Birdsong campers show off skills

GARY CARDINEZ

JUST about 90 students showed off their skills at the Birdsong Academy’s Music Vacation Camp closing ceremony which took place at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, last Saturday.

It was the 15th edition of the concert featuring performances by camp attendees as well as specially invited guests and tutors.

The six-week camp was in honour of the legacy of legendary cultural icon Pat Bishop whose association with Birdsong goes back to the formation of the academy. The closing concert was entitled Pat Lives.

The academy was founded in 2004 with the goal of addressing the lack of music education opportunities. Over the years more than 1,500 young people have benefited from the programme. All instructions and instruments are provided free by Birdsong. Aimed at youths aged 12-18 years, it has achieved outstanding success and international acclaim.

Some of the objectives of the camp are universal access, music literacy certification, structured techniques, live performances, general music and pan history, personal development, social integration skills, pan and traditional instrument instruction. Birdsong also runs an after school, Saturday and scholarship programmes.

Saturday’s ceremony saw students play pan, piano, guitar, brass instruments, percussion and vocals. The audience which was made up of mostly parents were treated to music from calypso to classics on the various instruments.

Some of the songs played were Let There be Peace on Earth, Playing for Time, Attention, Tango and Cha Cha, Bridge over Troubled Water (dedicated to the late Aretha Franklin), Ring D Bell, Earth Song, Spain, Musical Volcano, My Funny Valentine, Killer Joe, Change Your Attitude, Streetlife, Barber of Seville, Mood Indigo and Jane.