Roy Cape launches music school

This Thursday, the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation will honour veteran musician Roy Cape for bringing a music school to Sangre Grande.

The event will take place at the corporation’s headquarters on the Eastern Main Road, Sangre Grande, at 9 am.

Cape expressed his delight at the gesture, but is even more excited about the music school. The school will be launched this Saturday at the North Eastern Community Centre, Lantana Terrace, Duranta Gardens, Sangre Grande, at 4 pm.

The music literacy course to be taught is being run by the Roy Cape Foundation and the Music Literacy Trust. This is in collaboration with the Sangre Grande Development Foundation, with an emphasis on promoting music literacy in Sangre Grande

Registration began on July 6, and by the following day 71 children from four to 18 and 15 adults 19-64 were registered.
The first three-month semestre of the music programme, which is Cape's brainchild, will begin in early August, after which there will be a recital to show off what the students have learnt. Cape said the first part of the course will deal with theory, and when the students understand what was taught, they will then be introduced to the instruments.

They graduate after a year. Cape said: “We are hoping at the end of the full programme, the students will be qualified enough to attend the University of the West Indies, or get scholarships to go to international music universities.”
Thus far, the school has six trumpets, six trombones, six alto saxes, six tenor saxes, six clarinets and six flutes, plus 16 marching-band drums.
Cape said: “There are also 13 recorders for the young ones, and we have 42 instruments on standby, depending on how fast we can get the children with the rudiments of music to be ready for the instrument.”

He said he is hoping they will also be able to get violins, guitars and basses.
Most of the instruments have been donated by the Music Literacy Trust, headed by Jenny Lee, for which Cape is grateful.
He was also thankful for donations by the Living Water Community and FEEL but would like corporate Trinidad to invest further in the programme. He said the organisers have only got $41,000 from CIBC for one semester so far, but to finance one year of the programme amounts to $108,000.  That includes stipends for three tutors. The entire programme is for three years and therefore needs a whole lot more financial support.

Cape spoke of the remaining challenge regarding sponsorship, but said confidently: “I feel the work we are going to do will speak for itself.”
The book syllabus includes The Standard of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method Books 1 and 2, The Six Basic Elements on a Note of Music and one by former army bandmaster Major Eddie Wade.