2010 'Sounds of Asia' Summer School – 'Music & Nature'

24th – 30th July 2010 at the Royal Academy of Music

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Welcome to the AMC Summer School 2010!

The Asian Music Circuit started its first summer school in 1997. The idea was to create opportunities for people to learn directly from master musicians in a friendly and inspiring environment. It was the first of its kind and is still one of the best Asian music schools in the UK.

The theme of this year's summer school is 'Music and Nature'. In previous summer schools the AMC has focused on themes such as the relationship between music and the seasons ( Ragas of the Rain ), music and times of the day ( Morning Ragas ) and music and mood-emotion. In a sense, the theme for this year's summer school combines all of these elements with the aim to get an insight into the relationship that music has with nature and the environment.

Artists sing lyrics which have strong references to the natural world, but do the artists feel close to that world? To what extent do musicians find inspiration from the natural world? Is there something in the melody rather than the poetry that somehow connects with nature in a way words cannot? To what extent did social and political change affect music making?

Great seers and thinkers recognised thousands of years ago that man had to live in harmony with the environment. To harm the balance of nature was to harm man's own quest for a tranquil spiritual state in which the ego vanishes becoming subsumed by a tranquillity and a sense of peace and eternal beauty.

We look forward to welcoming you to our 13th summer school to learn from wonderful musicians. There is no doubt that the AMC Asian music summer school will be an enjoyable, if not inspiring course for those who attend.