ShareBy Abdellatif Sharaa
Lina Bakir Music Academy organized a candlelight concert at Al-Yarmouk Cultural Center on Saturday, where children of various ages performed on the piano, accompanied by an orchestra. The event gave children an opportunity to express their talent in front of a full-house audience of parents and invitees. Lina Bakir has been teaching music for over 40 years.
"I have taught three generations, and I have been running this academy for six years. We are primarily a piano academy, and what makes us distinguished is that we go out of way to give an experience to the students that no one would give them. It is very tiring and needs hard work to deal with kids," Bakir told Kuwait Times, adding, "We are by far the only academy that takes kids at the age of three."
Bakir said a three-year-old student was supposed to perform, but he had fallen ill. Other performers include one aged three-and-a-half, up till the age of eight. She said an advanced group will perform in the evening. "If you hear what they are doing, you will never believe that these are kids or students under the ages of 15 - you will feel they are professional pianists, and we are very proud of that. We are not just an academy that teaches piano. We do care about the wellbeing of musicians," she said.
"If the kids have the gift, we want them to explore performing with an orchestra. We are the only academy that has students performing with an orchestra, and parents love it. This is a step forward for the younger generation. Children are excited, although we are much tougher than regular schools. But we have a very good family relationship. We have teachers who become tough when they need to, but with a lot of love," Bakir said.
Bakir said it is very difficult to keep up with this caliber of lifestyle. "When you are tough, but with hugs and kisses, they love it. There are obstacles that come with it though, as parents do not realize the tedious hours of rehearsals we have to put up with. Every rehearsal takes us 8 to 9 hours with orchestra," Bakir said.
When Kuwait Times asked her about the difficulties the academy faces, she promptly said "parents". "Parents are not easy to deal with, because we are a nation that is spoiled. Everything comes easy, and sometimes when people are very privileged, it is worse," Bakir said. She said being tough is necessary, otherwise you will not get anything done. "Parents give many excuses why their children are not attending, but we do not allow this. You can miss classes twice only in a semester, and we will not accept any excuse. We want commitment and continuity - we need to teach our children the structure, as with structure comes everything," she told Kuwait Times.
"I see how the culture is changing. The first generation I taught was very aristocratic. Not everybody took the piano, only the aristocrats and they were the ones who never wanted their kids on stage. If you wanted to host a party, they would sell the tickets among themselves because they did not want to expose their kids out of fear of the evil eye. The second generation got better, and with the third generation, things became easier and parents want their children out there, and this is good," she explained.
Bakir said there are no specific requirements to get into the academy. "You have to want to learn, and if you are interested, this is where it starts. Sometimes you may be very musical, but may not be for you," she pointed out.
Kuwait Times met one of the parents, who said her daughter is seven years old, and learned about the academy through recommendations. She said her daughter has been playing music for two years, and has been in the academy for eight months. "I am very happy with the academy, and happy with what they did with my daughter, and happy for having this many concerts for the kids," she gushed. She said this helped her child's confidence, with attention to time and self-esteem, to be proud of her hard work and show it to people she loves.
