'Marley Symphony No 1' and other musical marvels

One of the marvels of last Friday night's launch of theOrchestra Programme for Youth in Jamaica at the Courtleigh Auditoriumwas the playing of the freshly composed 'Marley Symphony No 1' by theNational Youth Orchestra of Jamaica (NYOJ), comprising some 80musicians.

The excitement created by the powerful musical medley, opening with Marley's Exodus,played by a stage-full of instruments - violin, viola, cello, doublebass, flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, trombone, tuba,trumpet, French horn and a number of percussion instruments - wasmanifested in the ear-popping applause the piece received.

Conductor/arrangerJon Williams was clearly pleased, and MC Fae Ellington opined that hadMarley heard the reggae symphony, he would've exclaimed, "JahRastafari! Seet yah now!"

Sweetly sentimental

Thework was preceded by another Jamaican creation - Peter Ashbourne's'Jamaica Folk' - which was as sweetly sentimental as the symphony waspassionate. The medley included snatches of several well-known folksongs, including Dis Long Time Gal, Linstead Market and Jane and Louisa. It, too, was enthusiastically applauded by the packed auditorium.

The orchestra, made up of members of musical groups and individual music studentsfrom many studios, had only been practising together for the previous10 days. Its versatility was shown by its fine playing of works by boththe Jamaican composers and some non-Jamaican ones like Aaron Copland,Merle Isaac, Antonio Vivaldi, Arturo Marquez, Alberto Ginastera and,for the final item, Handel. His Messiah was sung by the NYOJ choir accompanied by the orchestra.

Despitethe beauty of the music at the launch, it would appear that the aim ofthe Orchestra Programme for Youth in Jamaica is not the creation orproduction of high quality music. Instead, the programme wasestablished "to build social cohesiveness, develop self-esteem andself-awareness of participants, build emotional capacity and theability to work in teams and, ultimately, to contribute to the socialadvancement and well-being of the individuals, participants and theirfamilies".

There's not a word about music in the quotation, whichappears in the function's printed programme. It seems that theprogramme's organisers don't belong to the 'art for art's sake' school but believe art should be practical, a means to some non-artistic end.

Theymight remember, though, that when man's basic needs are satisfied, heinstinctively longs for art and beauty; the aesthetic impulse kicks in.Even angels in heaven, though they lack nothing, don't do nothing; theysing.

But even if music is not the ultimate goal of the NYOJ, itwill certainly be an objective, a step towards that goal; and alongwith well adjusted, socially mobile individuals should come at least afew professional musicians. Many of the youngsters in the programmewill surely want to emulate their teachers, who will be professional musicians and teachers of music.

Collaboration

Dr Nigel Clarke (centre), Chairman, National YouthOrchestra of Jamaica (NYOJ), greets Minister of Education AndrewHolness while Chris Blackwell, patron, NYOJ, looks on. They wereattending the launch of the NYOJ at the Courtleigh Auditorium lastFriday evening. - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

The NYOJ is a non-profit organisation set up to collaborate withthe Organisation of American States in the organisation, coordination,implementation and managementof the Orchestra Programme for Youth in Jamaica. It is modelled on theworld famous El Sistema orchestra network in Venezuela and will targetschool-aged youngsters, whether in school or not, and train them forparticipation in an orchestra.

Guest speaker at the launch,Minister of Education Andrew Holness, emphasised that the programme wasa vehicle for social transformation. He urged national support, statingthat without that support the programme can't succeed. He promised thatthe Government of Jamaica would assist the local programme, as theGovernment of Venezuela assists its programme. Mentioning that theprogramme will begin at St Andrew Technical High School, he asked thatPenwood High School in his own constituency be included in theprogramme. He promised financial help in the purchase of theinstruments.

The Gleaner was told by steel band specialistGay Magnus, one of the instructors in the programme, that it wouldbegin as soon as musical instruments, already ordered, arrive in theisland.

In his vote of thanks, School of Music and NYOJ DirectorRoger Williams admitted to being "super excited about music in Jamaicaright now". He, too, stressed the "social change" and self-developmentgoals of the programme.

He had special thanks for two womenwithout whom, he said, the programme would not have started. They wereMusic School lecturer Ann McNamee and Joan Peart, the executiveassistant to NYOJ Chairman Dr Nigel Clarke.

Telephone and Internet use

Peart worked from home while recuperating after suffering a broken hip and The Gleanersought her out and asked how she did it. Laughing, she spoke of herextensive use of the telephone and Internet for communication withothers and declared, "Nothing was wrong with my head, just my hip. I'ma very positive person and I accepted the challenge."

With eachprinted programme, patrons received a donation card reading in part:"The National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica (NYOJ) is seeking yourfinancial support which will be used to obtain musical instruments anddefray the costs of lessons for the young persons in our programme."

Thecards were to be dropped in baskets passed around by hostesses at theend of the concert and some hostesses ended up with full baskets. Itwas a good sign. The NYOJ might still be playing after its youngmembers become adults.