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Conference Launches Music in Schools Program for Simcoe County
By Günter Ott
Stellula Music in Schools is a program developed by former Twisted Pine festival General Manager Deborah Brown to promote music and arts for young people in Simcoe County communities. At the fabulous Horseshoe Resort in September 2008, Deborah brought together experts in the fields of music, education, social issues and hospitality to learn about the Stellula program and to generate ideas on how to implement the program in Simcoe County.
Deborah described last year's pilot program that taught students how to work together to create music and art under the mentorship of professional musicians, artists and filmmakers.
Partnering with SASS
Building on this beginning, Deborah has partnered with the School Alliance of Student Songwriters (SASS) whose founders, Artemis Chartier and Dale Russell, have been operating extra-curricular songwriting clubs for children in grades 6-12 in nearly 50 schools in Ontario since 2003.
Artemis and Dale presented an outline of their program to attendees and performed a song "Do It for the Love" penned by Russell, the former lead guitarist for the Guess Who.
Opportunity to Learn from Professional Musicians
According to Deborah, the Stellula Music in Schools program this year will consist of weekly activities that include students writing and performing their songs, documenting their work through newsletters and videos and taking part in monthly meetings with professional musicians.
The program leads up to a week-long celebration of music in local schools and final performances by the students at the Horseshoe resort.
In his remarks to the participants, President and General Manager of the Horseshoe Resort, Rowley Ramey, expressed his enthusiasm for and commitment to the Stellula program by generously offering to provide space for a performance stage, rooms and other support for the program.
Q & A Session Sets the Stage
In a free-flowing question and answer session, participants agreed that the Stellula Music in Schools program represents an exciting opportunity for young people to learn a variety of skills in a supportive arts environment.
They pointed out that young people in Simcoe County currently lack such opportunities and would greatly benefit from the improved socialization, ability to explore their creative interests and the potential for future growth in the burgeoning arts industry in Ontario.
The participants enthusiastically endorsed the Stellula program model and discussed how their varied experiences could be incorporated in the program.
They also felt it was important to keep the momentum and enthusiasm of this initial meeting going by developing a website to act as a focal point for ideas and by meeting again to generate additional ideas to incorporate in the program.
Young Performer
A performance by talented 16-year old Kitchener singer/songwriter Alex Tintinalli effectively demonstrated how the Stellula Music in Schools program could benefit young people with talent but few outlets to pursue their artistic goals.
Stay tuned for more news about the Stellula program in Simcoe County.
Günter Ott is a magazine editor, communications consultant and photographer in Toronto (gunter.ott@sympatico.ca). He is also leader of the blues band Tight Like That.