Ras Al Khaimah’s Music Zone awards 16 scholarships to students in pilot course
Music Zone, the biggest music school in the UAE, has offered scholarships for guitar and violin lessons to 16 budding musicians in Ras Al Khaimah, each of whom were educated at the state-of-the-art facility that recently celebrated its first anniversary.
The group – eight children on guitar and eight adults on violin ranging in age from eight to 40 – have recently completed their 10-week programme, during which they thrived under the stewardship of Sreten Jovic, who holds a Master’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Belgrade, Serbia.
Now the foundation level courses – guitar and singing for adults and keyboard (age 8+) and violin (age 9+) for children – are being rolled to the public as of 1st November after the success of the scholarship pilot.
Music Zone was established by H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, to encourage communities around the Emirate to use music as a means to enhance their skills and wellbeing, while discovering and developing talent in a school that serves as a distinguished centre of excellence for music education.
Part of Music Zone’s mandate is to engage with local communities and empower Emiratis to develop their talents. The facility now has 27 regular Emirati attendees, among them three on the scholarship programme, which was brought in to pilot a new way of learning that Music Zone General Manager John Robinson is calling the “Musician’s Journey”.
Robinson and his team identified the need for developing methods of learning music and so they benchmarked various music programmes globally and, from their findings, created a unique curriculum framework for those wishing to follow their dreams and learn to play an instrument at Music Zone.
Robinson said, “We wanted to open up a new learning experience through larger groups that give students a wider variety of opportunities and, so far, this experience has taught us that there is a wealth of talent in Ras Al Khaimah; all they needed was a place like Music Zone to uncover their abilities.
“Music Zone is a place where people of all ages and abilities can come to learn an instrument in an environment that is safe, friendly and has the best equipment and coaches you could imagine.”
Safa Al Shehhi, a 27-year-old University of Sharjah law graduate, who was awarded a scholarship to play violin, said, “I thought it was impossible at first but, after a few weeks, I improved. The fact that the lessons are in a group is helpful because this format gives us the motivation to continue and to discuss with and learn from our colleagues.”
Nine-year-old Omisha Shetty, from India, is one of the children who took up playing the guitar and she has thrived during her scholarship. “I really enjoyed it. It felt so much more than doing guitar lessons because it was so much fun. If I didn’t come to Music Zone, my life wouldn’t be as much fun. I like it so much that I want to keep playing when I’m older and focus on rock music,” she said.
Jovic said, “The idea is to help students become aware of the concepts and structures of music, what it means to be a musician and how to see the possibilities of what they can achieve as individuals and as a group.
“It is not just a music lesson and learning how to use musical instruments; it is a way to communicate and build an artistic community in Ras Al Khaimah.”
WAM/Amjad Saleh
