Rock icon Nile Rodgers offers music masterclass to GEMS school’s students

(MENAFN- Four) DUBAI, 29 December 2023 – Nile Rodgers, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a Songwriters Hall of Famer and multiple Grammy Award winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist, has shared his extraordinary story and wisdom with several hundred bewitched Dubai school students.

As the co-founder of CHIC, Rodgers pioneered a musical revolution that generated chart-topping hits like Le Freak, the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records, Everybody Dance, I Want Your Love, Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with Good Times and Rapper’s Delight.

His work in The CHIC Organization, including We Are Family for Sister Sledge and I’m Coming Out for Diana Ross, and his productions for artists such as David Bowie (Let’s Dance), Madonna (Like A Virgin) and Duran Duran (The Reflex), have sold more than 500 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide, while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Daddy Yankee, LE SSERAFIM and Beyoncé have been at the vanguard of contemporary hits in recent years.

During his visit to GEMS Dubai American Academy (DAA), Rodgers assessed student performers with candid but constructive feedback and wowed an auditorium of teenage admirers from the school with a whistle-stop run-through of his life and times, good and bad.

Afterwards, he explained why he so valued the visit: “When I was starting out, the people who made the biggest impression on me were people who came in and gave proper lectures or just came in and gave quick advice. But hearing it from people who are in the thick of it is very important because it’s easy to get frustrated. And when you hear from people who say, ‘stick to it, believe in what you’re doing’, it keeps you going through that frustration.”

He continued: “I always believed I would be a musician. When I was a child, I used to musically score my life, believe it or not. I would walk down the street, and I was quite into adventure as I am still, and in my head, I would score swashbuckling movies – I was really into pirates! So much so, that I would fantasise to correspond my life to the music score in my head. I saw the world through music and that was the way I would express myself.”

In 2001 Rodgers co-founded the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), initially to bring everyone together following the September 11 tragedy to start the healing process. It quickly evolved into an organisation dedicated to the vision of a global family by creating and supporting programmes that promote cultural diversity while nurturing, mentoring, and amplifying the vision, talents and ideas of young people who are positively changing the world.

DAA Superintendent, Dr Ethan Hildreth, who attended the masterclass with GEMS Group Chief Executive Officer, Dino Varkey, admitted he was as star struck as any of his pupils.

He said: “It was such an honour to welcome the iconic Nile Rodgers to our campus at Dubai American Academy. The atmosphere was electric as he not only shared stories of his career and journey of music but took the time to give personal notes of guidance to our aspiring students who performed for him.

“One notable takeaway from Mr Rodgers was the importance of ‘compassion’ in his success, which particularly resonates with all of us at the school as we aim to embody a ‘culture of kindness’.”

Maya Bishara, an 11th grade student at DAA, added: “What an honour it has been to perform for the legendary Nile Rodgers; it feels like I've been given the music masterclass of a lifetime.

“Receiving feedback from Mr Rodgers about my music was an experience that I will forever hold close to my heart. I am truly inspired by this encounter, which will propel me to take more risks with my music and extend myself as a songwriter. I am beyond grateful for having such an opportunity, which marks a pivotal point in my journey as a musician.”

MENAFN02012024007303015691ID1107676847