Our story · Learning through music
Where learning finds
its stage.
The Neemrana Music Foundation is a New Delhi-based cultural institution where education becomes performance and talent grows through real artistic experience.
Through its academy, operas, choirs, workshops and international scholarships, the Foundation creates lasting pathways for young musicians—and a living exchange between India and the world.
Discover the foundationThe foundation in motion
A legacy built by learning.
From first lessons to international stages.
15 operas and countless concerts have reached audiences across 8 Indian cities.
Orfeo — Crossing the Ganges travelled to Paris and performed at the Cité de la Musique in 2013.
Two Foundation productions were broadcast on French national television in prime time.
More than 60,000 people have attended 85 productions featuring over 500 adult and young musicians.
The Foundation at a glance
An Indian stage with an international outlook.
Founded by Francis Wacziarg, the Foundation has spent more than two decades making Western classical music accessible, ambitious and distinctly at home in India.
“Preserving heritage and promoting cultural exchange between East and West through the universal power of music.”
Today, education, scholarships, professional productions, workshops and community choirs form one connected institution.
Meet the founderHow the Foundation works
One institution.
Four pathways.
Learning becomes performance. Performance creates exchange. Exchange returns as knowledge and access.
01
Education
The Music Academy
Regular vocal training, ensemble practice and an education shaped by the demands of the stage.
The Foundation through time
A legacy shaped through music & exchange.
From the founding vision to today’s programmes, each chapter connects education, performance and cultural collaboration.
Movement 01 / 06
Selected year
1970
India becomes home
A life shaped by exchange.
Francis Wacziarg arrived in India and made the country his home. His enduring belief in heritage, artistic exchange and India’s creative talent would later become the Foundation’s compass.
Meet the founderThe Foundation in performance
An archive of musical encounters.
Guest artists, orchestras, embassies and organisations have helped extend the Foundation’s work beyond the opera stage.
35Encounters
03Collections
Selected collection
20
Documented performances
Prestigious concerts with guest artists or orchestras
20182019202020212022202320242025
YearPerformanceVenue / collaboration
- 2025Federico García Lorca & His Musical FriendsKiran Nadar Museum of Art
- 2024A Night at The OperaThe Paino Man (Eldeco Centre, New Delhi)
- 2024Zarzuela ConcertIndia Habitat Centre
- 2023Spanish Opera and art songsKiran Nadar Museum of Art
- 2022Beethoven's 9th SymphonyItalian Cultural Centre
Showing 5 of 20 records
What grows from the work
Skill becomes a career.
Exchange becomes legacy.
Training strengthens individual practice. Partnership expands what the Foundation can make possible.
Skills become careers
Professional growth for students and teachers
Regular workshops train and coach local voice teachers and choir conductors.
Artists trained by the Foundation now work professionally across India, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.
Shared expertise
Indian and international partnerships
Since 2001, the Foundation has built long-term collaborations across culture, education and performance.
Institutions, embassies and artistic organisations contribute knowledge, access and international exchange.
Delhi Music Society & National School of DramaSpic Macay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth)Khushi (Kinship for Humanitarian Social and Holistic Intervention)ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations)the NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts), Mumbaithe Kolkata Youth Orchestrathe Mehli Mehta Music FoundationIndia International CentreOrchestre Philarmonique de ParisConservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de PerpignanSerendipity Festival, GoaDelhi Music Society & National School of DramaSpic Macay (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth)Khushi (Kinship for Humanitarian Social and Holistic Intervention)ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations)the NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts), Mumbaithe Kolkata Youth Orchestrathe Mehli Mehta Music FoundationIndia International CentreOrchestre Philarmonique de ParisConservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de PerpignanSerendipity Festival, Goa
Culture with consequence
Development and solidarity.
Creative employment
Work for Indian artists and technical professionals across set, stage, lighting, sound, costume and make-up.
Inclusive voices
A choir supporting visually challenged young singers.
Music access
Violin learning made available in under-resourced communities.
What the work requires
Investing in music’s continuity.
Three connected commitments carry learning toward recurring performance and ambitious opera production.
An education-to-stage funding score
Funding score · three movementsRequirement
Educational costs
Annual programme- Fees of choir conductors
- Regular workshops
- Scholars
- Schemes for underprivileged children
Ordinary production costs
Annual programme- Three concerts/pocket operas per year
Extraordinary production costs
Biennial production- Full opera productions are staged every two years.
Included₹25 lakh in annual administration and essential operations.Illustrative framework
EducationWorkshopsScholarshipsConcertsOpera productionPublic access
EducationWorkshopsScholarshipsConcertsOpera productionPublic access
How the work is sustained
Sponsorship & donations.
Corporate partners, individual donors and long-term institutional support sustain education, productions, facilities and access.
01
Corporate sponsorship
Corporate sponsors have included Ibis Hotel, Wilderness Films, Godrej Properties and Pullman Hotels.
02
Foundation donations
The Foundation’s principal support comes through donations from the Francis Wacziarg group.
03
Building & facilities
Priya Wacziarg finances the Foundation building: 4 guest rooms, 2 classrooms and a rehearsal hall.
04
CSR initiatives
Corporate Social Responsibility support contributes directly to Neemrana initiatives.
Individual membership
A place for every friend.
Ordinary members
₹10,000 per year
Premium patron
₹2,00,000 per year
Individual TNMF membership ranges from ordinary annual membership to premium patronage, providing a direct and continuing way to sustain the Foundation’s artists, learning and public work.
Partnerships
Support through collaboration.
The French Embassy
two visiting teachers financed by the Institut Français & two scholarships to France co-financed
The Delhi School of Music
co-financed workshops
Alliance Française de Delhi
two free courses of French language yearly
