The Mehli Mehta Music Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes western classical music through the presentation of high quality concerts and music education. Since the inception of our music education programmes in 2002, our numbers have grown from 12 students to over 1500 in 2018.

At the Foundation, we have over 570 students, who come in for classes between 1 and 4 times a week. Much of our focus is on early music education via our Discover Music programme. Five children’s choirs make up our Singing Tree programme. Our instrument programmes have over 60 students in piano, violin, viola and cello. Students in Mumbai tend to have 1 instrument class once a week with very little follow up. Over the last 9 years the Foundation has implemented more contact hours a week to provide a holistic approach to learning an instrument to ensure meaningful progress for instrument students. Most of our instrument students now come in 4 to 5 times a week for individual classes, group classes, chamber music classes, a theory of music class, a choir class and a Sunday ensemble class. We focus on the importance of regular practice and many of our students appreciate the importance and benefit of practice.      

The Foundation’s Outreach Programmes reach over 700 non-feepaying students from low income families in municipal schools managed by the NGOs we partner with. The schools and NGOs the Foundation works with include:

• Aseema Charitable Trust: Early music education is delivered on a weekly basis in these schools where we teach music to a progression of classes at municipal schools. Students we reach are under the age of 8 at three municipal schools managed by Aseema Charitable Trust: the Santacruz Municipal School where we teach 6 classes of 30 students each, the Pali Chimbai Municipal School where we teach 8 classes of 40 students and the Kherwadi Municipal School where we teach 5 classes of 40 students each and 4 classes of 30 students each.

Our teachers have noted the benefits that both young children and teacher trainees have drawn from these classes, not only in terms of musicality and the enjoyment of participation, but also because these classes have helped them in their confidence, in their ability to focus, to listen and with their concentration. 

• Muktangan: The Foundations deliver intensive music training to teacher trainees in the Muktangan Teacher Training Programme year-on-year. Muktangan, an NGO, runs seven municipal schools in the mill area at Parel, Mumbai.

Over 70 teacher trainees are offered training at the start of each year and selected teachers amongst these are then trained rigorously as the year progresses. These selected music teachers reach students in 7 municipal schools managed by Muktangan. 

• St. Stephen’s High School: Thirteen students from both the primary and secondary sections of the school are in an instrument programme with the Foundation and have classes four days a week. Students learn theory of music alongside violin, viola and cello. Students who learn musical instruments benefit from increased memory capacity, learn time management skills and perseverance, improved reading and mathematical skills and develop sharpened concentration.

Our outreach programmes have also greatly enhanced students’ and teacher trainees’ language development and speaking skills and markedly boosted the development of young children’s small and large motor skills. Selected students in our outreach programmes are offered short term choral music training yearly and participate each year in our annual Singing Tree choral music concert.

One of our fee-paying outreach programmes is AURED (Aural Education for Children with Hearing Impairment) where we deliver Discover Music to 16 children fitted with cochlear implants.

Our Education team comprises: 

• Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, a concert pianist, is our Founder Trustee and is the force and vision behind the Foundation. 
• Our teachers include:

• Discover Music Teachers: Ami Makim, Kamakshi Khurana, Kanupriya Garg, Kristianne Mascarenhas, Meghann Mascarenhas, Natasha Dalal-Lord, Nicole Fernandes, Ria Master, Rohini Basu, Savina Crasto, Tanya D’Souza, Virgil Sequeira, Vishala Khurana
• Music Therapy: Wyomia Goveya
• “The Singing Tree” Choir Teachers: Khursheed Printer, Natasha Dalal-Lord, Nicole Fernandes, Ria Master, Rohini Basu, Tanya D’Souza, Virgil Sequeira
• Theory of Music: Beniefer Kavarana, Gopal Chakravartty, Natasha Dalal-Lord, Nicole Fernandes, Rishabh Nagendra, Shimoni Shah, Tanusree Deb, Wyomia Goveya
• Cello: Alexandra Mukhina 
• Piano: Beniefer Kavarana, Nicole Fernandes, Rishabh Nagendra, Tanusree Deb 
• Viola: Artem Kopylov 
• Violin: Artem Kopylov, Dina Semenova, Gopal Chakravartty
• Accompanists: Mitali Saraf

• Simona Kaur Sawhney who heads the Education Programmes daily supported by Jennie Khambatta, Lovey Fernandes and Bakhtavar Pestonji.
• The Education Team comprises Farahanaaz Sohrab Dastur, Khursheed Lam, Jayashree Grover and Kamal Sidhwa Taraporevala who administer the music education programme and support all the teachers and Simona, Jennie, Lovey and Bakhtavar.

Please do visit our website: www.mmmfindia.org

Donating to the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation:

• Your donations help us achieve so much by way of presenting the best of performing artists and promoting music education to children from all strata of society.  Your support enables us to make a difference in the lives of many children and enhance the cultural landscape of this city.  
• During 2017-2018 we have delivered music classes to 1445 children and many of our students from low income communities have been integrated into our choirs and string ensembles.  Our students have performed at various public venues and also for HM Queen Mathilde of Belgium when she was on a state visit to India in the month of November 2017.  
• An additional rented premise for our teaching activities at Hormuz Mansion, 72 Breach Candy will give us the opportunity to increase our group and individual classes which are in great demand.  
• The Foundation has an excellent teaching faculty, many of whom have trained at international music conservatories, and we also conduct workshops and master classes for our students from time to time with visiting foreign artists.  
• We have many exciting projects for the coming year which we are listing separately and hope to see you at some of the events.

The categories under which you can donate are as follows:

1.          Benefactors                                        Rs. 10,00,000 and above

2.         Patron – Gold Circle                         Rs.   5,00,000 and above – annual donation

3          Patron – Silver Circle                        Rs.   1,00,000 and above – annual donation

4.         Patron – Bronze Circle                     Rs.     50,000 and above – annual donation

5.         Patron – Friends Circle                     Rs.     25,000 and above – annual donation

All donations are exempt under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.  

EVENTS – 2017-18

Lukáš Vondráček - Piano Recital    Tata Theatre                                      April 8, 2017

MMMF Teachers' Concert               Somaiya Centre                        April 9, 2017

MMMF Students' 

Instrumental Concert                       K R Cama Oriental Institute      April 23, 2017

Singing Tree Choir concert             Tata Theatre, NCPA                         September 3, 2017

Queen Mathilde’s visit                     Mehli Mehta Music Foundation     November 10, 2017

Luka Okros – Piano Recital             The Royal Opera House             November 12, 2017

Ajay Mallya - Violin

Milen Earath - Piano                        Little Theatre, NCPA             November 20, 2017

The Busch Trio  

Piano/Violin/Cello                           Royal Opera House                         December 10, 2017

Victor-JulienLaferrière - Cello

Guillaume Bellom - Piano                Royal Opera House                         February 16, 2018

James Lisney - Schubert Plus          Experimental Theatre                       March 10 & 11, 2018

MMMF Teachers' Concert               Goethe Institut                                   April 8, 2018

MMMF Students' 

Instrumental Concert                       K R Cama Oriental Institute      April 22, 2018

EVENTS – 2018-19

The Singing Tree Choral C0ncert   Tata Theatre                                      August 26, 2018

Australian World Orchestra

with Greta Bradman                         Tata Theatre                                      September 28, 2018

Giuseppe Andaloro (Piano)             Experimental Theatre                       October 7, 2018

Francesco Granata (Piano)              Experimental Theatre                       October 21, 2018

Maria Nemtsova with teachers

and students of MMMF                   The Imperial Towers                        November, 2018

Kasparas Uinkskas (Piano)                                                                          January 26, 2019

Dan Zhu (violin)                               Royal Opera House                         February 23 & 24, 2019

Amatis Trio – Piano trio                                                                              March 16 OR 17, 2019

MMMF Teachers' Concert               Goethe Institut                                   March 31, 2019

MMMF Students' 

Instrumental Concert                       K R Cama Oriental Institute      April 14, 2019

Midori Goto – Violin Recital

Ieva Jocubaviciute – Piano                                                                           September 28, 2019