The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in collaboration with Republic Bank Guyana Limited has launched its ‘Right Start Pan Minors Music Literacy Camp’ to nurture the musical talents of the nation’s youth.
A release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) said that there are six camps in Regions Two, Three, Four, Six, Seven and Ten. Each camp can facilitate up to 35 participants.
The youngest in the programme is eight-year-old, Aden Adams, who welcomed the exposure to music.
“It teaches me a whole other level of music and because I have a big band of friends so they can help me learn new notes and new stuff. I feel happy because my brother and I were not here, Amar and me would’ve been just stuck at home doing nothing so I am happy that it is here so we all could play steelpan,” he told DPI.
Fourteen-year-old, Akira Campbell said, “I wanted to come to this programme because I get to broaden my horizons because as you know there is different pans. I wanted to try something new and share my passion with others. This is a great initiative of the government because it will basically spread awareness because I am pretty sure that most people don’t know about steel pan and I am really glad to see that we have a lot of people here, just have fun and play together. I would like to thank the instructor he was patient with us and he just always there to help us.”
Eleven-year-old, Renola Jeffery stated, “Growing up I always had a passion for music and I always watched on television people playing steel pan so now this is my first time getting a chance to play the steelpan.”
The training provides a stepping stone for budding musicians.
The camp will conclude on August 11.
