Many enjoy the sound of a ukulele strum, but imagine the appeal of 230 being played at once.
In September, Sistema New Brunswick launched a pilot project called Ukulele Voyage.
“It’s a three-month program in four schools and with 230 kids participating. You can only imagine at the end of this in December a concert experience with 230 ukuleles, with Tutta Musica, which is a professional Orchestra, and James Hill, who is partnering with us on the program, and all playing together in a large hall with 1,000 kids attending. It’s going to be wild and fun and exciting,” Sistema NB Founder Ken Macleod told our newsroom.
The ukulele was chosen for a couple of reasons: it is accessible, and also because it’s considered a cool instrument that some kids will gravitate towards.
“We’re using the ukulele, not so much just to learn strumming but to learn music literacy. The idea here is that they will learn to play at a very high level and be attracted to their success in music and as part of an orchestra, and our hope is that this will lead to involvement in middle school band programs,” Macleod added.
Anglophone East School District Creative Arts Lead Linda Touchie says the ukulele isn’t a tough one to teach, “James Hill has created a whole method book, right down to lesson number one this week, and this is what you do week number two. Two of our instructors are non-music specialists, and they are doing the course along with us.”
Four Anglophone East schools were chosen to take part in the pilot project, Magnetic Hill, Wabanaki, Riverview Middle and Maplehurst.
“It’s an intensive program. We wanted to make sure these classrooms could teach at least three classes a week, and I think in many cases they’re teaching five a week. That’s a really important part of the program because the kids have to be able to see their progress and be proud of their performance,” Macleod stressed.
Touchie told us that some of the schools are offering the program as a part of their music curriculum. She is teaching it to all of the grade 5 students at Magnetic Hill School, which gives them an extra three hours of music each week.
This pilot project runs until December, but the hope is it will expand into other schools in the province, and engage even more students.
The project will wrap up with a concert to be held on December 10 at Tidal Church.
Sistema New Brunswick launched in 2009 with just 50 students. Since then, it has now grown to almost 1500.
