The First Class

We met for our first class on Saturday. Each student received a backpack, a folder, a notebook and 4 pencils for the academy. It couldn’t be too fancy or else it might be stolen and/or sold for drugs. All of it together was about R50 or $6.25. Not bad for everything a child could need for school.

I went over the Mission Statement, Codes of Conduct, Reward and Discipline System. They got a copy of each along with a contract saying they’ve been told about all that documentation, that they will obey it, and that the “Mobile” part of the academy will involve traveling and might have risks, etc. The kids AND parents must sign the contract and the Codes of Conduct. I also sent home a letter (written in both English and Afrikaans) to their parents explaining who I am, what this academy is, how thankful we are to be able to work with their talented children, and to come out next week to see what’s going on and ask questions.

After the logistical part of our first meeting, I played them a song. They closed their eyes and listened to a beautiful Riverdance piece that starts out with some bells, a choir, and then picks up in pace to a dramatic Celtic finale. They said it made them feel happy. They said they saw big bells on a cathedral that were calling everyone from the town to church. They pictured women dancing in dresses around a fire. I showed them where the British Isles are on a world map (along with Cape Town and where I’m from). I want them to appreciate music from all over the world not just the Hip Hop, R&B or Gospel which is what they primarily listen to.

Here’s our schedule for the next month:

• Saturday the 12th — Parent Meet & Greet. Begin teaching basic theory (what a staff is, what a note looks like, what a measure is). Afterwards, the kids will come to CCFM to tour the radio station and get interviewed on air. (7:00 am Nashville time if anyone wants to listen online!)

• Saturday the 19th — Verity, a local singer/songwriter will come out with Ricardo and me to meet the kids and help us teach. We will expand on basic theory (Introduce whole notes, half notes and quarter notes. How to draw them. What they mean). More interactive stuff. Maybe Verity can play a song and teach a little something.

• Friday the 25th — Can’t meet on Saturday because there’s a big Living Hope event on that day for the kids. A team from California is coming. A couple leaders are brilliant musicians. A couple of their kids are talented as well. They can show them what other kids are learning and we’ll continue our teaching as well.

• Saturday the 2nd — Ricardo takes over. I arrive back in Nashville. Class as usual. Brentwood Baptist (from Nashville) has a music team here doing workshops for “privileged” musicians in Cape Town with CCFM. On Saturday they’re leading a big concert and hopefully the kids can come and perform a song or two.

Interesting side notes:

• Two local newspapers are doing write-ups about the launch of the Academy and the five. Hopefully it will be a good sized article with pictures and information about the auditions and the whole project in general.

• CCFM has a week-long “Share-a-Thon” at the end of August. You know, the whole call in to your radio station and donate money kind of thing. One of those days, the money will go directly to the Mobile Music Academy. They are expecting anywhere from R70,000 – 100,000 or approximately $10,000 USD! More than enough to elevate this to a long-term project.

• The Academy MIGHT turn into a dual partnership between Living Hope and CCFM (what I always wanted). It already is in a way because we’re using Living Hope’s facilities and used their club as a launching pad, but it’s being backed by CCFM financially and is a branch of the radio station. This would greatly simplify our quest to getting funding from people in the States because Living Hope is already registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit thus eliminating a TON of headache for me.