Students entertained cruise passengers at the harbour last week.
PHILIPSBURG--Dow Musical Foundation (DMF) is hosting its first year-end Steel Pan Recital at L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium in Philipsburg on Tuesday, December 14, from 9:00 to 10:00am and again from 10:30 to11:30am.
The programme will bring together more than 200 students of several primary and secondary schools who will collectively showcase their talents learned over the past five months. Students from the programme’s morning and afternoon school classes will participate in this event.
Students of the Catholic schools have primarily participated in the morning classes. Pupils of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Primary School, Marie Genevieve de Weever School and Oranje Primary School participated in the afternoon school classes. Students of Sundial School, Milton Peters College (MPC), Methodist Agogic Center-Comprehensive Secondary Education (MAC-CSE) and St. Maarten Academy also attended afternoon classes and often provided assistance to instructors.
The foundation said the afternoon school programme was made possible through funding from the Resources for Community Resilience R4CR project. The foundation said R4CR donations enabled the purchase of new music equipment, hiring of steelpan instructors and paying for bus fares, among necessities.
Students began steelpan classes in September. The foundation said that in this time they have learnt and picked up the instrument quite well. Those students in the morning classes had classes only once weekly, whereas the afternoon school classes were held twice weekly at the Festival Village.
“It seemed fit to allow the students a moment to showcase their progress to their peers,” said the foundation. The foundation hopes to host similar events in the future as it sees longevity and continuity of these programmes. “The DMF is doing all it could to maintain and preserve the art form of steel pan in St. Maarten,” said the foundation.
Dow Musical Foundation extended its gratitude and appreciation to the St. Maarten Festival Village, the various schools and R4CR for all of their support throughout this programme.
This event is a separate event from the annual DMF concert, which is set to take place on Sunday, December 26.
