The annual Schools Music Festival is now on. The event, held annually in November as part of Music Month, forms part of the Ministry of Education’s drive to enhance music education in schools.
This year’s Schools Music Festival started on Tuesday and will end on Thursday, November 21, the eve of St. Cecilia’s Day or the feast of musicians.
Jason C. Joseph, Curriculum Specialist for Music at the Curriculum and Material Development Unit, (CAMDU) Ministry of Education, Saint Lucia, told St. Lucia Times that the event is not a competition but a showcase of the best the schools offer.
“This year all of the school districts will be performing although District 6 have had to postpone their event,” Joseph stated.
“The whole objective is for the students to showcase the best that the school has to offer and also an opportunity for the students to come together to show their musical talent,” he explained.
“And it is not just singing we have different categories, there are choirs, instrumentals, solos, whatever the schools think that they are strongest in at preparing the students to showcase, they are allowed to do so,” Joseph explained.
On Tuesday, the first day of the event, students of District 5 participated in the festival at the Ti Rocher Multi-purpose Centre in Micoud.
District 7 was up next on Wednesday at the Delcer Combined School in Choiseul, while the District 3 event was held Thursday at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries.
So far, the festival has seen solo and choir performances, steel pan and drumming, and a full school orchestra. Students from both the primary and secondary school levels have participated.
When asked how the event has been going so far, the music curriculum specialist said there are challenges.
“My biggest challenge is getting the music teachers to improve the quality of the performances. We have this mentality that because its children anything goes but you do not force children to go on stage just for participation sake,” Joseph said.
“It’s a music festival and it is expected that if you are going to go on stage to do anything that you should at least have some basic skill in doing it,” he added.
“That aside, we have had some solid performances in some of the districts”, he acknowledged.
According to CAMDU, music education brings the child to an awareness and appreciation of his/her unique cultural environment and ethos.
The music curriculum here comprises listening and responding, performing and composing.
Besides the Schools Music Festival, schools and students are encouraged to participate in the Junior Calypso Competition in July and the Sagicor Schools Choir competition in February.
