Festival of the Arts goes ahead on Brac 

By Nicky Watson

Friday, May  6, 2005

The show must go on, as they say. On Cayman Brac last Saturday 30 April, the show was the Festival of the Arts, normally an annual event to showcase winners in the national competition.

This year, however, the Competition did not take place – one of the casualties of Ivan – but the Principals of the schools on the Brac decided to continue the tradition of a show to display the talents of the children on the Sister Islands to the community, and give the children the opportunity to express themselves in the performing arts.

Primary Music Teacher Jocelyn Moss, who coordinates this show annually, said she thought the standard was as high as any other year, but without the competitive element, the children were more relaxed, which added to their performances a little.

“It’s important to keep the momentum in the development of the performing arts going,” she said. “This has a knock-on effect in other areas of the children’s development. Improving their self-esteem translates into improvements in their social skills and academic work,”she explained.

Among the performances of choirs, dance groups and poetry, the Cayman Brac High School Steel Pan Group was one of the favourites of the audience. There are about 45 regular players in the school, said CBHS Music Teacher Penny Thompson.

“The kids love playing because it’s fairly easy and they learn to play the kind of music they like,” she said.

Teaching to play the steel pan was the one thing she was worried about when she joined the staff in September 2003 because she was not familiar with the instrument. Now, Ms Thompson said that she, like the kids, loves them.

However, the pans are in desperate need of replacement or tuning, the cost of which is phenomenal. Ms Thompson said that she would be willing to learn how to do this if training could be arranged.

The school Concert Band is also immensely popular with the students, though it has only existed for a few years, and plans to start a Swing Band have been received very favourably, she said.

“There is a lot of research that indicates that a study of music raises all academic standards, particularly in mathematics. It is one of the most difficult disciplines, since it requires physical technical dexterity, mental agility, aesthetic expression, a high degree of self-discipline and the ability to work with others,” she said.

There is much talent in the school, but she picked out Year 12 student Kassandra Scott, “who should be doing my job one day,” she said, and Year 10 student Rhea Dias, another gifted musician.

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