MUMBAI: Oscar-winning composer  AR Rahman is now aiming to attain an international name for his music institution KM Music Conservatory (KMMC). A group of students from Rahman's KMMC have become the first musicians from the institute to travel to UK as part of a new educational partnership with Middlesex University.

The University has worked with KM Music Conservatory to build a course which allows Rahman's students to bring together the western and Hindustani music styles. These musicians will get an opportunity to gain a full honours degree in London, after the completion of their diploma in Chennai. The first batch of KMMC students commenced their studies at the university from October 2012.

As part of the partnership, students from the institute will get a chance to go to London every year for the honours degree.

Excited about the collaboration, Rahman said, “When a vision becomes a reality, you are inspired to do more. This is a great start for Indian kids to have this multicultural exposure, because they are the leaders of tomorrow.”

Middlesex University BA music programme leader Dr François Evans said, “In the short time that the students have been in London, we have learned much from each others' cultures and the way we perform. Apart from experimenting with fusions of Indian and Western music techniques, it will be wonderful to contrast different educational styles, mixing instruction in India where it's common to learn under a single highly regarded musician,  and with the UK, where we teach under a shared curriculum.”

The renowned composer founded the conservatory to expand the horizons of musicians in India through his students who echo the same ideology today. Abinav Sridharan, student from Chennai now studying in Middlesex University, said, “India, as we all know has a myriad of cultures and arts, with a majority of it originating from different parts of the country itself. I find the same here in London, just that there are more opportunities for people from all over the world to showcase their talent. This scene is just in its starting stages in India and studying here will certainly give us a chance to experience all that London has to offer.”

Another student from Sikkim Tshering Leizum Bhutia said, “Western music was totally new to me and studying in the comfort of my own country gave me confidence and the courage to take the big step towards studying in London. There are definitely more opportunities here in London where Western classical music in concerned. We now have access to live performances such as operas, concerts and musicals which are not available in India but are very important in our line of study.”