National Youth Orchestra and MusAid Performs at the Bliss
The National Youth Orchestra and Choir of Belize is collaborating with a team of professional musicians from MusAid to put off a concert this coming weekend at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The team, based in the US and Canada, arrived in Belize over the weekend and on Tuesday began training and mentoring sessions at the Pallotti School of Music and at the Bliss. Apart from the donation of instruments to the orchestra, the sessions also allow for the young musicians to improve their art of playing various instruments. Development Director of MusAid, Erin Fung, spoke to News Five today at the program that will foster the passion of the art in both beginners and advanced music students.
Erin Fung, Development Director, MusAid
Erin Fung
“This is the second day of our MusAid workshop in Belize so we are helping the kids out in the National Youth Orchestra and Choir here. So we are preparing them for their concert on Saturday. So as you can see, we are teaching some beginners and also some of the more advanced students.”
Duane Moody
“What is it that they are learning; the different instruments that they are actually playing?
Erin Fung
“So here at the Bliss, we are helping them with their wood wind and brass instruments so traditionally they have been a little weaker than the strain. So we really want to bring their level up and to improve the orchestra overall. What we truly want to foster is the idea of cooperation and teamwork and sharing so we are helping some of the older students to learn how to become mentors for the younger students as well. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of passion, but the national youth orchestra is still quite young; it’s only been together like three years. So we are just hoping that we can bring a little bit of extra help here and support the program.”
Duane Moody
“Will you guys be performing here as well?”
Erin Fung
“Yes, we will be performing alongside next to the kids in the orchestra and also be performing some solo and chamber music as well. MusAid is an organization based in US and Canada and what we do is we take donated instruments and we bring them to music schools around the world. So this is kind of a new thing for us to do this workshop to bring teaching into the picture as well. We’ve done work in Afghanistan, in Kurdistan and most recently in El Salvador.”
Duane Moody
“Is Belize the benefactor of any of these instruments?”
Erin Fung
“Yes, yes. We did bring a number of instruments. We have a few trumpets here, many clarinets and flutes and also some string instruments as well.”
The concert starts at seven-thirty p.m. on Saturday at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets available at the Bliss box office for only fifteen dollars.
