2nd Annual Conference for Western Music Teachers

The Western Music Teachers’ Association is very excited to announce our 2nd annual music conference planned for next week, for teachers of Western music and others interested in music! Last year’s conference was a wonderful success, and we appreciate those of you who supported and attended it. As you may know, Western music teaching in schools is a relatively recent phenomenon, and there are very few resources, materials, and networking possibilities for music teachers who are new to the profession and even for those who are experienced. One goal of our conference is to provide an opportunity for teachers of Western music in the Delhi area to meet with each other to network and share ideas, questions, and problems. Another goal is to offer professional development topics that are needed by these teachers in their every day work, topics which may not have been addressed during their music training, but are highly relevant to success in the classroom. This conference will address social media, music marketing, accounting for educators, and professional development topics such as jazz, note-reading, and vocal/choral conducting!

This one-day conference will be held at the

Deadline for Registering is July 14th. Participation cost is Rs 500 per head, seats are limited, lunch is included.

For registration, either go online (http://www.wmtc.in/enrollment-form) OR contact

Mr. Ritesh Khokhar: +91 9910006390

Mrs. Anji Mata: +91 9810098755

Mrs. Poonam Burman: +91 9313054077

Email: [email protected]

Support for this conference is provided by:

The College at Brockport, State University of New York, Trinity College London, Bridge Music Academy, and The Delhi School of Music.

Program Descriptions 

Naman Datta – Social Media and Music Marketing

With the Internet becoming amongst the most popular mediums for sharing media, opinions and the latest happening around the globe, millions across the world turn to social media as their daily dose of “What’s New” in the world. Reaching out to fans, audiences and ‘The People Who Need To Know You’ is a must for performing artists, freelancers, teachers, session players and budding prodigies alike. Media specialist Naman Datta will discuss the ins and outs of online marketing; what musicians get out of online marketing; why online marketing is necessary, and D.I.Y. online marketing for performing artists.

Ankit Relan – Intellectual Property for Musicians

Legal issues are at the forefront of concerns for many musicians. What rights do musicians have concerning their work? Who can plagiarize your work and what can you do about it? The focus of this session concerns copyright laws relating to audio and sheet music publications; what can be copyrighted; identifying plagiarism; securing copyrights for your work, copyright challenges, and fighting big entities who copyright your work.

Ranjit Khattar – Accounting for Musicians

Proper money managing is key to a successful career as a music teacher or musician. Senior accountant Ranjit Khattar will talk about how musicians should keep records, banking issues, presumptive taxation, internal investments, and help on tax returns for music teachers and musicians.

Natalie Sarrazin – Creative Music for Children

When working with children, we always underestimate their ability to comprehend basic musical elements. In this session, Natalie Sarrazin will demonstrate creative ways in which children can experience and understand music, including alternate methods of notation and “out of the box” methods of working with sound.

Brennon Denfer – Playing with Bands on the Music Circuit

Nadya Balyan – Working with the Child’s Voice

Children’s voices are very different from adult voices, and they need special approaches and care. Nadya will address the issues with developing the child’s voice, and differences as well as problems with developing a Children’s Choir, including the methodology, repertoire, and technical aspects.

Ritesh Khokhar – Beginning Note Reading and its Importance

Biographies 

Naman Datta is a Professional Drummer & Percussionist within the Delhi-NCR music circuit, and plays drums with ‘Jive Can’ a 5-piece Modern Blues Supergroup, ‘The Grovesmen’ an upcoming rock’n’roll trio and ‘Moongphali’ – a Bolly-Rock project. A certified and experienced Digital Marketeer, Naman currently works for AVP Marketing & Digital, assisting established MNCs and start-ups in building their online Persona.

Ankit Relan is an internet and music law attorney specializing in Intellectual Property. Ankit is a partner at Mason and Associates, an IP Law firm in New Delhi. 

Ranjit Khattar is a music enthusiast, budding pianist, and the Managing Director of Medfin Capital Group and R. Khattar andAssociates, Chartered Accountants.

Natalie Sarrazin PhD, is an Associate Professor at the College at Brockport, State University of New York. She holds degrees in Music Education and Ethnomusicology from Johns Hopkins University and The University of Maryland, and teaches a wide range of music courses for the Department of Theatre and Music Studies and Arts for Children Programs at the College. She is the author of numerous books and articles on Indian film music and music education.

Brennon Denfer is an accomplished professional musician and has been in the field of music, live concerts, music production, a session studio musician, teacher, and a bassist for 21 years. His music roots hail from Western classical guitar, and are influenced by blues, swing jazz, rock, reggae, afro Cuban, Hindustani music, and Indian folk.

Nadya Balyan studied at the Moscow University of Music and Art, and is currently a choral conductor for Neemrana Music Foundation in Delhi, a non-profit organization, which focuses on training young musicians and singers from India to acquire professional skills in the field of Western Classical Music.

Ritesh Khokhar is the Chief Executive of Bridge Music Academy, Brand Ambassador for Roland, Academic Consultant with Trinity College London, Core Trainer for Piano with Yamaha Music Foundation, Senior Music Consultant with Music Basti (an NGO working with children at risk through music). He is the publisher of public school textbooks based on research into music education in Hungary. In addition, he actively performs with Bandish, a leading Hindi Rock band in India.