Musical stars of the future took to the stage at John Gray High School to perform classical and contemporary pieces after an afternoon of workshops.
The event, held on the afternoon of Tuesday, 26 May, was organised by the Department of Education Services, in partnership with the afterschool CayMusicA Starlight Programme.
Around 65 primary school students from government and private schools took part, playing instruments from across the orchestral spectrum, including violin, cello, clarinet, flute and percussion.
Having only begun lessons last October, the afternoon gave students the chance to rehearse and perform together as one combined ensemble, supported by Starlight instructors Fran McConvey and Mike Glavin, as well as primary school teachers and advanced students from John Gray High School.
The initiative aims to foster collaboration among young musicians while supporting the long-term development of a combined primary school band programme that will continue on into high school.
Junior Hines, music lead at the Department of Education Services, said the event was the first time that the young musicians from both public and private schools had been brought together to play as a band.
“Hopefully, we’re going to continue doing this,” he said, “so that the students can have the opportunity of learning to play amongst each other. Normally, what happens is you have each school doing their own thing, so having them come together and play music helps to build a camaraderie with all the schools as well”.
Another benefit was to get students learning instruments earlier, said Hines. “A lot of times what happens is that students are just starting when they get to high school, so, if they start earlier, we can get a better band programme in the end.”
Primary schools taking part were East End Primary School, Edna M. Moyle Primary School, Joanna Clark Primary School, Prospect Primary School, Red Bay Primary School, Sir John A Cumber Primary School, Triple C School, John Gray High School, Island Primary and Calvary Baptist Christian Academy.
Ana Cortez, 11, is a student at Calvary Baptist Christian Academy and has been learning the violin for two years. “I really like the violin,” she said, “it’s a really calm instrument.”
Another student taking part was Teron Goff, also 11, a student at Sir John A Cumber primary. Goff has been learning the trumpet for almost a year and said he enjoyed it because, “It’s easy to master and the fingerings are easy to find. I enjoyed playing with my peers today and also playing with the other teachers.”
The 45-minute concert showcased a range of skills and instruments and ranged from toe-tapping favourites such as ‘Hoedown’ and ‘Chip Up Potato’ to classics including Pachelbel’s Canon and Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’.
Supporting students
Introducing the concert, Mark Ray, director of the education department, told the assembled parents and teachers that it had been a “tremendous” day, adding, “A number of these young people will go on to perform individually, but I do hope that we keep this group together and we have a bigger stage, so that all of them can come together and perform, and we come out and we continually support this effort … It’s through your efforts that they continue to shine.”
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