A Visit to Saint James Music Academy
On Wednesday 26th February, 2020 we had the privilege of visiting the Saint James Music Academy (SJMA) at their premises at Cordova and Gore in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We were able to meet not just the members of staff but also some of the parents and students. As we build our partnership with SJMA, we were keen to see what their students do on a typical weekday afternoon. We also wanted to speak to parents who had volunteered at our fundraising concert last Christmas at Christ Church Cathedral, and to find out how the kids enjoyed the event.
We had a fantastic time talking to students about their experiences learning to play an instrument in the orchestra and singing in the choir. They were enthusiastic about the opportunity SJMA affords them to grow individually and to gain confidence as part of a team. Every student spoke of their new friendships and the sense of achievement they derive from their twice a week commitment to SJMA. Take a look at the video of our conversations with parents and students, which also includes clips from our fundraiser concert held in Christ Church which started our Christmas 2019 season.
Don Lintott and Andy Marr from the choir had the opportunity to present a cheque for $6,705 which were the proceeds from our joint concert on 29th November, 2019. Thanks to the support of the Bader Foundation, we are planning more fundraising concerts for SJMA. Stay tuned!