not only a system of performance, but also, a system of education."
