Author: SONG Admin

PLEASE NOTE:  The offer contained in this post is for SONG families only; interested members of the public will need to purchase a regular admission through normal means.

In its five years of operation, the SONG program has been blessed with so many community partners who generously make offers to provide musical experiences for our kids.  From singing “O Canada” at sporting events and then having access to reduced or free tickets to enjoy the game, to free tickets for local choral and orchestral concerts, we are surrounded by a spirit of giving in our Northumberland Communities.

Once again this year, the Country Wild Music Festival in Cobourg is offering each SONG child a free day pass and a matching pass for one parent.  Experiencing all styles and genres of music helps fuel the creativity of every child.  From classical to country, from pop to rap, each genre shows its own ingenuity and beauty through musical forms.

We are so appreciative for our community partners that make these events and opportunities possible to our kids and their families.  Thank you!

NOTE TO SONG PARENTS:  please reply to the email sent to you to register your interest by Friday, May 25th.

The art of giving and the giving of art become one through the kind generosity of Cobourg artist Alice Vander Vennen.  Alice has been working with SONG students in class this spring to help complete an art project featuring personal totems that will be used in our spring “Kids 4 Kids” concert.

In addition to that gift of time and creativity, Alice has also created a unique, one-of-a-kind mixed media art piece that she has donated to SONG to use in an exclusive raffle for the annual Safe Harbour Fundraiser (June 9th at Victoria Hall).

Entitled, “Over the hills”, Alice describes the piece in this way:
“This piece starts with the elegant beauty of a centuries-old violin. It had played its last song, but now placed in an art piece, the beauty continues. I juxtaposed this violin over a collaged embroidery that represents Northumberland’s hills and all the majesty of our surrounding landscape. The background is a collage of a landscape embroidery, acrylic on canvas, African mudcloth, and of new fabrics found just for this piece. I wanted to give the feeling of a visual song, where looking at the piece, one can almost hear the music over the hills. Juxtaposed with this background is a photo of trees reflected in snow, taken in winter time in the Northumberland forest which was then transferred onto canvas and painted. In the same way that the image is reflected, so is the song of the violin echoed over the hills. The piece is mounted in a museum-quality, shadow box frame under UV-protected, anti-glare, museum glass, and is preserved with a clear acrylic coating of UV-resistant gloss to protect against UV light.”

Spring is officially here, and so is SONG’s 5th Annual Spring Concert!

Spring brings about the colour yellow with the warm sunshine, forsythias and daffodils, and symbolizes happiness and empowerment—the very themes the children of SONG have been exploring for their spring concert Kids 4 Kids on Saturday May 26th at 3:00 p.m. at Trinity United Church. 

For this concert, SONG has invited a number of artists to contribute, including Susan Passmore (one of the Good Lovelies, pictured above) who co-wrote a song with the children.  Using words and pieces of melody written by SONG kids, Passmore has crafted a beautiful piece which will be sung by all SONG members. 

Other concert highlights include:  SONG members singing “The Freedom Tree,” which is about the tree outside of the little apartment where Anne Frank hid from the Nazis in WWII.  Songwriters Dr. Roselyn Schwartz, composer and conductor of the Kingston Jewish Chorus, and holocaust survivor Joche Katan will be in attendance.

Also, Cobourg’s own visual artist Alice Vandervennen has organized an art project based on the themes of freedom, family, relationship and community, which will be on display. And SONG has also been developing its first string-quartet!  Students are learning chamber music—classical music composed for three or four players—fittingly known as “the music of friends.”  Pop music by K’naan and Michael Jackson round out what promises to be an inspiring and uplifting concert.

The doors for Kids 4 Kids will open at 2:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 3:00 p.m.  Tickets are $5 at Ten Thousand Villages in Cobourg, Furby House Books in Port Hope, and also at the door.

​We look forward to seeing you there!​

Last Saturday, the music world received notice that Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu, the founder of the El Sistema music model, passed away at age 78.  Forty-three years ago, this Venezuelan government economist began a socially inclusive musical education program for some of the poorest children in his country.  The El Sistema program has been replicated in countries around the world and is the model upon which the SONG program is based. 

A month earlier, in February, we received a notice from El Sistema in Venezuela that they had just accepted their 900,000^th student into the program since the program’s inception in 1975.  Valentina Carrero, a nine year old Venezuelan girl, has now been learning music for a month, along with hundreds of thousands of children around the world thanks to Maestro Abreu’s vision. 

The letter from Sistema Venezuela concluded with these words, “Without a doubt, there still are many children like Valentina that need to access musical education, no matter their social background, race, religion or disability.  Which is why we still are very committed to continue expanding our musical miracle beyond borders, by emphasizing one of our main principles:  social inclusion.” 

The SONG program of Northumberland is also building its own legacy.  Five years in, we have seen about 250 children enter the program.  They have sung with passion, played bucket drums with zeal, and learned stringed instruments with growing confidence.  Our local legacy joins with that of Maestro Abreu as we touch lives through the transformative power of music. 

Help us celebrate five years of SONG on Saturday, May 26^th at Trinity United Church in Cobourg (3:00pm) for our concert entitled, “Kids 4 Kids”. 

–          Written by Derrick Cunningham , SONG Administrative Assistant