An interview of Grammy award winner Kevin Fox who is in the city currently to impart western classical training to students of music schools. The founder and artistic director of the Pacific Boychoir Academy, from California, Kevin Fox, have over 20 years of experience. He talks about his work with choirs in India and the Indian Choral Fellowship. The musician has been on over 40 choir tours to almost 50 states and to six continents.
Excerpts:
You have worked largely with choirs across the world but this is your first time in India. What is the experience like?
I’m looking forward to meet lots of kids from different backgrounds. In fact music is used as a tool to build bridges around the world. Though there is difference in communication and technicalities of the music, but there are commonalities across all types of music.
Do you think it is important for countries to have cultural exchanges through music?
Kevin believes that it is important for countries to have cultural exchanges through music. Films like La La Land have brought music back into mainstream cinema. “Cultural exchanges are very important in our world to enhance knowledge on music between all the countries. Even though people do not speak the same language, music is something that can bring people together. If you put people from different countries in a room at once, they can come closer through music and they don’t have to have known each other before”, Kevin shared.
What are your expectations for the singers you work with and how do you hold them accountable for meeting your expectations?
It all varies by what group you are in front of. We expect the singers to come in fully prepared. We send out the material in advance. We have rehearsals and often it turns out to be a challenging program. Musicians are replacing instruments with electronic music and it is cheaper to use electronic music but I always encourage people to use choirs.
