As a result of the Channel News Asia programme Once Upon A Village, five students in Goducate’s music project, all violinists, have been selected to go to Singapore for a couple of weeks’ training at the Wolfgang Violin Studio run by Min Lee and Annie Lee. Just imagine that. Five students. The students in Goducate projects are from poor, some from very poor, backgrounds. For some of them, even going to regular school is a luxury. Who would have thought that five of them would have had a chance to learn to play a musical instrument, let alone go abroad for training.
Another special beneficiary of the Channel News Asia programme is Bernard, the conductor of the Goducate orchestra. He had been brought to Singapore for a few days last month for some basic training by Wang Ya Hui, director of the orchestra of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, on conducting and arranging pieces.
The third group of special beneficiaries are the 13 who received violins donated by the Wolfgang Violin Studio.
But of course, everyone in the Goducate music project benefited from the training they received from the experts brought over by Channel News Asia for the programme.
The orchestra is getting to be known in the area and will be very busy over the coming weeks. They have been invited to go to Manila to listen to the Manila symphony, to play at our Mayor’s birthday and at the same time a mass wedding of more than 100 couples, to play at a 75th birthday celebration, and to play at the graduation ceremonies of some elementary and high schools.
The Goducate music project has been so successful in giving poor students hope for the future and a means to earn a living, as well as teaching them qualities such as discipline, teamwork, leadership, that we are extending it to many others. The project not only helps the students to help themselves but also to help others, because the more experienced players go out to teach beginners. There are now some 150 children taking part in the Goducate music project in Laguna.
