How AR Rahman’s orchestra is tuning lives

livemint.com:

₹30 lakh. His family did not have such money. But there was hope—he was told that the college offered scholarships to deserving students, and immediately applied for one.

He was asked to record and send in an audition. Franklin had prepared well for the audition. He shook off the emotion and played the compositions, Dittersdorf concerto No.

1. and Vivaldi’s Sonata No. 1.

He bagged the scholarship. His challenges, however, did not end there. He still had to pay for the visa and flight tickets.

“Yes, we will get it done," said Rahman, after he heard of Franklin’s achievement and predicament. He paid for the visa and tickets. “Study well.

No bad habits. Come back and teach others," was Rahman’s sage advice. Franklin is now surviving the UK’s winter and learning music along with the best in the world.

“I would not be here without Sunshine Orchestra," he tells Mint. As it did with Franklin, the Sunshine Orchestra has transformed the lives of scores of others, who have learnt music, begun performing professionally and earn handsomely today. Apart from creating musicians, Rahman has a larger vision with this initiative—to build India’s own symphony orchestra and put the nation on the global map.

Fifteen years on, he has begun delivering on the first part of his vision. In its early days, the Sunshine Orchestra did not pan out the way Rahman wanted. Students were selected and taught but were not learning well.

The first batch recalled how a concert involving the orchestra was organized in 2009, with Rahman attending. Halfway through the show, he got up and walked out without saying a word. The performance was below par, and there were plenty of mistakes.