Jazz in the Hubs 2011

JITH Media Release 2011 (237.4 KB)

Music is in the air for Hamilton children with the return of the popular Jazz in the Hubs concerts for elementary school children in inner-city neighbourhoods in late April and early May.

The performances take place at the following schools:

Friday, April 29th – Queen Mary Elementary School
Monday, May 2nd – Dr. J. Edgar Davey Elementary School

Tuesday, May 3rd – Cathy Weaver Elementary School
Wednesday, May 4th – King George Elementary School

Featuring the Mohawk College Student Big Band, Mohawk College Faculty, and members of the Hamilton Music Collective (HMC), the series includes two interactive 30-minute performances per school during which elementary school children are introduced to various jazz orchestra instruments. Each performance is then followed by a 45-minute ‘Meet the Instrument’ session giving children the opportunity to try out instruments of their choice.

Said Astrid Hepner, chairperson of the Hamilton Music Collective, “This year we are pleased to have Mohawk College and Long &McQuade as the Jazz in the Hubs sponsor. The Jazz in the Hubs initiative is part of the HMC’s educational mandate to give young children the opportunity to experience live music, introduce them to musical instruments and to give them the opportunity to play the instruments.”

The Hamilton Music Collective is a partner and founder of An Instrument for Every Child (AIFEC), a visionary music project aimed at providing elementary school children with the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. Hamilton is the first city in Canada to offer this free musical education program to students starting in Grade 1.
AIFEC, in partnership with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, was started in September 2010 with Grade 1 students at King George School after a $125,000 seed grant to fund the program was donated by Hamilton philanthropist, Paul Lloyd.

Said Paul Lloyd, “The goal of ‘An Instrument for Every Child’ is to help kids who might have a musical talent, but might not have discovered it or might not have the financial resources to develop the ability. The program helps these kids uncover this talent, discover it, play with it, grow it, and to receive positive recognition as a result of their growth.”

An Instrument for Every Child follows students from Grades 1 through 4. In the first year (Grade 1) elementary school children are introduced to a variety of instruments by an AIFEC instructor and receive forty minutes of in-class music lessons each week. In the second year (Grade 2) students choose the instrument that they want to play and receive instrumental lessons with the AIFEC instructor. This September, the Grade 2 students will be given the opportunity to select an instrument which will be given to them on a free loan basis for the next three years of the program (Grades 2, 3 and 4). The Grade 2 students will also be attending free after school weekly music lessons as part of the program.

AIFEC is modeled on the a successful school program in the Ruhr region of Germany that grew in the space of seven years from 300 children to over 50,000, and to the El Sistema Program in Venezuela whereby children in need attend their local El Sistema center, called a “nucleo,” as early as age 2 or 3 for free music lessons with the vast majority continuing well into their teens. Venezuela now has over 60 children’s orchestras, almost 200 youth orchestras, 30 professional adult orchestras and dozens of choruses.