AMSTERDAM/SABA:--- A youth orchestra pilot will be launched at the beginning of the upcoming academic year on Saba, Commissioner of Culture Rolando Wilson announced on Wednesday, July 13.
Commissioner Wilson and Franklin Wilson, board members of the Saba Association of Caribbean States Foundation, on Tuesday, July 12, met with Director of the Leerorkest Marco de Souza and a member of his team at the offices of the Foundation Leerorkest in Amsterdam to further discuss the launching of the youth orchestra pilot on Saba.
During the pilot, Saba children will be taught how to play various musical instruments. The Leerorkest will be assisting and working along with the local musicians in training the schoolchildren. The instruments are already available on the island, thanks to the assistance of Saba Association of Caribbean States Foundation.
The Leerorkest has already established foundations in Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire and is already working with children on these islands, teaching them how to play various instruments. The Leerorkest visited Saba and St. Eustatius in October 2021 and saw the potential of the two islands and the children.
Commissioner Wilson is a great supporter of this project which offers great opportunities for the Saba children. “I would really like to see music lessons in the curriculum of the schools. There are many young, talented people eagerly waiting to learn how to play an instrument,” he said.
Wilson said that during his visit to the Leerorkest in Amsterdam, he got to see children playing different kinds of instruments. “It felt good seeing them playing. With this pilot, our children on Saba will also be able to benefit from this wonderful initiative,” he said.
The Leerorkest will be working with the Saba Association of Caribbean States Foundation, a foundation that has been in existence since January 2003. Funding has been made available by the Ministry of Justice and Safety (JenV) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW) to the Foundation Leerorkest to assist Saba and Statia.
