Swanrabhoomi Academy Of Music (sam) Brings International Keyboard Wizard

Oct. 15, 2012 - PRLog -- SWANRABHOOMI ACADEMY OF MUSIC (SAM) BRINGS INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD WIZARD JORDAN RUDESS TO CHENNAI
~A never before bonanza for music lovers in India~

Chennai, Oct 15, 2012: Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) - the professional music college under the aegis of MARG Ltd, has drawn internationally celebrated musicians as faculties for its Fall 2012 program. Globally renowned Pianist and Composer Jordan Rudess from Dream Theatre would be the special guest faculty at SAM for an up-close, interactive music experience in a residential format during the week starting Oct 15,2012.

Further, Jordan Rudess and SAM’s President & renowned guitarist Prasanna will host a two day workshop “Connecting the Dots” on 18th & 19th Oct 2012. The intimate Workshop will focus on Performance, Education, Technology and  Entrepreneurship in Music. Jordan and Prasanna will teach and perform signature aspects of their music and will share powerful insights on their careers that have long integrated performance, technology, education and business through interactive sessions with participants.

Sharing his excitement on visiting India, Jordan has greeted the students and says “This fall I will be joining my good friend Prasanna and teaching there as a guest faculty member for the diploma program. So I am looking forward to see all of you at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music and all of you in India.”

The power packed training session includes Pianist (Clinic) by Jordan Rudess, session with Prasana on Leveraging multi - culturalism in contemporary music, Jordan and Prasanna perform and discuss the art of improvisation, Technology as a driver in contemporary musicians’ careers – Seminar by Jordan Rudess and Prasanna, Performance clinic on iphone and ipad – Jordan Rudess, Music of Dream Theater –Performance clinic by Jordan Rudess.

Welcoming Jordan Rudess to Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, GRK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, MARG Group said, “We are happy to have the iconic Jordan Rudess at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music. Jordan has always been a passionate educator and his online conservatory has benefited thousands of musicians across the world. Jordan’s decision to come to SAM campus as a guest faculty is an acknowledgement of the excellence in music education that Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music exemplifies.”

This Fall 2012, Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music has roped in international star faculty from 6 countries that promise to deliver an exciting and enriching learning experience for the students. The line up of the international faculties includes American Keyboardist best known as member of progressive metal band 'Dream Theater' and progressive Rock supergroup ' Liquid Tension Experiment' , Pianist and Composer Jordan Rudess as guest faculty. In addition, the full time faculty includes Sofia Tosello (Argentina), Yuri Juarez (Peru), Deanna Witkowski (USA), Arthur Kell (USA), Karina Colis (Mexico), Fjoralba Turku (Albania), Juancho Herrera (Venezuela), Dario Boente (Argentina), Lonnie Plaxico (USA), Phil Maturano (USA), Prasanna (world renowned guitarist and composer) and Karthick (Internationally renowned Ghatam artist).
Earlier SAM has successfully conducted 10 similar workshops of 5 days each which was well attended by music enthusiasts across India. This two day workshop is open for all music lovers and is expected a participation of about 100 students.

Prasanna, President, Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM), says “ We at SAM are excited to host Jordan Rudess as a part of the Fall 2012 program at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music, as Special Guest Faculty in Residence. Jordan is not only a celebrity performer but also a passionate educator. When I met Jordan, we talked about music education and I was happy that he connected to SAM on a personal level. The SAM fraternity thank him for making time for a short teaching residency here, in spite of his worldwide touring and recording commitments as a solo artist, co-composer and keyboardist of Dream Theater. A classical pianist, a rock icon, a sound innovator and inventor – Jordan Rudess is a singular personality in contemporary music and SAM students are in for a treat!”

Jordan Rudess is in a league all his own today as the world’s most recognizable progressive rock keyboardist, synthesist and developer of the biggest selling music applications for iPhone and iPad. Jordan’s musical journey started with his enrollment at the world’s most prestigious music college, Juilliard School of Music, for classical piano at the age of nine. His career path went on overdrive when he joined the band Dream Theater, which today stands among the biggest rock acts in the world, having sold millions of albums and packing big stadiums all over the world. Jordan’s pre-eminent position as Keyboardist and Co-Composer for Dream Theater has made him a music industry icon whose work reaches millions of people.

SAM located at MARG Swarnabhoomi, offers an innovative, dynamic and challenging academic environment with a faculty of world class musicians to effectively guide towards realizing the musical dreams. The Fall 2012 program commenced on 22nd August 2012 with 42 students.

SAM recently signed an articulation agreement with McNally Smith College of Music in Minnesota, USA. Through this arrangement, students pursuing a Two year diploma at SAM can effectively get a degree from McNally Smith College of Music. As per the understanding, after completing the diploma program from SAM, students can transfer upto 60 credits completed to the American institute. In addition to the diploma, this would enable students to obtain a Bachelor’s degree after attending two years at McNally Smith.  
Top students from SAM are also eligible for a scholarship at McNally Smith. This enables the students of SAM to get a degree from McNally Smith and a Diploma from SAM at a much lower cost than what a degree at McNally Smith would have otherwise cost him/her.

SAM is already gaining an enviable reputation in international music education circles for its outstanding music curriculum, programs and student experience. Spring 2013 program is all set to kick start in the month of January 2013.  

MARG’s education initiatives are aimed at MARG Swarnabhoomi EduCity emerging as an education cluster for a New Economy. Swarnabhoomi EduCity is a 100 acre campus that is nestled in the midst of nurturing intelligence, innovation and creativity. The mission is to create an international standard infrastructure with high standard teaching methodologies to inculcate an element of high creativity and innovation in education.

Recent international education alliances of MARG includes Central Institute of Technology, Australia to offer various vocational courses in India and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia, to offer innovative programmes on Games, Animation, Creative Multimedia, Advertising, Fashion & Hair Design, Interior Design, Product Design and Tourism Management etc.