The Alpha School of Music, with support from American Friends of Jamaica and Sandals Foundation, recently organized professional development workshops for high school music teachers in Montego Bay and Kingston. The idea for the workshops stems from concerns that brass instruments are not being taught because teachers are not familiar with the instruments.
“As Jamaica’s only tertiary programme focused on band performance it is our wish that band music have a strong foundation across the country,” said Gay Magnus, Bandmaster at the Alpha School of Music. “These workshops will provide music educators with specialized brass pedagogy, specifically for trumpet and trombone, which may not have been available during their teacher training.”
Led by Dr Nathaniel Brickens, Professor of Music at The University of Texas-Austin and Jason Suliman, Profession of Music at Troy University in Alabama, attendees said the 4-day workshop was well worth their time and focus.
“There was much attention to detail and many different techniques were shared,” said one workshop attendee from Montego Bay. “Dr Brickens was well prepared, welcoming, engaging and patient.”
Mr Beckfod, a music teacher in Kingston, said, “This workshop has benefited me and equipped me in a very big way. This is my first exposure to brass instruments and I’ve already learned the relationship between different brass instruments – the trumpet and the trombone. Dr Sulliman demonstrates very well and I’ve learned a number of teaching skills from him and how to actually impart the knowledge.”
