Castries North is tuning into a new era of creativity with the revival of its long-standing community music programme, which officially returned on Friday, November 28th, after years of decline caused by shrinking resources and dwindling participation.
The relaunch comes through renewed stakeholder support and the backing of Parliamentary Representative Hon. Stephenson King, giving young people in the constituency fresh access to artistic development and a meaningful alternative path.
Project Director Gregory Piper said the programme’s revival is especially significant given the challenges it faced during the pandemic.
“COVID was a major setback, but since the program was not only geared towards teaching children to play, or young people to play, but also teach them to read music, what we did during COVID is we continued the tuition of the basic rudimentary stuff and music theory online, which proved to be quite a challenge,” he explained.
Piper stressed the wider developmental value of the arts.
“When a young person has a sort of artistic skill, whether it is music, dance, whatever, that helps them to grow up to be a more well-rounded person. It helps them with their math as well. A lot of people do not realize that when you are reading, you are actually adding, subtracting, multiplying, and figuring all these concepts out,” he said.
The revitalised programme focuses on wind, string, and piano instruction, delivered by a team of dedicated tutors.
“The program is primarily a wind, string, and piano program. So we have a teacher who specializes in keyboard tuition. As I said, Ms. Marissa Henry does the strings, I do the reeds, and we have somebody else who does the brass,” Piper noted.
With its structured musical training and emphasis on personal growth, the Castries North community music programme is striking a hopeful chord for the constituency’s youth. Organizers say the renewed energy around the initiative is only the beginning, as they aim to expand participation and strengthen the creative foundation of the community.