‘Learning to play an instrument is an atrociously brave thing’

Two NWT schools have received a combined $34,000 from MusiCounts, a music education charity affiliated with the Juno Awards.

In Yellowknife, William McDonald School received $19,000 to purchase and repair instruments for its growing music program, while in Kátł’odeeche First Nation, Chief Sunrise Education Centre received $15,000 for music programming centred around cultural revitalization.

Chief Sunrise principal Deborah Reid explained the school has been expanding its music programming as part of an ongoing initiative to help students develop their personal power.

The idea behind the program is to remove barriers for students so they can access different experiences and “find something that really speaks to them,” she explained, noting the school is also fostering opportunities for students in sports and art.

In recent years, Chief Sunrise has held traditional drum making workshops with Roy Fabian, followed by opportunities for students to learn how to drum, perform, and learn about ceremony.

“We’ve tried to reclaim what was lost through residential schooling – the idea that they weren’t allowed to play their drum, they weren’t allowed to participate in ceremonial pieces,” Reid said, explaining existing programs like this formed the basis for their MusiCounts application.

Students at the school have also been writing songs and making music videos with Tribe of One’s Rik Leaf for more than a decade and, more recently, a substitute teacher has visited twice a week to teach small groups how to play guitar.

“I’ve got groups of kids that are now creating like a little mini band, and we held a talent show last year where they were able to show off what they’re able to do,” she said.

“More than one group did Creed.

“It was exciting just for them to build confidence and knowledge around music and appreciation of music, and having another opportunity for them to develop their personal power in a different way.”

The MusiCounts funding will help ensure continuity in these projects, she said, providing money for hides and other materials for drums, hiring Elders to pass on knowledge, and purchasing recording equipment so students can record their own songs in Dene Yatie.

Last week, the school also hosted David Gon, a Tłı̨chǫ musician, to help translate simple songs like The Wheels on the Bus and Christmas carols into Dene Yatie. The grant funded this collaboration, and the school was able to record the songs with its new recording equipment.

Clarinets, flutes and trumpets

In Yellowknife, music teacher Kamey Fenwick explained William McDonald School’s music program has grown – as has the demand for equipment – as the school’s population has increased.

“We have two extra classes, so that’s on average 40 to 50 new kids … and so last year we went from 25 clarinets to 52,” she said.

Fenwick allows students to take their instruments home with them. With more instruments purchased through the grant money, she said, more students will become confident and competent faster.

“It takes 100 hours to be competent on an instrument, and that’s never going to happen in a 40-minute music class. So I really encourage kids to take their instruments home and families to encourage their students to take them home, even if it’s loud and even if it’s obnoxious,” she said.

“Learning how to play an instrument is an atrociously brave thing to do. It is. There’s no way you can stay under the radar and not be noticed. You can’t play a trumpet and not have everybody know if you got that note right or not. And for a lot of kids, that’s terrifying. And so having the opportunity to take that instrument home and do that in the privacy of their home is a huge resource.

“Not everybody wants that attention in class, but they can take it home. They can feel comfortable and come back and show off what they’ve done. It just gives so many more kids a chance to actually excel at something that maybe they wouldn’t do if they were being watched all the time.” 

The school also received a MusiCounts grant in 2019, using the money at the time to buy a set of ukuleles for its Grade 6 class.

In Grades 7 and 8, students take band, where instruments become significantly more expensive and harder to repair.

“An instrument like a clarinet is about $900 and a trombone is about $2,000, so it’s really tricky to find that in the budget when every budget in education is getting cut right now,” Fenwick said, explaining this year she used the money to buy used instruments and stretch the money further.

In addition to 26 new-to-them clarinets, five flutes and 10 trumpets, Fenwick was able to use some of the grant money to send away 33 trumpets and trombones to Edmonton for repair.

The instruments carpooled to Alberta and back with assorted school staff and family volunteers over the summer.

With files from Miriam Bosiljevac.