The WAM Foundation
In the summer of 2006, at the age of 17, Duncan spent a month teaching piano to the students of four music schools in Kerala, Southern India, with friend Esme Anderson. Finding an excessively exam-focused culture, they inspired the children with a broader love and understanding of Western classical music, encouraged ensemble playing, improvisation, and in some cases organised the students’ first ever concerts for their parents. The trip was such a huge success that on their return, they decided to establish a charity to encourage other young musicians in the UK to follow in their footsteps.
With the help of Michael Maslinski, an experienced banker and management consultant, they have now founded the WAM Foundation (standing for Worldwide Appreciation of Music as well as being the initials of the three founders). They have enlisted the support of the British Council, Trinity College of Music, the English Speaking Union, the British High Commissioner, Sir Richard and Lady Stagg, and several individual and corporate sponsors. In the WAM pilot scheme 2009, following an overwhelming number of applications in January, interviews in March, and an induction course in May, 8 young pianists spent July and August teaching in music schools in Delhi and Kochi.
Following the success of the pilot scheme, in 2010 WAM sent 14 young UK musicians to teach in schools across Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. To ensure an enduring legacy, they considerably increased the emphasis on teaching the teachers: a workshop in Mumbai attracted over 80 teachers, some of whom travelled up to 200 miles for the event. More than half the schools involved have now asked for longer term secondments of 6 months or more, in addition to the annual summer scheme, and one of the WAMers has been asked to stay on for a year to design and implement an entirely new music faculty in an International School in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the charity has attracted the interest of Ravi Shankar who invited Duncan to study with him in California, July 2010.
"We have seen a transformation in each and every student. All the
children love the instrument more. We would certainly like this every
year and cannot put a value to this input."
Lorraine Aloysius, The Music Studio, Delhi