PUPILS at Anagh Coar Primary School will learn to make music together thanks to a new scheme which has been introduced to the Island.
20 children, aged nine and 10, will take part in the pilot for Soundstart from September. The pupils will use classroom time to learn a musical instrument together as a band.
The scheme has been started after a grant from the Malcolm Scott Dickinson Charitable Trust.
Malcolm was a gifted musician who moved to the Isle of Man in 1960. During his life he was a member of the Laxey Brass Band, Douglas Town Band, the Salvation Army Citadel Band and the Castletown Metropolitan Band.
In 1984 Malcolm was the victim of a road accident and spent the rest of his life in hospital and nursing homes.
The grant has enabled the Department of Education and Children's (DEC) music service to purchase a set of 30 wind band instruments worth £7,100.
John Kinley, manager of the primary schools music initiative, said: "Class teachers will learn instruments such as the flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone and percussion alongside their pupils.
"Tuition will be provided by DEC music service staff, who are this week receiving training, sponsored by Korg/Jupiter, from Brian Keachie - music development officer with the Inverclyde Music Service.
"At the end of the year pupils may opt to carry on learning an instrument with the DEC Music Service. The musical skills learned during the year are transferrable to any instrument should they decide to learn a different instrument in the future.
"Hopefully after this pilot the concept of teaching large groups of pupils to learn an instrument in primary schools will be rolled out as time and finances allow.
"The concept has already been trialled, using ukulele and penny whistle, in schools taking part in our ongoing primary schools' music initiative and this will hopefully allow many more pupils to experience the many benefits and joys of learning a musical instrument."
Rob Coole, headteacher at Anagh Coar Primary School, said: "We feel very lucky to be able to take part in the pilot for this scheme.
"Our children really enjoy playing percussion instruments in their music lessons and are very excited about the prospect of learning to read music properly and playing a wind instrument, which they have rarely had the opportunity to use.
"Over recent years individual music lessons have been limited for the younger pupils due to the large uptake of older pupils learning instruments. This scheme will now allow those pupils to do what they have always wanted to.
"We can't wait to get started and who knows, time permitting, maybe I'll eventually learn to play an instrument, too."
The Soundstart scheme is similar to the Korg/Jupiter initiative that was launched in the UK in 2002 by two instrument makers who envisaged that every primary school pupil should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
Picture caption: Soundstart is launched at Anagh Coar Primary School – From left: Glenn Boland, 8, Jasmin Hamer, 8 , Louis Faragher, 9 , Amy Playford, 9, and Carly Skillen, 9 – trying out some of the instruments.
Pictured, from left, with John Kinley, manager of the primary schools music initiative, Rob Coole, headteacher, Ken Mitchell, of Peter Norris Music, suppliers of the instruments, and Brian Keachie, music development officer with the Inverclyde Music Service.
