News
Staff Miramichi Leader
Sheree Allison says there was a time when the deciding factor that determined which children would have access to training in classical music and which ones would not boiled down to money, particularly how much happened to be in their parent’s bank account.
For dozens of children in Miramichi, those financial barriers are being removed thanks to the arrival of a new after-school music program that will benefit children from three local schools.
Officials with Sistema New Brunswick, which is operated through the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, will be placing violins, violas, cellos and double bass’s into the hands of 75 elementary school-aged students within the next four years and 30 starting this year, all free of charge.
They will be able to have access upwards of 15 hours of training on a weekly basis as delivered by a pair of professional musicians, opportunities that simply would not be possible without the arrival of Sistema.
For Allison, the executive director of the Miramichi Boys and Girls Club, which, along with the City of Miramichi, is providing $20,000 in annual funding toward the program over the next four years, she said this type of initiative opens up a world full of possibilities.
“The model for music for children, that I know currently, involves money,” Allison said.“Well, that model of music has been dismantled in Miramichi (as of today) – we are going to take 75 children who would never hear these sounds other than maybe Stompin’ Tom and Taylor Swift, so now we are going to be enriching their souls with pure music.”
The Miramichi program will be based out of St. Andrews Elementary School under the direction of Sistema instructors Carlos Armao, a native of Venezuela, and Emily Field, both of whom are graduates of the prestigious McGill University music program.
Three other instructors will be brought in as the program develops.
Students from Ian Baillie and Napan Elementary School will also be eligible for the Sistema sessions. The program will eventually migrate to the incoming elementary school set to be built on King Street by the time that facility welcomes students in the fall of 2017.
Sistema’s programming has been spreading steadily throughout New Brunswick since it was established here back in 2009 with the help of the youth orchestra.
Schools in Moncton, Saint John, Edmundston, the Tobique First Nation, Richibucto and now Miramichi provide the free lessons to over 700 students.
The orchestra from L’École Soleil Levant in Richibucto demonstrated their ample talent to a packed gymnasium at St. Andrews following the official announcement on Friday.
Parents, students and teachers watched in amazement as the group of tiny virtuosos, which featured a combination of string and woodwind instruments, played three selections, including pieces from Beethoven and one from the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Kaitlin Martin, a student at St. Andrews and a member of that school’s choir, summed up the feelings of her peers after the Richibucto kids took a bow.
“Wow, that was awesome,” Martin said.“I can’t wait until St. Andrews and Ian Baillie can come together at the new school and maybe form our own orchestra.”
The impromptu symphony performance was just a small taste of what students in Miramichi can expect to experience in the years to come, according to Ken MacLeod, the chief executive officer of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra and the founder of Sistema New Brunswick.
He said he strongly believes in the difference Sistema is making in the lives of hundreds of children across the province.
“Children as young as six years old are playing in orchestras and they’re learning that the impossible is more than possible,” MacLeod said. “In the beauty of the music, they are learning focus and discipline, they are learning respect and teamwork and these are values that are essential for an orchestra to succeed but even more, to have a successful life … and they also get real good at the music.”
That creates a whole host of positive outcomes.Learning through music,Mac-Leod said, has been proven to enhance self esteem and achieve a sense of fulfillment, pride and hope for the future.
“The only question to ask is, who wouldn’t want that for even more children?”MacLeod said.