C.W. Prescod marching band receives $12,323 worth of equipment

Through a donation from the Mustique Charitable Trust, the C.W. Prescod Primary School was able to officially launch its marching band, last Friday.{{more}}

The school received 10 snare drums, two bass drums, six tenor pans, two pairs of cymbals and assorted equipment, valued at EC$12,323, which will replace their 10-year-old goat skin drums that were significantly worn.

At the handing over ceremony on Friday, Basil Charles, a trustee of the Mustique Charitable Trust, noted the school’s reputation for their excellent “bum drum” players and said that the Trust was more than happy to donate to the cause.

He also stated that playing in a band at a young age will teach the students to develop discipline.

“Everyone in a band learns, takes something away and gets better,” he said.

“A good band produces great people in school and everything they do. If they are great musicians, they will be good at anything”.

Former culture minister Rene Baptiste was one of those persons who took interest in the school’s call for authentic marching band equipment and was able to get the Mustique Charitable Trust on board.

Baptiste said students of the CW Prescod school would be the first students to be a part of a marching band at such a young age.

“Marching bands are not in primary schools in the United States of America…it’s high schools, not primary schools, so they have gone beyond the high school level,” she said.

Additionally, the former minister stated that the next step should be to have persons come in to add to the technique of the students in the marching band.

“So, we are hatching a plan to see if we can work through a network to get a high school… to come down and work with them and teach them to do these different steps that you see the marching bands doing…that’s the next dream,” Baptiste said.

Headteacher Yvette Antoine highlighted that the school seeks to discover, naturally enhance and exploit the skills, talents and dexterity of its students.

“Now, with the generosity and selflessness of the Mustique Charitable Trust, we can now with gratitude boast of being the only school, whether primary or secondary, to own a marching band in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” Antoine said.

She also thanked various persons who were instrumental in the formation of the school’s “bum drum” band.

The Mustique Charitable Trust was founded in 2008 and since then has donated to various causes across St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Bequia Reading Club, the Hurricane Tomas Relief Fund, the St Vincent Boys Brigade and Youlou Arts Movement are among the long list of organizations and charities to have benefitted from the support of the Trust.(BK)