Jamaica has a dynamic and vibrant music culture; however structured music training is not always readily available to youth from the inner city. Musical talent abounds in these environs but is mainly focused on dancehall and its associated cultural elements. The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), with its long and rich tradition of music and its culture and structures of discipline and character building has been responding to this need by hosting a music summer camp targeting inner city youth.
The third staging of the initiative was held between July 1-19, 2024 but was pushed back to July 24 because of the passage of Hurricane Beryl. CHASE was pleased to partner with the JDF to engage with a group of at-risk youth, who participated in playing orchestral and pop band instruments as well as vocal training. The camp also provided the participants with motivational and team building exercises which prepared them for the closing concert ceremony. This led to the formation of three different groups:
- Strings
- Piano
- Drums
The closing concert ceremony was held, and the youth artists put on a show for all to enjoy. From solo sets to group medleys, the audience filled with sponsors/stakeholders including JDF members, community members, family members and their peers were proud to see what children who had no experience with musical instruments, were able to achieve in three (3) weeks of mentorship.
Since inception, CHASE has provided funding to 90 schools and bands to the tune of J$176.4M to support music programmes at different levels in different ways. Recently we have included funding to colleges which currently train teachers in music for different levels of the education system, the story of one of such is linked here.
