Brandon Area Community Foundation awards their first Canada 150 Grant of $12,000!
We all know how powerful music can be. Certain songs can instantly lift your spirits and yet others can leave you with a feeling of melancholy.
As well, exposure to different genres can have an everlasting effect on your future, especially if you have the opportunity to explore various styles at a young age. And, that’s precisely why the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) offers a yearly concert series for students in grades four to six.
The Adventures in Music series presented by the WSO to schools throughout Manitoba is an opportunity for students to experience music in a way that may otherwise not be possible.
“For many students it will be the first time going to a concert and for some it may be the only time they get to go. Music is a really important aspect of life. It transmits culture and is a really beautiful way to give a student an experience they might not otherwise have,” said Lindsay Woolgar, WSO Education Programs Coordinator.
Two concerts took place in Brandon on May 16 with 25 schools from the Westman Region attending. The WSO has been offering the Adventures in Music program for over 20 years. The program is supported in part by the Canada 150 Grant allocated through the Brandon Area Community Foundation (BACF).
“It would have been difficult to make this happen without the funding we’ve received; we definitely appreciate the support of the BACF. It’s expensive to bring an entire orchestra to Brandon, but it’s important for us to ensure that the students in the Westman region get this experience,” said Woolgar.
The funding for the concert series was made possible as a result of the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th. The fund is collaboration between BACF and the Government of Canada.
“In total, $33,000.00 will be awarded to four Canada 150 community projects in Brandon,” said Laura Kempthorne, BACF General Manager. “We were pleased to be able to support this year’s Adventures in Music program organized by the WSO, what a great fun way to learn about our Canadian heritage through music.”
As the theme of this year’s concert series is to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, the concert fit well with the criteria of the grant. The program consists of all Canadian repertoires with music from all over Canada, representing different cultures.
According to Woolgar, WSO resident conductor Julian Tellicano plays a big role in the concert series and puts a lot of time and effort into the project. Nearly the entire orchestra, consisting of 67 musicians, will perform for Westman students. The pieces were carefully chosen with the students’ enjoyment in mind.
In addition, students from nine different schools will have the opportunity to perform with the professional orchestra in chorale, percussion, recorder or string ensembles.
Shannon Graham, a music teacher at J.R. Reid School, has been involving her music students in the Adventures in Music program for the past 16 years. This year, 25 choir students in grades four to six, have been working on the concert material for the last three months and will perform with the WSO during the afternoon concert in Brandon.
“These concerts provide such a valuable experience for the students to learn the orchestral instruments and repertoire. Being part of an audience or on stage with a live orchestra is thrilling,” said Graham.
“It’s unique to have the students perform with the orchestra like this. For many kids it will be a very powerful experience,” said Woolgar.
The BACF was established in 1965. Providing support to outreach programs such as this, where student’s lives can be enriched through music, meets the goals and mission of the organization which is to strengthen and improve the quality of life for people in the communities in which it serves.
This initiative is made possible by the Community Fund for Canada’s 150th; a collaboration between Brandon Area Community Foundation, the Government of Canada, and the extraordinary leaders in our community.
With your support we were able to grant $562,908.81
to Brandon and Southwestern MB community projects!
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2017 Youth In Philanthropy
“Youth in Philanthropy” Grants Presentation, May 24th, 2017…. Brandon Area Community Foundation and United Way of Brandon & District fund the Youth in Philanthropy program through Elton Collegiate, Crocus Plains High School, Vincent Massey High School and Neelin High School.
