Tala Badri is passionate about music. The owner and executive director of the Centre for Musical Arts (CMA), a non-profit organisation in Dubai, is convinced that "teaching music is so much more fun than sitting behind a desk.
"I teach both the flute and the piano, and I thrive on the satisfaction I get from watching people both young and old learn,'' she says.
Twenty years after she got her degree in music from the UK, the 40-year-old Emirati says she wouldn't be surprised if she is one of the only female music graduates in the country. "I regret that few people consider music as a regular career,'' she says.
Tala had a happy childhood. Although her parents were not musicians they encouraged their children to learn music. "I learnt to play the piano when I was four and the guitar when I was six and then the flute,'' she says. She was so good with instruments that her parents and teachers at the Dubai English Speaking School (DESS) and later the Latifa School for Girls in Dubai, encouraged her to pursue a degree in music. And she did.
After completing school, she left for the UK where she earned a degree in music from Royal Holloway, University of London, before returning to the UAE where she worked in a bank and later for a chocolate company. "There were very few jobs open for those with a degree in music,'' she says. However, after the birth of her daughter Sarah, who at the age of three was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, Tala quit her job to spend more time with her daughter.
Today Sarah is ten years old and is also an accomplished musician. She plays the piano, violin and the cello. She is also a good dancer.
Tala credits music with having transformed her daughter's life. "Music has made her gain mental strength and confidence,'' she says. Tala also has a six-year-old son, Ali.
Tala's passion for music encouraged her to establish the CMA in 2005 to take music to the masses. In December 2006, she opened the first branch of CMA at the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre (Ductac) at the Mall of the Emirates. Over time the centre expanded to include 22 teachers and 1,200 students and had to move to a space in the Gold & Diamond Park.
Her work at creating an awareness of music in the city has not gone unrecognised. At the SME (small and medium entrepreneurs) Advisor Stars of Business Awards 2010, Tala won the Admirable Woman Entrepreneur and Emirati Entrepreneur of the Year awards. The same year CMA also won the Business Opportunity Grants Award. Tala was also named a Friend of the Arts at the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards in 2011.
She has a strong desire to give back to the community and through the CMA she supports many humanitarian initiatives including The Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, a non-political, non-profit organisation that tackles medical and humanitarian problems, the Maria Cristina Foundation that works to fight poverty in developing countries and The Green Gecko Project in Cambodia that helps support street children and their families. Friday meets Tala to find out more:
Work
I was never in the cool-kids' clique at school, but always knew I was special because of my ability to play music, which made people sit up and take notice. It was my music teacher, Philippa Topham at Dubai English Speaking School, who instilled a spirit of lifelong learning and an eternal love for music. After my schooling, when I got the chance to go to London to study music, I was overjoyed. The university I went to was a small one, Royal Holloway, with no more than 3,500 students.
It was fun. Everyone was warm and friendly. It was an amazing experience learning to live without the family support close by, learning to fill out bank cheques and to deposit and withdraw my money, attending lectures and dinners at the university...
After returning from the UK, in the early 1990s, I found that there weren't many jobs open for music graduates. So I did what many people who were equipped with a degree and unable to find a job did in those days. I went back to college and took another degree. This one was in management and it helped me find a position at Barclays.
A couple of years later, I joined Mars, the chocolate company, as personnel and organisation officer/manager and remained there until I had my first child, Sarah.
Keen to spend more time with her, I decided to give up my job. But because music has always been my first love, I wanted to launch something that would bring music into people's lives in my city. After much thought I decided to set up an organisation called Centre for Musical Arts in September 2005. My vision for CMA was to develop and enhance the musical community in Dubai, but more importantly to make music available to a wider audience through teaching programmes, concerts, recitals and workshops.
When I opened CMA it was an incredibly exciting time. We started with just six teachers and two administrative staff. But word spread quickly about the exceptional quality of the music lessons we were offering and within a month all the lessons were running at full capacity. By December 2006 we even had a waiting list of close to 150.
I had struggled with funding initially, but was fortunate to get a small business loan and much support from the Al Tomooh Scheme at Emirates NBD. I was a little nervous about whether the centre would be popular and if we would have enough students. But the response was overwhelming.
Located at The Gold and Diamond Park in Al Barsha, CMA today is one of the few examination centres in the UAE recognised by the Associated Board for the Royal Schools of Music. It provides music instruction for adults and children.
That said, I regret that music, just like theatre, is not considered a serious career, and many are forced to moonlight in this field rather than embrace it wholeheartedly. I firmly believe that music can be a panacea for many of life's ills.
I am quite proud that my staff are truly loyal and many have been with me from the beginning. I am a firm believer in corporate social responsibility and feel that you have to look after your staff well if you want to operate a cohesive business.
Play
I am blessed to have a close-knit family. My brother and sister were also passionate about music and played the piano and guitar; but I still remember them saying in mock anger that they didn't know why they bothered, when it was always I who got all the praise at any performance!
My parents, Taher and Shada Badri, are Lebanese and Emirati, and my children are very attached to them and my siblings. They have helped with raising my children and I turn to them for help with anything. My brother works in accounting and my sister is a copywriter at an advertising firm. I often seek their help with the running of CMA.
My parents were always supportive of our dreams. They were tough but fair - of course at the time I didn't realise that. I don't think you do as a child. I have grown to understand and respect my parents even more since becoming a parent myself - it really is a difficult role! They both came to all our events at school, whether it was sports, musical performance, drama... They were there for all our tennis training and matches, supported our homework and school projects. Even now we all go back to them to help edit and review business proposals! The three of us had a very safe, loving upbringing.
Some of the childhood memories which still remain in my mind are of going to the old fruit and vegetable market in Al Aweer with my father, going on a family holiday to Disney World in 1985 and visiting my uncle's farm in Al Aweer...
Apart from music, my other passion is art. There are so many artists who I admire and it would be difficult to name just a few. I am impressed with Ara Gallery in Dubai and how they take time to support and display the work of Emirati artists. The gallery offers aspiring Arab artists a platform to showcase their talents. I also admire the artwork of Khawla Al Marri, who I have had the pleasure to meet, and the photography/art combination work of Saeed Khalifa.
I am an avid reader and movie buff. I also enjoy travelling and taking pictures. My three favourite destinations are Rome in Italy, Languedoc region in Southwest France and Jordan. Three that are on top of my bucket list are New Zealand, Croatia and Alaska.
Dream
Today the big dream I have is to help my children realise their full potential. I realise that I am here to help them through their lives.
I also try to do my bit for the underprivileged. Visiting India, particularly the slums of Mumbai, was a revelation for me. I could not believe that such abject poverty and amazing opulence in hotels and up-market places could exist side by side.
I am now quite a reformed person and do not grumble about small issues in life. I have also taken to living in the present and not worrying.
I also want to turn CMA into a purpose-built academy of music and to watch more students, including Emiratis, studying musician a state-of-the-art environment. Apart from teaching music to all those who wish to be surrounded by its healing notes, I would like to see CMA host significant musical events as part of an annual calendar. And of course I would like to establish a music festival!
