Joy and Jazz at the Jessop School

Posted by Catherine Cohen on 21 June 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: Jessop School, Bridge to the Community, BrightSparks

Yesterday marked my second day working as an intern LMM and my first time watching the Bridge Project in action.  I arrived yesterday morning at the Jessop Primary School to hallways buzzing with the enthusiasm and energy of many young musicians.  As soon as I walked into the music room, the year 2 children happily threw on a number of green London Music Masters t-shirts and began chattering about the performance that was about to take place. 

As part of the Bridge to the Community program, a group of ten year 2 violinists would be performing a few pieces at the Jessop Children's Centre.  On the short walk from the school to the children's centre the kids bounced with excitement and tried to follow the teacher’s instructions to be quiet on the way over.  As we walked, one young girl exclaimed, "I can't wait for next Tuesday!" She was referring to their upcoming performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the BrightSparks schools concert series happening on 28 June.  Although this is an incredible opportunity for the children, it is also important for them to practice their skills in a small group in front of a small audience as well.  Events such as this one at the children’s centre also help integrate other community members into the world of music that these children are being exposed to at school. 

Today's performance began and ended with a striking and impressive 'E string concerto.'  In between these songs, the children also played 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' 'Song of the Wind,' 'Allegra,' and a few others.  Each time a song was complete the children would bow and receive applause from a very impressed group of about 15 mothers and their wide- eyed infants.  I was blown away by the professionalism and passion the children showed while they played.  The two lines of students stood perfectly still in "playing position" and bowed with beaming smiles between each song.  What impressed me the most, however, was the students’ ability to utilize memory and listening skills.  They often sang the notes and rhythm of a song before they played it on their violins and each one knew the entire pattern of notes.  After the concert, one mother even remarked that it was "crazy how well they can memorize!" The year 2 students seemed to truly enjoy playing and truly enjoyed the juice they received afterwards.

As the children went on to their other classes I was then able to watch one of their music lessons firsthand.  The class was taught by a musician who specializes in improvised jazz.  These year 3 students seemed fairly advanced in their knowledge and fully engaged in the improv lesson which involved creating interesting rhythms by repeating their favourite ice cream flavours out loud.  Once the students had created a beat they would play it on the violin alongside a pre-recorded jazz or samba track.  The lesson was totally fun to watch and made me want to grab one of the practice violins and try to join in! At the end of class the teacher said that in 2 weeks he would be back with a full jazz band for the students to play with.  In excitement, one young boy shouted, "That's not that long, that's not that long!"  It is this kind of zeal with which the students approach their learning that makes the Bridge Project such an exciting thing to be involved with.  Apart from encouraging determination and respect in the children, the project makes them genuinely happy, which makes parents, teachers, and other community members around them equally happy as well!