Police Band Summer Programme introduces youths to music

Fri, Aug 08, 2014

As the Police Band Summer Programme enters its third week, Inspector of Police Bernard Haynes, coordinator of the programme, said the students will be provided with a fun and rewarding experience that they will always remember.{{more}}

The programme, now into its seventh year, exposes students nine to 15 years old to music and a wide range of instruments: pan, trumpet, recorder, saxophone, clarinet, drums, keyboard, and guitar (bass and rhythm).

During the upcoming weeks, students will also be immersed in a diverse repertoire of challenging and gratifying band music.

Inspector Haynes, the Police Force’s band master, told the Public Relations and Complaints Department of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force on Monday, August 4, that during the past two weeks 75 students were taught the fundamentals of music.

The programme, which started on July 21, will run to August 22, 2014, and includes guest lectures, as well as sporting activities. This year’s programme is held under the theme: ‘Building Minds through the Art of Music.’

Inspector Haynes said the summer programme was initially started in 2008 with 50 students with the objective of giving students a start in playing a musical instrument. By the end of the 2013 programme 446 participants have been trained overall.

Inspector Haynes is encouraging participants to take the programme seriously because they can make a career by learning the art of music.

Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations Christopher Benjamin, under whose portfolio the Band summer programme falls, said the executive management team of the Police Force believes that if children are focus driven, such positive action will result in a better society and nation, hence the yearly youth intervention programmes put on by the police.

ACP Benjamin has challenged the participants to have the right attitude when participating in the programme so that they can maximise its benefits. (Police Public Relations)