Expanding musical horizons – ABRSM’s India engagement tour 2026
ABRSM expands its engagement in India with a nationwide tour of workshops, interactive sessions and composer mentoring, championing holistic music education and supporting teachers, learners and emerging composers in building strong and sustainable musical communities.
The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exists to inspire a life-long love of music in people all over the world. While best known for its graded music exams and publications, ABRSM is also a music education charity that champions a life with music. It makes significant contributions to music education globally, through scholarships, sponsorships, partnerships, programmes, research and advocacy.
In India, many recognise the value of graded music exams, which ABRSM offers across the country, from Kochi to Kolkata, Lucknow to Chennai and many places in between. And yet making and progressing in music comes in many and varied forms that ABRSM continues to champion, for performers, composers, teachers and leaders.
2026 sees ABRSM organising a series of events as part of its plans to support teachers and learners in their musical journeys. Examiner Ryan Lewis will deliver workshops for teachers and interactive sessions for learners and parents in Lucknow, Shillong, Gangtok, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Kochi from 23 March to 10 April.
Sessions for teachers will explore foundations of musical learning drawn from ABRSM’s graded music exams and their marking criteria. Ryan will connect these with broader educational values and creative approaches to teaching.
For learners and parents, Ryan will be joined by ABRSM representatives Sonia Khan and Stephen D’Cruz to explore the value of music education in children’s lives and ways to encourage healthy musical development.
These inspiring sessions will all encourage participants to think about exams in the context of a wider and flourishing musical ecosystem.
The tour continues ABRSM’s engagement work in India, which it is expanding as part of its commitment to supporting music education across the country. One key example is ABRSM’s composer mentoring programme, Writing for Music Education. This programme supports emerging and early career composers to explore the world of educational composition. Launched in the UK in 2020 and in Asia in 2024, the programme has helped more than 50 composers to develop their skills in writing music for a wide range of educational contexts. Indian composers Santosh Baynes and W. Abner Immanuel Carlos took part in the 2024 and 2025 Asia cohorts. Applications for the 2026 programme are open from 9 March to 7 April through ABRSM’s partner Rondo Production.
ABRSM’s Deputy Head of Engagement, James Welburn, reflects:
“Music is many things: it’s a source of inspiration and reflection; it’s a way of communicating and collaborating; it develops our resilience and wellbeing; and, perhaps most importantly of all, it’s fun! We are excited to meet teachers, learners, and parents right across India to explore together the many benefits of music through this engagement tour and the role ABRSM exams can play in a broad and holistic music education.”
In collaboration with Serenade Magazine, ABRSM will share reflections from the tour and explore exciting new opportunities to play its part in supporting music education across India.
