I just came back from the inaugurational ceremony of the Elisa Gouveia Conservatory of Music. Ok, maybe there was no ceremony... and it certainly isn't called the Elisa Gouveia Conservatory of Music... Alright, alright, I'll rephrase: I just came back from the very first session of the music courses I'm offering at the church. It's official... what I pray will become a well-established institution of formal music education years down the road, is starting as a humble group of church and community members ready to learn all they can from my limited knowledge of music.
I have so many goals for the little school... I'm eager to see where we'll end up in a year. The biggest goal, for this year, is to foster enough dedication in each student to take their instrument seriously. It's too common for people to have the DESIRE to play, but not the DEDICATION it takes to learn how to play. And what's more, I'm hoping to be able to have an orchestra recital at the 1 yr anniversary of the school. Now, that's a feat.
See most people have NO formal knowledge of music, those who have some, it's just a little bit... and that little bit is interspersed with a rather confusing bunch of concepts that may or may not be correct. Another challenge is the fact that so many people can't afford the instruments that they want to learn how to play. For the people that want to learn flute and sax, we're going to be able to start with the recorder. But for people that want to start with the violin and clarinet, there's no cheap, temporary option! They gotta go to the store and buy the real deal. From what I've seen, the cheapest option for a clarinet is $200... for a violin $100. That's still way too unfeasible for a lot of the students.
And then there's the fact that some of the students have to travel to get to class. Today, a guy showed up that had travelled 3 hrs to get to class on time. He plans on doing that EVERY SUNDAY. It's crazy! But his motivation encourages me to make this music course the best darn music course this side of the Atlantic.
Above all, I pray that it gives all of us involved in this project a chance to witness to the community through the music we bring.
2 comments:
awww really??? cool!!! write petition letters and donations stuff to us in the states pics included makes the giver more willing :)
YES! Donors! But don't expect anything from me. I'll be asking your conservatory to give me a scholarship. LOL
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