Talent blooms at Food for the Poor Music Camp

The 'overnight' Band - led by dedicated Food for the Poor staffer Jeffrey Brown

Jamaican children have amazing talent and we got a glorious example of this at a Band Concert held at the Food for the Poor Jamaica Twickenham Park headquarters.  After just a  two-week summer school, some 50 children performed a rollicking ‘Rukumbine’ on wind and percussion instruments under the instruction of Alpha Boys School music graduate Jeffrey Brown and fellow instructors Ian Glaves, Steve Lamey and Kemar Miller.  The Music Summer Camp was the brainchild of FFPJ’s Sandra Ramsey, who had the shiny new instruments donated through the Florida Head Office. 

Food for the Poor Jamaica Chair Andrew Mahfood presents certificate to a young participant

After their inspiring concert, the youngsters had two surprises: enrolment at a tennis camp with complimentary racquets … and a gift that brought tears to their eyes.  They were told that the instruments they had been practicing on – saxaphones, trumpets, clarinets, flutes, drums – were now theirs to keep!  A follow-up programme is being planned – no wonder Food for the Poor is the favourite charity of so many.

 

Addressing the event, Chairman Andrew Mahfood noted, “The Food For the Poor Band Camp started five years ago, and gives children the opportunity to learn to play music during the summer. We have seen 80 graduates of the programme since its inception, with this year’s class having 50 members. The aim is for Food For The Poor to eventually have a choir, which in turn will perform for residents of homes for the elderly, funerals, and other aspects of society.”

The little ones did not miss a note!

The Band Camp graduates performed several items at the event, giving a personalised twist on renditions of popular songs. The Jeffery Brown led Band Camp performances began with Rukumbine, followed by other pieces such as Mary Had a Little Lamb and My God Is Awesome. 

One of the most well received sets was the Ian Crossbourne delivered, trumpet-driven rendition of the gospel favourite, As The Deer. Strong audience responses were also given to the graduates’ renditions of Michael Jackson’s inspiration number, We Are The World, and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

Another proud talent!

The group’s performance of Redemption Song was described by Chief Instructor, Jeffrey Brown, as “Our Emancipation song.” 

 

Delighted to present to this bright young lady!

Other impressive standouts were the military-marching band hybrid of drumming patterns used for Oh When The Saints, and Joshua Shreeves usage of the Alto Saxophone to play Hero.